Ad agency Ogilvy has announced the appointment of Kirsty Muddle as its new CEO for Australia and New Zealand.
Muddle joins Ogilvy from Dentsu, where she is currently CEO of Practices & Products for Australia and New Zealand. It has been widely reported that Dentsu’s Japanese owner is exploring the sale of its international businesses.
Muddle will start at Ogilvy in February. She replaces Sally Kissane, who stepped down from the ANZ CEO role in July after three decades with Ogilvy. She will oversee all of the agency’s services, including advertising, PR, social and influencer, customer engagement, consulting, and health.
Laurent Ezekiel, Global CEO of the Ogilvy Group, said Muddle had an undeniable track record of delivering real value and impact for clients, which made her “an exceptional leader for Ogilvy in this key market".
Rose Herceg, WPP President for Australia and New Zealand, added: "When we searched for Ogilvy's new leader, we felt we were asking for a unicorn ... She was truly a standout choice, and we can't wait to see the impact she'll have at Ogilvy, bringing the kind of fresh, entrepreneurial perspective every business needs to stay ahead."
Muddle said of joining the agency: "Ogilvy is a place where every leader I've encountered has a strong point of view, saw change as an opportunity, and spoke with clarity about AI, data and integration but wasn’t lost in it. Importantly, they also never forgot why this business was born – the power of creativity to drive growth.”
Before joining Dentsu more than three years ago, Muddle was a founding partner at Cummins&partners. She also spent nine years at Mindshare, both in the UK and Australia. She has been awarded Woman of the Year and Executive of the Year twice, and sits on the boards of the Australian Council of Advertising (ACA), the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), and Indigenous social change agency Ridgeway.
In New Zealand, Ogilvy was recently appointed by Tourism New Zealand and Specsavers, among others.
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