People on the Move: hires and departures at Viacom; Ad Association; Publicis Groupe and more

Copa90 has appointed Paolo Nieddu to the position of head of strategy as the global football network steps up its innovation drive across mobile and social platforms.

Nieddu’s arrival will see him reunited with Copa90’s head, James Kirkham, whom he worked with at digital agency Holler before it was acquired by Leo Burnett Worldwide.

At Copa90, Nieddu will work closely with Kirkham and his management team to help the fan-based network ramp up its innovation across mobile and social platforms, and build creative partnerships with advertisers.

Publicis Groupe

Saatchi and Saatchi has enlisted its global creative officer, Kate Stanners, to take on the position of global chairwoman to fill the vacancy left following the resignation of Kevin Roberts.

Roberts stepped down in August amid a controversy around comments he made during an interview with business insider that the gender debate was "done.

The news comes as Publicis Groupe announced a slew of senior appointments throughout its network.

Ogilvy & Mather

Ogilvy & Mather London has promoted James Whatley to the position of planning partner of innovation.

In his new position Whatley will be task with finding applications for emerging technologies to help the agency strengthen the social relevance of its work.

He will take up his new role effective immediately and will report to Ogilvy & Mather London’s head of planning, Gen Kobayashi. Working alongside the planning department Whatley will focus on elements of the agency process, from briefing to creative to measurement.

MullenLowe

MullenLowe London’s chief creative officer, Dave Henderson, has left the company to pursue other creative opportunities following its unveiling of plans to create a new global corporate identity.

Henderson's departure brings to an end his 18 year working relationship with Rich Denney, MullenLowe London’s executive creative director. He will be temporarily replaced Jose Miguel Sokoloff, global president of MullenLowe Group’s creative council and co-chairman and chief operations officer of MullenLowe SSP3 in Colombia.

Grey London

Grey London has snapped up former Isobar UX and content partner Grace Francis to join to the innovation and tech team as an experience planning partner.

Having previously worked with the agency on its Marks & Spencer pitch, she will lead the development of the agency’s experience strategy capability, bringing together digital strategists, UX leads and data analysts.

Dingo Bill

Nick Bailey, Isobar’s former chief executive and chief creative officer EMEA, has joined film production company Dingo Bill as its chairman, chief creative officer and partner.

Bailey, who announced his decision to leave the Dentsu Aegis agency after three years in April, will work on the development of a digital-first creative production house alongside executive producer Jacob Madsen and founder and chief executive, Oliver Warren.

FatUnicorn

FatUnicorn has announced the appointment Dan Staples to the newly created role of agency director.

Staples will oversee the agencies account teams and manage existing client accounts and well as attempting to create and develop commercial opportunities.

Havas Ventures

The holding group has launched Havas Ventures in Melbourne with the aim of helping newer startup businesses with some of the tasks that ad agencies specialise in, such as marketing, strategy and technology.

The new unit will be led by venture capitalist and entrepreneur Eddie Wilson, whose role will be founder and executive director of Havas Venture. He will report into Havas Australia Group's executive management team.

Ogilvy Sydney

Ogilvy Sydney has appointed Toby Harrison as its new chief strategy officer.

With a wealth of experience in the industry, Harrison joins from adam&eveDDB, where he worked for three years and won the IPA Grand Prix for effectiveness. He has also worked with Droga5 Sydney, The Monkeys and BMF.

“We are delighted Toby is returning to Sydney to join our senior management team,” said Fox. “We searched far and wide to find the right mix of experience and fit for Ogilvy and this role.”

Tribal Worldwide

Tribal Worldwide has made two new appointments this week with Lu Jue joining as head of user experience and Ong Hon Tat as head of mobile solutions.

Jue joins Tribal from six years at SapientNitro while Hon Tat has joined from OCBC where he was assistant vice president.

The appointments come on the back of the launch of Equator – operated by Tribal Worldwide’s Singapore office.

Wunderman Singapore

Wunderman Singapore has announced the appointment of Rajnish Suneja as its client services director.

With over 20 years experience in the industry, Suneja has joined from BBDO as group regional business director where he worked with brands including HP, Aviva and FedEx.

Commenting on his appointment, Suneja said: “I look forward to pushing creative boundaries and helping our clients’ brands to create engaging experiences.”

Maxus

Maxus has announced the strengthening of its senior management team with three new promotions seeing Dan Benedict, Rudi Symons and Pam Sullivan joining the executive committee.

Benedict who joined the company as managing partner in 2014 has been appointed as worldwide chief client officer while Symons, who joined in 2015, has been named as worldwide chief talent officer.

Sullivan, who has been at the company the longest within the new appointements joining in 2011, will continue her role as managing director of Maxus Los Angeles.

Viacom

Viacom's interim chief executive Tom Dooley has stepped down, with a source close to the situation informing Reuters that the company will look both internally and externally for a replacement.

The media giant, which owns the likes of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon has confirmed that Dooley will be leaving in November. His departure follows on from a high-profile power struggle between controlling shareholders Sumner Redstone, the firm's board and former chief executive Philippe Dauman who exited the company under a $72m payoff.

Though it has since been resolved, the fight over Redstone’s empire kicked off in May, when the media owner ousted two of his former confidantes, including Dauman and George Abrams. The decision removed both men from the trust that will control his affairs when he dies or is declared incompetent.

Advertising Association

The Advertising Association has ended its hunt for a new chief executive after alighting on former IPA president Stephen Woodford to fill the vacancy created by Tim Lefroy’s decision to exit by the end of the year.

A champion of ethnic diversity within the industry Woodford is best known for overhauling the IPA’s qualifications for new industry entrants which have now been sat and passed by over 15,000 people.

AA chairman James Murphy, who led the search, remarked: “Big changes – political and economic – mean that more than ever, all of us with a stake in advertising must look forward together. Stephen is a proven leader, an outstanding advocate and brings with him a wealth of experience on diversity, access and skills. We’re delighted to have got him.”

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