Mediaweek’s Media Movers charts the biggest people moves in the industry over the past week.
Robert Thomson
News Corp has extended CEO Robert Thomson’s contact for another five years – through to June 2030.
Thompson has been in the CEO position since 2013.
The News Corp portfolio covers print, digital, and book publishing. Core assets include News Corp Australia, Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Company, News UK (publisher of The Sun and The Times), HarperCollins, and REA Group (which runs realestate.com.au and realtor.com).
Westpac has appointed Michelle Klein as its new Chief Growth & Marketing Officer, who takes over from Annabel Fribence following her departure from the role earlier this year.
Carolyn McCann, Westpac Acting Chief Executive, Consumer, said in a statement: “We’re pleased to confirm the appointment of Michelle Klein to the role of Chief Growth & Marketing Officer at Westpac.
“Michelle is a customer-centric, commercial and data-driven leader, with global experience across a range of industries. She is the right person to take our growth and marketing agenda forward into the future, building on our proud 208-year history.
“We’re looking forward to Michelle joining Westpac later this year where she will be responsible for supporting our growth ambitions through our brand and marketing initiatives, including for Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA.”
Tony Jones
Nine’s sports editor Tony Jones has been dumped from the network’s Wimbledon coverage this year.
The decision comes following his remark about Novak Djokovic during last year’s Australian Open – a ‘joke’ that landed like a lead balloon – and went on to make international headlines.
During the Australian Open in January, Jones quipped, “Novak’s overrated. Novak’s a has‑been. Novak, kick him out,” sparking backlash as many took the comment to reference Djokovic’s 2021 deportation.
Djokovic, describing the remark as disrespectful, skipped a live courtside interview with Channel Nine and requested a public apology from Jones before resuming engagement with the network.
Wendy Moore, Foxtel’s Executive Director of Entertainment Content and Channels, has announced her decision to step down from her executive position later this year.
Moore will continue her on-screen role as co-host of Selling Houses Australia, which is currently in production for its 18th season.
Moore joined Foxtel in 2019 as General Manager of the Lifestyle Group, where she led the relaunch and rebranding of the Lifestyle channels.
In 2023, she expanded her role to oversee all of Foxtel’s owned and operated channels, including content operations.
Most recently, she added the production of original scripted and unscripted shows to her responsibilities, working closely with other executives to continue Foxtel’s Australian content offerings.
Ovum, the health partner for women and powered by AI, has appointed former Meta creative lead Stefanie DiGianvincenzo as Chief Marketing Officer.
DiGianvincenzo joins the platform after five years with the U.S. tech giant at it’s Melbourne office.
Prior to that, she was with Google as Strategic Lead and Global Lead on Rare, the tech company’s platform that feeds creative industries with talent. She was also Global Creative Director for Cotton On Group and Creative Director at Clemenger.
We Are Social Australia has promoted Kelly Spence to the newly created role of managing partner, as the agency enters a new phase of local and global growth.
Her promotion comes on the back of a strong run of momentum for the agency, with recent client wins including eBay, Salesforce, Volkswagen Group Australia, Lion and others, alongside a regional restructure designed to unlock greater collaboration and capability across We Are Social’s global network.
Spence takes on an expanded remit, adding operational leadership, including commercial and operational aspects of the business to her ongoing responsibility for client engagement, growth and retention.
She will continue to work closely with APAC CEO Suzie Shaw to help steer the agency’s creative and commercial performance.
Clare Yardley
Enigma has hired Clare Yardley as Head of Creative Services.
Yardley joins the independent creative and media agency after a decade in the role of Resource & Creative Services Director at BMF Australia. Her resume also includes a stint as Creative Services Director at Saatchi & Saatchi.
She has been takes with embedding agency-wide processes and systems that ensure delivery of world-class creative work, drive cost efficiencies, foster cross-department collaboration, and contribute to business growth for Enigma and its clients.
Apparent has appointed Cristina Douglas to the newly created role of creative director experience and Tom Twiby to design director.
Douglas brings over 16 years of experience to the agency, specialising in digital experiences that blend design, technology, and inclusivity.
She joins Apparent from R/GA where she held the role of creative director and led experience design initiatives for clients such as Timberland, Google, Nike and the Museum of Chinese in Australia, and has worked on Toyota Australia’s GR-ID Web3/NFT experience.
Twiby joins Apparent as design director, also from R/GA where he led visual design projects across a wide range of future-facing clients such as Toyota, Telstra and Google.
oOh!media has appointed Wade James as group sales director to drive customer focus and agency and client partnerships, commencing on 15 July.
Wade James
James returns to oOh! from atn (Australian Traffic Network) where he was in a contract role as group sales director. He was previously with the Out of Home company for more than a decade and held a number of senior roles including national head of agency sales.
His broader career includes senior positions at APN Outdoor, DMG Radio, and he is also a Melbourne board member for the media industry’s social purpose organisation, UnLtd.
James will work with the oOh!’s national sales leaders to execute a unified strategy focused on insight-led client engagement and delivering measurable outcomes across the company’s national Out of Home network.
Sandpiper Group has appointed Angus Booth as Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, effective immediately. Based in Sydney, Booth will oversee the firm’s strategic direction and business growth across the region, including its operations in sectors such as energy, financial services, health, property and infrastructure, and technology.
Booth brings over two decades of experience in corporate communications, investor relations, and media engagement. His previous roles include senior positions at Lendlease and Charter Hall, where he was Group Head of Communications and External Affairs. Most recently, Booth served as Senior Managing Director at Sodali & Co, leading shareholder engagement across APAC and EMEA, with the team supporting transactions exceeding $400 billion.
His appointment aligns with Sandpiper’s expansion across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, with the company now operating in 13 markets. The firm continues to scale its integrated offering in strategic communications, public affairs, and research.
Megan Tuckey
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has appointed Megan Tuckey as Head of Commercial Western Australia, a newly created position aimed at strengthening its commercial strategy across the state.
Tuckey joins from Seven West Media, where she held senior roles including Sales Director for Agency, Local, and Regional, and previously led sales for PerthNow and regional WA. She brings over 13 years of experience in broadcast, digital, and publishing sales within the WA market, including leadership positions at Nine.
In her new role, Tuckey will lead SCA’s commercial operations across direct, agency, regional, and digital sales teams. She will be responsible for driving revenue growth, managing key client relationships, and aligning state-level strategies with SCA’s national objectives. Tuckey will report to Luke Minto, SCA’s National Head of Audio Sales, and commence the role on 4 August.