Maxus bosses Ron Bartlett and Richard Smith in dramatic double departure
The senior management team at the Melbourne office of WPP’s media agency Maxus have suddenly left, Mumbrella can reveal.
Mumbrella has learned that Ron Bartlett, the chairman of Maxus, and Richard Smith, MD of Maxus Melbourne have both departed.
Bartlett was promoted from CEO of Maxus Melbourne to Maxus chairman almost exactly two years ago. The chairmanship became a non-exec role about a year ago.
Monash University, the Victorian Electoral Commission, Jetstar and Network Video are among the agency’s Melbourne clients.
Maxus CEO David Gaines could not be reached for comment on Friday night.
Maxus is the newest of WPP’s global media networks.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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(Edited by Mumbrella for legal reasons). In protest maybe. But it was his decision. I thought you were better than that Mumbrella.
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Mumbrella publishing unsubstantiated rumors. Mumbrella, where did the integrity go. Ron retired. Get the facts straight.
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I guess “retired” is the new way of saying “now irrelevant to the business”. Melbourne staff delighted I understand. Happy “retirement” RB.
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Gary gary gary. No. Retired is a decission made by an individual not a company.
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I worked with Ron at various WPP companies. He tought me everything i know…a brilliant boss.
I know he was heading for retirement at the end of this year…so i guess it was HIS choice to depart…not theirs.
Enjoy your retirement Ron! Your contribution to the advertising industry for 30 years was invaluable.
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BOTH departed out of choice. Richard, you are one of the most inspirational colleagues, I have ever worked with. Good luck with your next venture!
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Hey Ex WPP – he clearly didn’t teach you how to spell correctly.
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Always thought Ron Bartlett was one of the good ‘uns….easy to deal with, willing to collaborate. Heard many stories from his staff about how good he was to them. Just because someone is older and a gentleman doesn’t make them irrelevant. Frankly, there are many young flibbertygibbets in the business today who could do with taking a leaf from the ‘old skool’ book.
Happy retirement Ron!
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Seriously WTF – do you not have anything more important to do with your time?
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WTF is a “flibbertygibbet”
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It’s about time you retired Ronny. 30 years is a long time and you worked your arse off. Time to sit back and relax and enjoy your life knowing that you changed and influenced an industry. Richard, I look forward to seeing you pop up somewhere soon.
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Both were great to work with. Ron was (and probably still is) a cranky bastard but he knew his stuff and was well regarded and his bark was worse than his bite. Retirement is well deserved.
Richard Smith led by example and was loved by clients and fellow staff. One of the best people I’ve worked with in terms of support and also knowledge wise. He is a great bloke … and a bloody funny bastard too.
Both Ron and Rich have a want to make the complex simple and it’s a rare and valuable trait. With Dave Gaines they were a great complimentary leadership trio and they’ll be missed externally and internally I am sure.
Ditto Ben S
Both Ron & Rich were extremely wise and a pleasure to work for.
Best of luck to both of them
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mmmm. Gary B…melb staff delighted… Where do you get your facts? Clearly not from anyone sitting at maxus..
Nasty thing to say..
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Totally agree buddha! Gary B get your facts straight before you post….. Ron & Richard were loved by their staff and will be greatly missed
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I worked with Ronny “the bag” Bartlett at Total Media and he was a good bloke. He certainly knows media and is well respected in the industry. Good luck Ron.
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Ron was a good bloke to work with at Total Media many years ago. He knew media was a great planner and ferocious negotiator. Good luck Ron.
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I had the pleasure of working with Ron during the early days of MediaCom in Australia. Enjoy your retirement Ron, you’ve earned it.
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That’s the problem with forums that you don’t have to provide any details to make a comment. You get loads of goons throwing stones because it’s easy to do so when no one knows who you are. Most of the time they have no idea what they are commenting about either – just pushing negativity as it’s the cheapest form of expression and makes them feel a little better about their obviously uninspiring professional lives.
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I’ve worked with Richard & Ron since the start of this year and what a pleasure it has been. They will be sadly missed and wish them the best for the future.
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Maybe Gary B is David G?
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