Move and win roundup: Week of July 7, 2025

Special New Zealand has further strengthened its team with four key new hires in business management.

• Jenny Travers joins from Ogilvy as lead business partner, bringing more than 20 years of client business management experience and expertise in relationship building. She was client service director at Ogilvy most recently.
• Mitch Young joins as lead business partner from nearly a decade at DDB. He brings more than 14 years of business expertise. Before Special, he served as DDB’s lead business partner.
• Michael Doolan joins as senior business director from Droga5, bringing more than five years of leadership experience and business acumen to the role. He served as business director for Droga5 and Monkeys prior to joining Special.
• Olivia Jackson takes on the role of senior business manager. She previously worked for Stanley St.

Mindbox, Australian independent marketing consultancy, has announced two key additions to its leadership team. Former Dentsu head of product, Brendan Dowling, joins as head of data and platforms, while former Wavemakers product & technology Lead, Frazer Cromley as client partner. Having launched its technology advisory and data strategy services in Australia and APAC in 2024, the business has experienced year-on-year revenue growth of more than 100%. 

Parisian agency BETC is pioneering a new approach to luxury advertising. Bringing together more than 120 talents from across the globe, and with offices in the luxury poles of New York, Paris and Shanghai, Maison BETC provides strategic partnership and a global pool of creative talent to shape international luxury brand platforms and deliver bold ideas across every touchpoint. Under chairman Clément Boisseau, previously global chief strategy officer at BETC and Cannes Lions Luxury jury member, Maison BETC has already won accounts with leading brands across luxury, fashion and beauty, including L'Oréal Luxe (iT Cosmetics, Diesel fragrance, L'Oréal Luxe Refill) and Beam Suntory (Hibiki).

Australian retail media platform Zitcha has been selected by ecommerce solutions provider THG Ingenuity to power its retail media offering. UK beauty and wellness leader THG Beauty, behind brands such as LookFantastic, Cult Beauty and Myprotein, will be the first to use Zitha’s platform, connecting beauty brands with more than 10 million wellness and beauty customers. By partnering with Zitcha, THG Ingenuity and THG Beauty Media will provide the ultimate customer experience to brands. 

Samuel Minns, head of marketing for Asia Pacific at Timberland, has announced his departure from the brand via LinkedIn. Minns joined Timberland in 2024 to lead regional marketing, following a six-year stint at Nike in Shanghai. A seasoned marketer with a background that spans creative agency and brand-side roles, he began his career at Grey London, with international stints in Germany and Singapore, before joining TBWA Media Arts Lab Shanghai in 2015.

His departure comes just months after being named to Campaign Asia-Pacific’s Power List 2025, which recognises the region’s most influential brand marketers. Minns did not specify his next move but noted that he's “excited for what’s next.” Campaign will follow his movement. 

Dennis Potgraven has been promoted to chief strategy officer of WPP Media China. Potgraven joined EssenceMediacom China in 2024 as chief strategy officer. Prior to that, he held the same title at Wavemaker in the US. Before relocating to New York, he served as chief strategy officer at Havas Greater China in Shanghai.

Electriclime has announced the exclusive signing of filmmaker Emile Rafael to its director roster across Asia, MENA, and Australia. Born in Prague and now based in London, Rafael is a multidisciplinary creative whose work spans commercials, music videos, and fine art. With a background in both film and music, as well as contemporary art, he brings a holistic and visually rich approach to storytelling.

Sally Kissane, CEO of Ogilvy Network ANZ, is stepping down this month, marking the end of a three-decade career with the agency. In a statement, Kissane said: “It’s never a good time to leave, but after 30 years, I believe new leadership is required for a new Ogilvy chapter – while in turn, I also move into the next exciting stage of my career.” Successors are currently being considered, with an announcement expected in due course. Kissane began her Ogilvy journey in client service in Sydney in the early 1990s, before spending a decade in New York, where she managed the IBM global account. She later returned to Australia as the managing partner of Ogilvy One, before rising to become the managing director of Ogilvy Australia in 2018. She was named CEO in March 2021. Her departure comes as the agency looks to evolve its leadership for the next phase of growth across Australia and New Zealand.

Havas Media Network has named Toni Ruotanen as head of Havas Market for Southeast Asia, effective immediately. Based in Bangkok, Ruotanen will report to Pankaj Nayak, CEO of Havas Media Network Singapore and President, SEA, Havas Media. Ruotanen was most recently the chief commercial officer at ecommerce enabler CREA and previously the APAC director of Advertising Partnerships at FoodPanda. In his new role, he will be responsible for driving the growth of Havas Market’s commerce and performance offerings across the region. With over 30 years of global experience spanning IT, digital advertising, ecommerce, and commercial strategy, Ruotanen has held leadership roles across Asia, Europe as well as North America.

