Matt James named Australian CEO of Publicis Media group, with Chris Nolan to be COO
Global advertising holding group Publicis Media has appointed Matt James as its new Australian media buying group head, Mumbrella can reveal.
(L to R): Matt James new CEO and Chris Nolan new COO of Publicis Media
The surprise appointment comes just a month after a global restructure of the group’s operations saw it begin the search for a local Australian CEO.
Many in the industry tipped Starcom Mediavest boss Chris Nolan or Match Media’s John Preston as the more likely contenders for the group role, with James’ appointment considered a surprise, given he has only been with the group since October.
The move will see media agencies ZenithOptimedia, Starcom and Mediavest falling under James’ remit. However, it is understood Match Media which sold to Publicis’s Blue 449 Network last year will still report to Publicis Media APAC boss, Gerry Boyle.
“Publicis Media was launched with the vision to get to the future first, and in Matt and Chris we have two dynamic and incredibly talented leaders who will ensure we do just that,” said Gerry Boyle, regional CEO for APAC, Publicis Media.
“I’m excited to be working with both of them as we deliver on our promise to invent modern approaches to gain efficiency, create greater collaboration and effectiveness and drive new levels of scale and client value.”
The group’s major clients include Reckitt Benckiser, Samsung, Mars and Diageo, with the advertising group claiming media billings of $1.31bn.
Mumbrella revealed last month that it is searching for an Australian CEO after it announced globally it would realign its brands, dumping the Starcom Mediavest Group and ZenithOptimedia brands in favour of four brands, globally: Starcom; Zenith; Mediavest/Sparks; Optimedia/Blue 449.
In a statement, Publicis Media CEO, Matt James, said: “I am incredibly excited to be leading the transformation of the Publicis Groupe’s media capabilities.
“The launch of Publicis Media in Australia and New Zealand creates a contemporary business construct for our brands and practices.
“I’m delighted to have Chris in partnership; he is a fantastic operator and highly-respected leader.
“The opportunity for us to unite our assets and harness the considerable talent across our businesses under Publicis Media will ensure we continue to offer our clients a comprehensive, progressive and dynamic proposition.”
Match Media’s John Preston welcomed the move, but said: “My report continues to be through Gerry Boyle, CEO of Publicis Media Asia Pacific.
“This is a great step forward for the group as a whole. It is a much simpler, more coordinated brand structure. Allowing each of the four brands that sit under Publicis Media to continue to differentiate themselves.”
Matt James was most recently group director of Nine Entertainment sales, and prior to that, was managing director of Starcom UK.
Nolan has worked at Starcom for more than 10 years, joining as managing director of Melbourne and rising to become national CEO, a role he has held for the past three years.
Nic Christensen
The announcement:
Publicis Media has today announced the appointment of its Australia and New Zealand leadership team with highly experienced media executives Matt James named as Chief Executive Officer, Chris Nolan as Chief Operating Officer and Pauly Grant as Chief Talent Officer.
Following the reorganisation of Publicis Groupe’s media capabilities announced last month, James and Nolan will assume oversight and leverage the scale and capabilities of global agency brands Starcom, Zenith, Mediavest and Match|Blue 449 across Australasia.
Both James who is CEO of Zenith and Nolan, CEO of Starcom, will continue to work closely with clients and establish the Publicis Media practices of Data, Technology & Innovation; Business Transformation; Analytics; Research & Insight; Business Development & Communications; Content; Trading & Buying and Performance; across the four agency brands, supporting the leadership to create greater value for their clients and people.
“Publicis Media was launched with the vision to get to the future first and in Matt and Chris we have two dynamic and incredibly talented leaders who will ensure we do just this,” said Gerry Boyle, Regional CEO for APAC, Publicis Media. “I’m excited to be working with both of them as we deliver on our promise to invent modern approaches to gain efficiency, create greater collaboration and effectiveness and drive new levels of scale and client value.”
James has worked in the global media business for more than 25 years. He became CEO of ZenithOptimedia last year after more than four years at Mi9 and Nine Entertainment Co. He arrived in Australia from Starcom UK where he was managing director and has extensive global media agency experience.
Speaking on his appointment as Publicis Media CEO James said: “I am incredibly excited to be leading the transformation of the Publicis Groupe’s media capabilities. The launch of Publicis Media in Australia and New Zealand creates a contemporary business construct for our brands and practices. I’m delighted to have Chris in partnership, he is a fantastic operator and highly respected leader. The opportunity for us to unite our assets and harness the considerable talent across our businesses under Publicis Media will ensure we continue to offer our clients a comprehensive, progressive and dynamic proposition.”
Nolan has worked at Starcom for more than ten years joining as Managing Director of Melbourne and rising to become national CEO, a role he has held for the past three years.
“The opportunity to grow our client business by bringing together all the capability across our four brands under Publicis Media is a great one,” Nolan added. “Publicis has made a significant investment in the leadership team across Australia and New Zealand and I am proud to be part of that team.”
Nice way to add seven figures to the group’s overhead, who no doubt come with a remit of increasing profitability. A double whammy for the individual agencies and their clients who will need to fund it all.
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So who will lead Starcom and Zenith?!?!
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Wasn’t Chris Nolan the Head of Vivaki? Does that mean Vivaki no longer exists?
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Chris Nolan was CEO of Starcom
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about time somebody pointed out that there’s two white men in that picture
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#collars
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Just sounds like adding a boss on top of boss and saying it is somehow good for clients. Funny how John was quick to distance himself from the reporting line….