News

Rufus Powered by Initiative expands senior leadership team

Media agency Initiative has appointed Sarah O’Leary as managing director of Rufus Powered by Initiative (Rufus), alongside Tom Cumberworth, as head of partnerships.

Rufus is Amazon’s dedicated media and communications agency working across retail, device, Flex, Amazon Web Services and Prime Video.

Sarah O’Leary

Previously with Atomic 212 as head of client service and planning, O’Leary joins with a media investment background from 15 years in senior management and director roles at both agency and marketing-side. 

Prior to Atomic, O’Leary was business director at Havas Melbourne where she surpassed digital acquisition goals for Momentum Energy.

Tom Cumberworth

As newly appointed head of Partnerships, Cumberworth’s primary remit will be to lead senior media partner relationships and deliver strong growth outcomes for Amazon. Additionally, he will play a key leadership role in spearheading negotiation strategy and investment decisions on all Rufus client negotiations and activations.

Cumberworth was previously group trading director at OMD Sydney where he led the Suncorp Group business, overseeing the investment strategy and decisions for the entire portfolio across all media. Prior to this, he was with Mindshare and MEC in the UK commencing in 2008 as a TV buyer and moving to an account director role.

Melissa Fein

Melissa Fein, CEO Initiative Australia said: “Sarah has a proven track record of leading senior stakeholder relationships and delivering business growth in today’s complex and fast-moving market. We’re delighted she has accepted the opportunity to lead Rufus at a pivotal time in the agency’s growth and momentum.

“Tom is an outstanding team leader with a raft of global and local experience managing and leading specialist buying teams across all media platforms, inclusive of TV, VOD, OOH, Radio and more. He will play a leading role in Rufus, Amazon and our media partners’ future successes.”

On her appointment, O’Leary commented: “Initiative’s and Rufus’ strong market reputation for both product and culture is second to none; this coupled with both agencies enjoying a strong growth trajectory made the opportunity to join the team an opportunity of a lifetime.

“I am passionate about consumer behaviour and love to delve into data to solve business problems; and I’m looking forward to driving and developing market leading solutions for Amazon and its brands through innovation, collaboration and partnership.”

O’Leary and Cumberworth’s appointments are effective immediately.

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.