The past year has seen some of the biggest changes at advertising holding companies in living memory, and this has been reflected in our Best of the Best list for media agency bosses. At times of upheaval, leadership experience and a steady hand are invaluable in leading companies through change, and lot of the names on this list will be familiar.
Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG Mediabrands has heralded a raft of leadership changes across both groups, while Dentsu has recently retired Carat and iProspect from this market.
UM and Havas Media have new leaders in Stevie Douglas Neal and Kate O’Ryan-Roeder, respectively. They will be ones to watch in 2026 and beyond.
This year, B&T has taken the decision to focus on individual agency leaders rather than holding company leads, which means that WPP Media’s Aimee Buchanan, Omnicom Media’s Kristiaan Kroon, Publicis Groupe’s Michael Rebelo, Dentsu’s Rob Harvey and Havas Group’s James Wright do not feature on this list.
In selecting and ranking agency bosses, B&T considered several factors including agency performance and momentum, personal profile, leadership skills and their broader contribution to the industry.
Without further ado, here are this year’s B&T Best of the Best holding company media leaders.
10. Rory Heffernan, chief executive officer, Atomic 212°
Heffernan, Atomic 212°’s first employee under Barry O’Brien, took over the leadership reins from Claire Fenner in 2024, and the business has gone from strength to strength ever since. In 2025, Atomic 212° won more pitches (33) than any other agency in Australia, according to TrinityP3’s New Business Report. This included Tennis Australia, Origin Energy, Magnum Ice Cream Company, Rugby World Cup and, more recently, retaining the NT Tourism account.
Heffernan’s leadership has also been pivotal in making Atomic 212°’s transition from being a large independent to Publicis Groupe ownership seamless. Although relatively new to the CEO hot seat compared to others on this list, Heffernan is already clocking up plenty of runs on the board.
9. Laura Nice, chief executive, PHD
Until six months ago, Laura Nice was part of the formidable Whitnall-Nice combination, running Australia’s largest agency, OMD. In November, she moved to lead PHD after former boss Mark Jarrett was elevated into an Omnicom Media group role. Nice is known in the industry for sharp client leadership and is launching a renewed vision for PHD, focussing on its strength in strategy and planning.
She has helped on board Bunnings, PHD’s most significant win of 2025, and helped retain ANZ for a bit longer, although the account is currently up for review. Nice takes the reins at a critical time for the agency, which recently let go of long-serving Melbourne boss Simon Lawson and chief investment officer Jo Barnes.
The next six months will be pivotal for the 2025 B&T Women in Media Executive Leader finalist, as PHD will be trying to hold onto a number of important clients, including ANZ and McCain, after recently severed ties with Asahi.
8. Jo McAlister, chief executive, Initiative
This will be the last time Jo McAlister features on this list for some time. In August, she will join News Australia to launch StoryX. McAlister has led Initiative through a challenging period. After the previous leadership team moved to Accenture Song, the agency lost several high profile accounts (many were global decisions).
In the past 18 months, McAlister has not only steadied the ship, but helped it win and defend circa $100 million in billings, including Volvo, 3M, Netflix, Aspen Pharmacare, Pizza Hut, Hello Fresh, Ear Science and Patek Phillippe.
She has also promoted key staff to leadership positions, including strategy chief Thomas Dodd and national MD Paige Wheaton to create a strong and stable leadership team. Initiative was recognised as Sydney’s happiest media agency with McAlister at the helm, and she was highly commended in the B&T Women in Media Executive Leadership category.
7. Imogen Hewitt, CEO, Spark Foundry ANZ & chief media officer, Publicis Groupe; Matt Turl, CEO, Spark Foundry Australia
Imogen Hewitt, one of the most experienced and respected media leaders, and Matt Turl, both lead Spark Foundry. Turl leads the agency’s strategy, culture and growth agenda in Australia, and is one of the architects of Spark Foundry’s operating model. Hewitt presides over the ANZ region in a dual role (see more on that below).
The agency had a solid 2025, winning four clients, including Paramount, and retaining 11. The agency has forged enduring partnerships with blue chip clients including Toyota, Arnott’s and Westpac.
