Walter Jennings departs as boss of Fleishman-Hillard; replaced by Chris Newman
Out: Jennings
Walter Jennings has suddenly departed as boss of troubled PR agency Fleishman-Hillard after just over a year in the role.
Jennings has been replaced by the Omnicom agency’s Melbourne VP Chris Newman.
Jennings’ departure follows a number of staff redundancies which saw a head count which had peaked at nearly 30 including contractors fall back to around 15. Earlier this month, Jennings made the agency’s VP of digital Scott Rhodie redundant.
Fleishman-Hillard, which has had an Australian offcie for about a decade, gave no further explanation for Jenning’s departure, other than to say that he had “resigned”.
Lynne Anne Davis, Fleishman-Hillard Asia Pacific’s regional president, said in a statement: “Walter Jennings brought a great deal of energy and creativity to our Sydney operations, and played a key role in our recent growth in this important market. “We sincerely thank him for his contributions to Fleishman-Hillard, and wish him every success going forward.”
Newman’s promotion to GM of the Australian operation is effective immediately.
Davis said: “Chris’s exceptional track record positions him to play a pivotal role in delivering first-class consultancy services for existing and prospective clients in Australia. We are delighted to see him step into this leadership role.”
Newman has worked for Fleishman Hillard since 2007 in the UK and the Middle East prior to coming to Australia
He said: “I’m really excited and proud to be leading such a passionate, talented team. I am looking forward to working with them to ensure the high level of client service and growth of Fleishman-Hillard here in Sydney matches that of the network internationally.”
The latest moves comes days after Omnicom launchesd PR brand Eleven into the market.
Jennings is the second boss of an internationally owned PR agency to depart this week. Yesterday saw the sudden departure of Marcus Warner from the helm of WPP’s Hill & Knowlton after just eight months.
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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Sorry to hear that Walter has gone however Chris Newman is a great leader to move FH forward. He is a smart guy and great to work with.
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Great move to see Chris Newman leading FH, they will be a force to be reckoned with, particularily with the boys at TBWA behind the scenes.
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Walter is one of the industry’s gentlemen. Good luck to him and watchout for a Chris Newman lead Fleishman Hillard.
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Recent growth? How is that possible with the mass exodus it has experienced in the last 12 months? The ship has sunk.
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“troubled pr agency” is yet another interesting qualifier from this website. How about some understanding and respect in your reporting? Fingers crossed for some stability for those at Fleishman.
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Walter is a smart and lovely guy but resigning after only a year and a half at the top post? He only spent a year at the helm of BM a few years back too. Also, how do you have a team of 30 and then half it in the same year and then say you’ve experienced “recent growth”?
Troubled PR agency indeed. Hoping the team is OK during this time of change.
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It’s recent growth if you leave an agency far better off than when you arrived, and having brought on fantastic people like Chris Newman. Think about who built it to 30 people in the first place.
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