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Mediabrands shakeup continues with Stefan Burford and Andrew Livingston departing

Stefan Burford

Burford

The latest changes at IPG Mediabrands have seen Australian strategy head Stefan Burford return to the UK to take the role of chief strategy officer of the holding group’s G14 group of countries, Mumbrella can reveal.

Former Initiative CEO Andrew Livingston has also departed the company a year after he moved to the COO role, with former Mediacom Sydney managing director Geoff Clarke set to join the agency as a client partner.

Burford was promoted from the role of UM chief strategy officer to lead the function at the group level last year, as Mediabrands lined up for the high profile Commonwealth Bank media pitch, with Sophie Price filling his role at UM earlier this year. 

Clarke

Clarke

It is unclear if Livingston has moved to another agency role.

Clarke departed Mediacom in May, months after its Sydney office was embroiled in a controversy over misreporting of audiences and admitted to having overcharged a small number of clients for “value bank” inventory.

On his hiring Initiative CEO Lee Leggett told Mumbrella: “We have attracted Geoff to one of the most senior positions at Initiative because of his first class track record in leading clients and agency teams to achieve impressive results.

“His is exactly the calibre of top executive we want to work on our client portfolios and we are delighted he will be joining us.”

News of the shake up within the senior ranks of the company comes just days after Initiative moved Perth managing director Chris O’Keefe to Melbourne to lead its office there, promoting Clive Bingwa to head Initiative in WA.

The changes come less than a month after the group hired former Mediacom CEO Mark Pejic as its new chairman in Melbourne, to work alongside soon to be installed CEO Danny Bass.

Nic Christensen 

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