IPG Mediabrands poaches local Omnicom boss Leigh Terry for APAC role
IPG Mediabrands has poached another top local media agency executive, this time taking Omnicom CEO Leigh Terry to head up its Asia Pacific division.
Terry appointed CEO IPG Mediabrands APAC.
OMD CEO Peter Horgan is set replace Terry in the group role following the announcement.
The move is the latest in a string of raids on Australian competitors mounted by Mediabrands global CEO Henry Tajer since he took on that role in 2014.
So far he has lured Starcom’s John Sintras for a global business development role, Mediacom CEO Mark Pejic to chair its Melbourne group, GroupM’s chief investment officer Danny Bass as its Australian CEO, Di Richardson from Starcom as UM’s US strategy director and Charles Godbold in a global auditing role.
“Asia Pacific is a key priority for regional investment over the next five years,” said Henry Tajer, global CEO of IPG Mediabrands.
“The region continues to hold enormous potential for our clients and our business and Leigh possesses the talent, experience and vision to deliver on the plans we have in place.
“Leigh is a very highly respected and effective executive who has been on our most-wanted list for quite some time and I am very excited he has chosen to join us.”
Terry’s responsibilities will include the Australian market, with local IPG Mediabrands boss Danny Bass reporting in to him, and he will be based out of Sydney.
“After an amazing 18 years at Omnicom it was not an easy decision as I leave many friends, not just colleagues,” said Terry.
“However, with the broader international opportunities and the energy, vision and leadership at IPG Mediabrands I am excited to be creating a new chapter in my career. I am really looking forward to working with Henry and the team to deliver their vision and in doing so help take IPG Mediabrands to new heights.”
Omnicon noted that in light of the departure Horgan would be promoted to lead all of Omnicom Media Group’s assets in Australia and New Zealand, which includes media agencies OMD, PHD and Foundation.
Horgan
Horgan will report to Cheuk Chiang, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific.
“The ANZ region is a stellar success story with both OMD and PHD performing phenomenally well in terms of reputation, scale and business growth. Leigh has played a key role in that success, driving the growth and stability of our agencies in the region. We are thankful for his leadership and contribution,” said Cheuk Chiang, APAC CEO, Omnicom Media Group.
“Peter has done an exceptional job in elevating OMD in Australia taking it to the number one position. OMD Australia has recently delivered fantastic results with strong growth. The talent, offering, work and innovative culture are second to none and Peter, together with strong leadership from both Australia and New Zealand will continue to drive our high performance in the region.”
2016 has seen a number of key accounts move back and forth between IPG Mediabrands and Omnicom, with OMD winning the likes of Coles and Kmart from UM and UM winning the global Tourism Australia account.
Last month OMD won the Mumbrella Award for Culture at the Mumbrella Awards.
The statements:
IPG Mediabrands
IPG Mediabrands’ Global CEO Henry Tajer has announced the appointment of Leigh Terry as CEO of IPG Mediabrands in Asia Pacific. Terry is a highly regarded media innovator and leader whose career has spanned Europe and the Pacific.
“Asia Pacific is a key priority for regional investment over the next five years,” said Tajer. “The region continues to hold enormous potential for our clients and our business and Leigh possesses the talent, experience and vision to deliver on the plans we have in place.”
He added, “Leigh is a very highly respected and effective executive who has been on our most-wanted list for quite some time and I am very excited he has chosen to join us.”
Leigh Terry is currently CEO of the Omnicom Media Group across Australia and New Zealand. He oversees a network that has 900 people across 16 offices in seven international media businesses. He has been a digital innovator for 16 years, having launched digital capabilities for OMD in London in 2000, later moving to Australia to launch the agency’s digital, data and direct operations.
Terry said: “After an amazing 18 years at Omnicom it was not an easy decision as I leave many friends, not just colleagues. However, with the broader international opportunities and the energy, vision and leadership at IPG Mediabrands I am excited to be creating a new chapter in my career. I am really looking forward to working with Henry and the team to deliver their vision and in doing so help take IPG Mediabrands to new heights.”
Leigh will start his new assignment with IPG Mediabrands at the end of 2016, and will partner with Reg Davidson, who was named chief financial officer of Mediabrands Asia Pacific earlier this year. Davidson is formerly CFO of IPG Mediabrands Australia.
Omnicom –
Horgan was most recently CEO of OMD Australia and will report to Cheuk Chiang, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific.
His promotion will see him take charge of all of Omnicom Media Group’s assets in Australia and New Zealand and across all brands including OMD, PHD, M2M, Foundation, Dynamo, Resolution, Accuen, Annalect and Airwave.
“The ANZ region is a stellar success story with both OMD and PHD performing phenomenally well in terms of reputation, scale and business growth. Leigh has played a key role in that success, driving the growth and stability of our agencies in the region. We are thankful for his leadership and contribution,” said Cheuk Chiang, APAC CEO, Omnicom Media Group.
“Peter has done an exceptional job in elevating OMD in Australia taking it to the number one position. OMD Australia has recently delivered fantastic results with strong growth. The talent, offering, work and innovative culture are second to none and Peter, together with strong leadership from both Australia and New Zealand will continue to drive our high performance in the region,” added Chiang.
“Having led OMD for the last 5 years, I am looking forward to supporting the OMG businesses across ANZ to drive even greater success. We have built a diverse suite of capability in this region, and I feel we are uniquely placed to embrace the future landscape,” said Horgan.
Congrats Horgs and Leigh…the Victor Churchill steaks will be on youse guys next Steak Day
User ID not verified.