McDonald’s chief marketing officer Mark Lollback named CEO of GroupM
The chief marketing officer of McDonald’s Mark Lollback has been named the new CEO of GroupM, one of the most powerful positions in the Australian advertising industry.
New GroupM chairman Mark lollback
The WPP-owned media agency holding group, which controls more than $2bn of advertising spend, has been without a leader since the retirement of stalwart John Steedman in the middle of the year.
In a statement Lollback said: “It is a great honour to lead GroupM in Australia, particularly at a time of acute transformation in our industry. We have seen enormous change over the past five years, and the next five will be incomparable. GroupM Australia’s diverse and unrivalled talent, from top to bottom across the business, places it in a formidable position for the future.”
Lollback is one of Australia’s most awarded marketers, picking up numerous Cannes Lions for a series of campaigns.
He has been with McDonald’s since January 2012 as the fast food giant faced tough challenges in declining popularity amongst younger diners and questions over the sourcing of its produce.
In that time he worked with Omnicom media agency OMD.
Zabel
McDonald’s has yet to name a replacement for Lollback, saying in a statement: “Mark has been a valuable member of our senior leadership team and we wish him all the best with his new role. We will confirm a replacement early in the new year.”
It is thought former Lion marketer and Communications Council head Margaret Zabel, who joined the company at the start of 2015, could be in line to take the post.
The news comes as GroupM’s owner WPP looks set to seal a takeover of STW Communications.
That could see Ikon Communications brought in alongside GroupM’s existing media agencies Maxus, Mindshare, MEC and Mediacom.
Lollback has spent his 20-year career client-side working for brands including Unilever, Pepsi and just over a year as chief marketing officer for ANZ Bank between 2010 and 2011.
Some of the successful campaigns executed under his watch included rebranding restaurants to ‘Maccas’ for Australia Day, the ‘Track My Maccas’ app allowing people to see where their food had come from, and more recently the ‘Create Your Taste’ executions allowing people to custom build their own burgers in store.
But in 2014 the company was also implicated in Mumbrella’s investigation into scam ads – advertising designed to win awards – at the Cannes Lions, when it was discovered an award-winning print ad for the brand ran just once in local paper the Rouse Hill Times.
When questioned about it on stage at the Creative Fuel event he likened the investigation into scam to “tall poppy syndrome” and claimed the ad, which ran on the final day it would be eligible for the competition, was a “test”.
GroupM was rocked earlier this year after an investigation into practices at Mediacom which included admissions it had charged clients for ‘value banks’ – free inventory given to the agency by media owners – to some of its clients against company policy. That came amidst the wider scandal around staff forging TV reporting figures to clients Yum Brands, IAG and Foxtel.
In the statement announcing the move GroupM’s CEO in Asia Pacific Mark Patterson said: “Mark is a unique talent with a depth and breadth of experience, a leadership style and personality that will work well in our culture with an appetite for change and a natural inquisitiveness that will serve our clients, partners, him and us well. We are very fortunate to be able to welcome him to the group.
“We were looking for someone who will bring fresh thinking, ideas and approaches to complement our current leadership team. Our people, clients and partners will find him to be an inspiring, insightful and down to earth leader who will roll his sleeves up and make a real difference fast.”
More soon.
Alex Hayes
The announcement:
GroupM CEO Asia Pacific Mark Patterson today announced the appointment of Mark Lollback currently CMO McDonalds Australia and New Zealand to the role of CEO GroupM Australia & New Zealand.
Mark is a well-respected/high-profile/successful leader with over 20 years of marketing & advertising experience. He will work closely with the CEOs and leadership teams of all GroupM business, including Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, Mark’s career spans global blue chip clients including Unilever, PepsiCo, ANZ Bank and presently McDonalds. He has worked in Global, regional & local roles As CEO of GroupM Australia & New Zealand, Mark is replacing John Steedman, who stepped down in June and is currently serving as Non-Executive Chairman.
Mark Patterson said “Mark is a unique talent with a depth and breadth of experience, a leadership style and personality that will work well in our culture with an appetite for change and a natural inquisitiveness that will serve our clients, partners, him and us well. We are very fortunate to be able to welcome him to the group. We were looking for someone who will bring fresh thinking, ideas and approaches to complement our current leadership team. Our people, clients and partners will find him to be an inspiring, insightful and down to earth leader who will roll his sleeves up and make a real difference fast.”
“GroupM will continue to invest in Australia as a key top ten WW market and we have a clear and ambitious plan of new businesses, partnerships, products, services and initiatives lined up for 2016 that will both broaden and deepen our offering to our current and prospective clients as well as importantly creating new Mark Lollback said: “It is a great honour to lead GroupM in Australia, particularly at a time of acute transformation in our industry. We have seen enormous change over the past five years, and the next five will be incomparable. GroupM Australia’s diverse and unrivalled talent, from top to bottom across the business, places it in a formidable position for the future.”
Mark assumes his new role early next year.
GroupM is the leading global media investment management operation serving as the parent company to WPP media agencies including Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, and Maxus, each global operations in their own right with leading market positions. GroupM’s primary purpose is to maximize performance of WPP’s media agencies by operating as leader and collaborator in trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, proprietary tool development and other business-critical capabilities. GroupM’s focus is to deliver unrivaled marketplace advantage to its clients, stakeholders and people.
Wow. Time to dump those Atlassian shares and buy into the Rouse Hill Times.
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From value meals to value banks…
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congrats Mark…exciting move. Russ
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Oh no it’s a male.
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GroupMcBaggage
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Says alot about the vision of GroupM
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Leaving one brand in decline and moving another going the same way. Big is not best. Happy meals all round!
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Bobby T you just won the comments.
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CEO or Chairman? Check the caption for the Lollback image.
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