UM Australia appoints Vanessa Stuart to national leadership team
UM Australia CEO, Anathea Ruys has appointed Vanessa Stuart as head of new business and marketing, which is a newly created role.
Stuart joins UM from WPP, where she was client service director at Maverick. Her new role is effective immediately, and sees her join the national leadership team.
Stuart joins the UM leadership team
During her time at WPP she also held the role of group director at White Grey, with other previous roles including managing director of C4 Communications and managing partner at Shot Box films.
Ruys said Stuart is “absolutely the right person for the job”.
“Along with her broad experience as a client leader for agencies across the globe, she joins us with a proven track record of leading new business pitches for some the largest brands in the world, and kicking some serious growth goals for several agencies.”
“Our customer-centric and people-focused approach, teamed with our leadership teams’ combined capabilities will undoubtedly open up huge opportunities for clients. I’m looking forward to Vanessa playing a key role communicating this message and meaning to our current and prospective clients, and driving further growth for the business overall.”
Across her career, Stuart has worked as client lead for brands including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Nestle, Toyota, Bonds and L’Oréal. UM said that in her most recent role at Maverick, she led and managed the client service team, “driving and leading new business pitches to deliver YOY more than $10M in revenue”.
On joining UM, Stuart said it is “a natural career progression for me and I can’t wait to dig my teeth in and bring my passion for creative and content creation to produce memorable customer experiences for UM’s client base.”
“UM’s commitment and dedication to its people and the agency’s quest to create an environment in which everyone has the chance to thrive, was also a compelling reason for me to join the team, I can’t wait to get started.”
Ruys with recent appointments to her leadership team
Two weeks ago, UM solidified its national leadership team under Ruys, with Gareth Nicholls promoted to managing director in both Melbourne and Brisbane, while Brett Elliott was also been promoted from GM to MD of UM Canberra and the Government account.
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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