Digital Marketing People on the Move: December 2014 Roundup

This past December, most people were looking to take well-deserved vacations and get together with family and friends. But the holiday season was not a quiet one for many ad agencies, as they were busy recruiting digital marketing veterans in order to prepare for 2015.

Ogilvy & Mather Creates a New Role of Worldwide Chief Strategy Officer for Ben Richards

Ogilvy & Mather has named Ben Richards worldwide chief strategy officer. In this newly created role, Richards will work closely with worldwide chairman and chief executive (CEO) Miles Young to lead strategy and drive transformation across all Ogilvy companies and offices globally. Meanwhile, he will be elevated to Ogilvy’s worldwide executive committee.

After joining Ogilvy in 2010, Richards most recently served as worldwide head of integrated strategy. With his promotion to the role of worldwide chief strategy officer, he will continue to work on the company’s biggest clients, including Coca-Cola, Unilever, and IBM.

Martin Ringqvist Joins 72andSunny as Group Creative Director

72andSunny has hired Martin Ringqvist as group creative director. He will be based out of Los Angeles.

Prior to his position with 72andSunny, Ringqvist served as copywriter and senior partner at Forsman & Bodenfor, which was named Independent Agency of the Year at Cannes in 2014, as well as Agency of the Year at the One Club and Art Director’s Club.

Ringqvist was one of the driving forces behind the Volvo “Epic Split” ad, which was one of the biggest viral video hits of 2013.

Nirmalya Sen to Lead Havas Worldwide India

Havas Worldwide has appointed Nirmalya Sen as CEO of Havas Worldwide India. He will report to Juan Rocamora, chairman and CEO of Havas Worldwide Asia Pacific.

A digital marketing veteran, Sen most recently served as president and a director on the board of the agency TBWA in India. Over the course of his career, Sen has advised and helped grow a number of global and national brands, including Nissan, Maruti Suzuki and Mitsubishi Motors, as well as Nestle, Adidas, and HBO, among others.

Publicis Worldwide Australia Taps Iona Macgregor as New Chief Strategy Officer

Publicis Worldwide Australia has named Iona Macgregor as chief strategy officer. Macgregor will be based out of Australia, and work closely with Publicis Worldwide Australia’s CEO Andrew Baxter and national executive creative director Grant Rutherford.

Before she joined Publicis Worldwide Australia, Macgregor served as a senior leader of France-based agency Marcel, a Publicis company. There she spearheaded the agency’s brand and digital strategies across strategic planning, social media, creative technology, and business development.

Prior to Marcel, Macgregor worked for Paris-based agency Nurun, whose clients included Tag Heuer, Kellogg’s, L’Oreal, and Sofitel.

Dave Budge Rejoins Isobar as Executive Creative Director Australia

Global digital marketing agency Isobar has appointed Dave Budge as executive creative director, Australia. In his new role, Budge will be in charge of the creative direction of Isobar and have a firm vision for the future of the agency.

He worked for Isobar before, when he served as creative director with the agency’s original visual jazz team, and then spent five years directing film, television, and digital content. Budge has directed and produced commercials and content for David Jones, Holden, and Samsung. He has directed the television series Back of House, and worked on a number of feature films, including Austin to Boston, Ukraine Is Not a Brothel, and the Tribeca Award-winning Grey Matter. In his spare time, Budge directs live performance series Sideshow Alley in Melbourne and New York City.

Sumeer Mathur Migrates From J. Walter Thompson to DDB Mudra Group

Sumeer Mathur will join DDB Mudra Group as senior vice president and head of strategic planning. Based out of DDB Mudra North’s Gurgaon office, Mathur will work closely with Aditya Kanthy, national strategic planning head, to lead planning and brand management for DDB Mudra North.

With more than 15 years of experience in communication across industry verticals, Mathur worked for J. Walter Thompson’s (JWT) Delhi office before he joined DDB Mudra Group. At JWT, he led award-winning campaigns for Airtel Money and Microsoft. Before that, he took roles at several leading ad agencies, including Rediffusion Y&R, Lowe Mumbai, Contract, and SSC&B Lintas.

Homepage image via Shutterstock.