Deloitte appoints Ten’s Matt McGrath as chief marketing officer
Deloitte is the latest of the big four consultancies to tap into the world of advertising for talent, appointing Network Ten’s chief brand officer, Matt McGrath, as its new chief marketing officer.
McGrath: Architect of Ten’s brand reinvention over the past four years
With the big four consultancies taking an increased interest in the revenue potential of the marketing and advertising industry, McGrath is the second Ten executive to make the jump.
In December, Ten’s GM Russel Howcroft announced he was leaving the network to join Deloitte’s rival, PwC, also taking on the role of chief creative officer. Prior to their stints at Ten, both Howcroft and McGrath were also former executives at ad agency GPY&R.
The move also comes three weeks after Accenture bought creative agency The Monkeys.
McGrath joins in mid June and his partner role at Deloitte will be to lift its marketing capabilities and help the business with creative strategy.
McGrath told Mumbrella after four years with Ten helping rebuild its audience share, it was time to seek a new challenge.
“I have done nearly four-and-a-half-years and I think its a good time to move,” McGrath said. “I have had an enjoyable time helping rebuild Ten’s share. When I started we had an 18 share and now we have a 24.”
McGrath said the fast changing face of marketing and communications made the decision to move to Deloitte an easy one.
“This is a very interesting situation with all of the changes that are happening and people are looking for more robust thinking,” he said.
He said he was particularly attracted to Deloitte’s strength in digital.
“The digital business has a huge amount of growth opportunity,” he said.
He described his agenda coming into the role as “lead the team, lift the standard of creative, learn what’s working and deliver more of it”.
“It’s about taking good to great,” he said.
In the past year Deloitte has expanded its presence in the marketing and advertising space, buying marketing platform specialists Cinder and digital communication studio The Explainers.
Deloitte CEO Cindy Hook said McGrath was bringing a unique set of skills to the role.
“We are delighted to have Matt join our team and look forward to him bringing his extensive leadership and experience to enhancing Deloitte’s brand, creative and marketing strategies,” Hook said.
“Deloitte is delivering more than ever for its clients and Matt’s expertise will help to continue to drive that momentum in the Australian market place.”
McGrath’s exit came as the network’s share price hit its lowest valuation in its history on Friday, driven down by an end-of-year deadline to repay its $200m loan facility and an ongoing sell down by former major shareholder Lazard. On Friday the network was asked by the ASX to explain the recent collapse in its share price.
Earlier this month it was announced that Sunita Gloster, CEO of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), will join Ten in August in the new role of chief commercial and strategy officer.
Hi Deloitte I don’t want to be rude but getting an out and out business man focused purely on bottom line management -communicates you may not really get what marketing is, or the role it plays in business.
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(Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy)
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Yes, what a stunning role Matt played in rejuvenating the Network 10 brand.
It’s now set for the future.
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Everyone jumping ship – only the consultants will be left!
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Strange how the big consulting firms – known for their business analysis skills – have chosen to raid that roaring success of the past few years the Ten Network ($0.35/share Jan 2014, $0.20/share today). Must be something I’m not smart enough to see!
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my comment didn’t make it through?
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‘According to Australian taxation expert George Rozvany, the Big Four are “the masterminds of multinational tax avoidance and the architects of tax schemes which cost governments and their taxpayers an estimated $US1 trillion a year”. At the same time they are advising governments on tax reforms, they are advising their multinational clients how to avoid taxes’. – Wikipedia
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Um, what is Network Ten?
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