PHD makes major hire out of US with appointment of trading director
In a major hiring out of the US, PHD has appointed Faith Campbell, former Initiative New York vice president, into the role of trading director.
Campbell replaces Mark O’Brien who left after little more than a year with the agency.
She will join PHD on Monday and will also work closely with sister agency OMD to represent PHD’s interests within Opera – Omnicom’s media buying group. Her arrival comes at a time when Australia’s notoriously male-dominated media trading environment has begun to open up.
Campbell told Mumbrella it was a similar situation in the US. She said: “When I started I was the only woman in the trading department. When I left there were four female VPs. In general, with any company, that’s going to change and with media agencies as well, you’re eventually going to see more females rise into more roles in management.”
Jackie Edwards, Initiative’s national trading director told Mumbrella that while it has been “very male dominated in the trading area”, this has started to change significantly in the last few years.
“In the industry at large there are more women than men in media agencies,” she said.
Campbell started her career at Backer Spielvogel Bates in New York in 1994 before joining Ammirati Puris Lintas – which then became part of IPG’s Intiative – as a senior trader.
At Initiative she went on to oversee the national negotiations for clients including AOL, CBS and Victoria’s Secret.
Campbell moved to Australia two years ago and has been out of the workforce raising her three-year old son.
In other recent appointments, PHD brought in Chris Stephenson, strategy director for Aegis agency Vizeum in the UK, as head of strategy at the end of last year.
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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How is this a “major hire out the US” as your inflamatory headline states? Esp as you go on to say she’s been in Australia for 2 years? Its not like PHD brought her over or anything
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Hi Karl,
Thanks for your question. Her career was in the US. I’m not sure that the fact that PHD didn’t pay for the plane ticket negates that.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Yes but Tim, saying that PHD have made a major hire out of the US implies that she has moved away from the USA for this role specifically.
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The fact that Faith has been living in Australia for the past two years is irrelevant. Her US experience will add even more diversity and broader perspective to the skill sets that PHD have acquired since launch. Watch for them to be very successful in 2010.
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@ paddy douneen….you a friend of PHD and Faith per chance?? You missed the point being made about the spin being applied in the PR release.
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@ Paddy – The fact that I’ve been living in Australia for one year & struggling to come to terms with the media landscape, culture & the work makes my effort irrelevant? It’s just not easy for any overseas fresher to start adding value from day one except when it’s creative or to a certain extent account management. If Faith has been in Australia for the last 2 years, the headline is wrong, period.
I agree with Anon 13 Jan 10 & I find mumbrella factually wrong to accord such a spin to a normal agency release.
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Well done on such an excellent choice. Faith Campbell is a highly qualified professional, a caring individual and one of the most hard working people I have had the pleasure to know. Her CV is impressive and her work in the US is of the highest standard.
On a personal note, I happen to know that she is married to one of the finest Officers in the Australian Defence Force, who does an incredible job supporting our Defence members in service to our nation. Faith is a patriotic US/Aussie and will obviously be very proud to call Australia home. She is a committed woman who will no doubt bring a great deal of expertise to this appointment.
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