Move and win roundup: Week of December 16, 2024

Tara McKenty has been appointed executive creative director at AKQA Australia. With over 16 years of experience, including a decade leading Google’s creative team across APAC, McKenty is a globally recognised creative leader whose work has earned accolades at major festivals, including a Cannes Lions Gold for Creative Innovation. She is also the founder of D&AD Rare, supporting underrepresented groups in the creative industry. McKenty will collaborate with AKQA Australia’s senior leadership team to drive growth and innovation, with general manager Justine Leong praising her commitment to creativity and inclusion.

Droga5 ANZ (formerly The Monkeys) has promoted both Hugh Gurney and Joe Sibley to executive creative director roles for Droga5 in Melbourne. Over the last seven years, their work has been awarded at Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Spikes, Clio, New York Festivals, AWARD and MADC. In their new roles, Gurney and Sibley will report into chief creative officer Tara Ford.

TBWA Melbourne has promoted Kiefer Casamore to executive general manager and Eloise Liley to chief strategy officer. Both roles have been elevated to join the executive leadership team. Casamore will be responsible for leading the creative advertising and digital services business for Australian Defence Force Recruiting (DFR), along with operational and product growth initiatives for TBWA. Meanwhile, Liley will take the reins in driving strategy for the agency, while overseeing TBWA’s suite of cultural intelligence tools.

Creative communications agency Poem has secured the Australian PR business for Google, taking charge of the company's publicity retainer and creative campaigns for 2025. Poem will assist in managing upcoming product launches, announcements, and ongoing communications for Google’s range of devices and services, including AI and consumer news related to Google Search, Gemini, YouTube, Google Maps, and more. Google joins Poem's existing lineup of consumer technology clients, which includes Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation), Sonos, DJI, and Withings.

Snap has appointed Ryan Ferguson as managing director for Australia and New Zealand. Ferguson joined Snap in July as head of sales after more than 16 years at Google, where he held various senior leadership roles. Ferguson will replace Tony Keusgen and the appointment is effective immediately.

Rideshare service Didi has appointed Strat (Stratosphere) for media planning and buying in Australia. Didi has expanded its presence in the Australian market since its launch in 2018. The appointment comes following a competitive pitch and is effective immediately, with Strat already collaborating closely with Didi's marketing team to launch their inaugural campaign together.

Agent99, an indie PR agency based in Sydney, has announced a new hire and some internal promotions. Zarah Jaggers has joined as its newest PR and social coordinator. Meanwhile, the agency has also promoted two of its team members. The first is Brooke Mason, who joined the team in 2023 as an account coordinator and has quickly risen the ranks, being recently promoted to senior account executive. In addition, Meriha Beaton has been promoted to senior account manager. Beaton brings ten years of experience in PR, media, and journalism to the team, and has been integral to the re-signing of several long-term retainer clients.