Finn Partners has promoted Jason Cao to managing partner for Finn China. Cao joined Finn Partners as a senior partner in the year the company launched its Beijing office. He has significantly expanded the agency's presence and capabilities in Greater China. Under Cao's leadership, Finn China has secured significant major client wins across key industry sectors. The agency now serves as a key partner to Novo Nordisk, L'Oréal Group, Merck, IEEE, Aveva, Invisalign and others.  

SPH Media has announced a strategic partnership with TSL Media Group’s X10 Media — a regional pioneer in influencer marketing — to deliver full-funnel marketing impact through authentic creator-led engagement. This collaboration combines SPH Media’s trusted content ecosystem and omnichannel reach with X10 Media’s expertise in influencer marketing across Southeast Asia. This partnership further strengthens SPH Media’s position as Singapore’s leading omnichannel media network.

Deepak Tahiliani, WPP Media's national head of digital investment at ANZ, has announced via a LinkedIn post. Tahiliani joined WPP Media (formerly known as GroupM) in 2015. He spent over five years in India as head of digital media buying and partnerships and then relocated to Sydney in 2021. 

RGA Australia has announced a shakeup to its creative leadership. Chief creative officer Seamus Higgins has departed the business, returning to London for personal reasons. At the same time, RGA has announced two new creative leads. Prue Jones joins as national executive creative director of experience design, and Ben Yabsley returns to RGA as national executive creative director.
Formerly design and creative director at Accenture Song, Jones brings deep expertise across creative strategy, digital and service design, and large-scale transformation, spanning sectors from government and tech to retail. Most recently, group creative director at Dentsu Creative New York, Yabsley rejoins RGA, where he previously served as creative director in the New York office. 

Assembly has appointed Sharon Soh as managing director for Southeast Asia. Based in Singapore and reporting to APAC CEO Richard Brosgill, Soh will focus on guiding market development, unlocking new business opportunities, and tailoring regional solutions to the specific needs of Southeast Asian clients. Soh is a seasoned industry veteran has held various APAC-level regional strategy and planning roles at IPG Mediabrands, mainly at UM over the past eight years. Prior to this, she was managing director of MEC in Singapore. 

Bullfrog, an independent creative agency, has appointed Phoebe Sloane as creative director.
Sloane joins from Clemenger BBDO, where she was a senior copywriter, and before that, Special Group Australia and Chep Network, working on Australian and International brands including Carlton & United Breweries, L’Oréal, Myer, ANZ, BMW, Uber Eats, Bonds, 7-Eleven and more.

Healthylife, Woolworths Group’s digital health platform, has appointed Bread Agency as its new social media agency of record. The partnership sees Bread take on the social media scope, including strategy, always-on content, community engagement, paid social and campaign support, beginning with the highly anticipated Healthylife Week campaign, which launched on July 7th.  

Carat NSW has been reappointed as the media agency of record for the regionally based, globally networked University of New England in Australia. Carat and UNE have partnered for over 15 years, with Carat first appointed in 2009, and will continue to provide media strategy, planning and buying services for the university.

Slik, a creative and innovation agency, has been selected by the Indigenous Marathon Foundation (IMF) to lead a bold national marketing and fundraising campaign centred around the journey of the 2025 Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) running squad. Slik’s approach centres on emotionally resonant storytelling, digital innovation and a creative PR stunt – all tapping into the passion of AFL (Australian Football League) and NRL (National Rugby League) fans, along with IMF’s growing community.

Ogilvy Hong Kong has appointed Sherman Yeung and Jason Fashade as co-managing directors. Yeung, previously managing partner of Ogilvy Advertising Hong Kong, and Fashade, most recently managing director of social & performance of Ogilvy Advertising Hong Kong, bring 15 and 13 years of dedicated service in Ogilvy, respectively, with instrumental roles in shaping Ogilvy Advertising Hong Kong’s growth, culture, and strategic direction. 

Saakshi Verma Menon has been promoted to chief marketing officer for PepsiCo Food India.  She joined PepsiCo last year as senior marketing director, Africa, Middle East & South Asia. Before joining PepsiCo, Menon served as the marketing director of Kimberly-Clark India. She was selected into Campaign’s Power List in 2022 and 2023. Before Kimberly-Clark, she worked for Uber, The Coca-Cola Company and Colgate-Palmolive.

KFC Australia has named We Are Social as its social agency of record, following a competitive pitch. The remit includes always-on content, socially-led campaigns, influencer partnerships, and real-time activation. The agency joins the brand's existing agency village and will work closely with Ogilvy and EssenceMediacom. 

Tennis Australia has appointed Atomic 212 as its new media agency following a competitive pitch. Atomic 212 will handle media strategy, planning, buying, performance marketing, and analytics for Tennis Australia’s portfolio, which includes major events and year-round participation initiatives. This appointment ends a four-year partnership with the previous agency, PHD. Before PHD, the account was managed by Zenith, part of Publicis Groupe. Atomic 212’s win means it returns to Publicis, as the indie media agency was acquired by the Groupe earlier this year.