PHD Sydney promotes Stephanie Douglas-Neal to GM
In the second round of leadership promotions in as many days, PHD has elevated Stephanie Douglas-Neal to the newly-created role of general manager, Sydney.
Douglas-Neal takes up the role after almost a year as chief client officer and four years as head of HR. She will continue to be responsible for leading the people and development team, while managing six group business directors handling PHD’s client portfolio, which includes the likes of Unilever, Virgin Australia and Volkswagen. However, PHD confirmed the chief client officer role will not be replaced.
Douglas-Neal has performed both roles simultaneously, and joined the agency from Zenith Optimedia in 2016. Since then, she has run multiple accounts and led the people development strategy.
Douglas-Neal steps up from chief client officer and head of HR
Douglas-Neal will report to Lucy Formosa Morgan, the agency’s newly-appointed co-managing director, who said: “Stephanie has done a fantastic job managing clients such as Google and PepsiCo during her tenure at PHD and consistently demonstrates great leadership. Stephanie is not afraid to make the leap and challenge clients to ensure that we are delivering the right solutions for their business. This is one of the great qualities that makes her the perfect fit for the general manager role.”
CEO Mark Jarrett noted that Douglas-Neal has ensured the agency has attracted and retained top talent, making her an obvious choice for the role.
“Stevie’s contribution to PHD’s client relationships and people initiatives has been highly impactful on the business. As PHD has grown over the years, Stevie’s strategic and visionary approach to our talent program has ensured that we have continued to hire and retain some of the best talent in the industry,” he said.
“As the agency continues to grow, I have no doubt that Stevie is the right person to lead PHD’s evolving culture and client portfolio.”
For her part, Douglas-Neal added that she’s “delighted to be taking on a greater leadership role at such an important time in the evolution of PHD Australia”.
“It’s a privilege to work with such a strong leadership team in Sydney, and I’m excited at the opportunity to work with them and the exec team to continue to offer our Sydney clients innovative & strategic comms solutions to drive their brands forward,” she said.
Brittney Rigby was Mumbrella's deputy managing editor - news and analysis. She left Mumbrella in April 2021.
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Congrats Stevie, very well deserved! You will nail it!
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Awesome, Steph. Well deserved.
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Congratulations Stevie – and Lucy and Stuart too.
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