As Publicis Groupe ANZ chief media officer, Hewitt plays a broader role across the group’s success, ensuring consistent media, strategy, data, analytics and investment outcomes. She is also a member of Publicis Media global team, and the deputy chair at the Media Federation of Australia, helping shape industry standards, talent development and innovation.
6. Peter Vogel, chief executive, Wavemaker
One of adland’s nice guys (and a brilliant dancer), Peter Vogel is regarded as a passionate, provocative and fiercely competitive leader who has made Wavemaker one of Australia’s most formidable and successful media agencies. In 2025, it retained the South Australian Government account and Bridgestone, while winning seven new accounts, including the University of WA and Sorbent.
What often sets Wavemaker apart is the quality of its work for blue-chip brands including L’Oréal, Mondelez, Audible, Amazon, Hungry Jack’s, Jetstar and Colgate-Palmolive.
Testament to Vogel’s leadership are the number of Wavemakers that regularly take out awards at B&T’s 30 Under 30 and Women in Media programs.
The icing on the cake, undoubtedly, is that Wavemaker won B&T’s Media Agency of the Year Award for the second time in three years.
5. Melissa Fein, managing director, media, Accenture Song
Melissa Fein leads the media division at Accenture Song, alongside Sam Geer and Chris Colter. She is a multiple award-winning leader who is building an impressive outfit at the consultancy, which is now more than 30-strong.
The past year has been a standout for the impressive Accenture Song media team. As revealed by B&T, Accenture Song and Droga5 won the highly coveted Optus pitch, while also picking up Airwallex, and recently stamping Australia Post to its client book.
Accenture Song is reportedly making waves on pitch shortlists across the country as a true marketing transformation company.
4. Sian Whitnall, chief executive, OMD
Sian Whitnall leads Australia’s largest and one of its most successful media agencies in OMD, with blue chip clients including Coles, McDonald’s, Telstra, Qantas and the NSW and Victorian Governments.
Since going solo in December (previously she shared CEO duties with Laura Nice), she has been instrumental in shaping OMD’s cultural and strategic reset through ‘We Create What’s Next’, an effort to reignite creativity, effectiveness and pride across the agency.
In the past year, OMD has welcomed new clients including Ampol, Freedom Furniture and Under Armour, although it lost one of its largest clients, Suncorp, to WPP Media.
Nonetheless, Whitnall is a progressive leader that truly understands the impact of digital, data and technology transformation, previously winning the Product category of B&T’s Women Leading Tech, and was a finalist in B&T Women in Media Glass Ceiling category last year.
Whitnall has also had a big impact on the industry, featuring at the Cannes Lions and the AANA’s Masterclass.
3. Jason Tonelli, chief executive officer, Zenith,
In the past few years, Zenith has been one of the industry’s most consistent high-performing media agencies, securing major clients including Adobe, Flight Centre, Mars, Industry Super Australia, Ralph Lauren, Barilla, Campari, Honda and Kellanova, while retaining the likes of Aldi.
In fact, Zenith led COMvergence’s total new business rankings in 2025, with its wins and retentions amounted to around $175 in billings At the helm is Tonelli, who has reshaped Zenith’s leadership approach around “unreasonable hospitality”, prioritising how people, clients and partners experience working with the agency.
Under Tonelli’s watch, Zenith has accelerated AI literacy and capability-building across the agency, including its Connected ID and the Imagine Panel, while nurturing one of the most experienced and stable leadership teams in the industry.
Zenith has been a consistent finalist at the B&T Awards in recent years, and it’s not hard to see why.
2. Pippa Berlocher, chief executive officer, EssenceMediacom
It’s hard to overstate the remarkable job that Pippa Berlocher has done at EssenceMediacom in recent years—arguably one of most significant agency transformations in Australia. After Essence and MediaCom merged, Berlocher and her team have more than lived up to their new ‘Breakthrough’ agency proposition, rebuilding the business from the ground up and winning plenty plaudits along the way.
In the past year, EssenceMediacom won $110 million in new business billings, including major accounts Lion, HBO Max and the Australian Retirement Trust. They’ve defended Isuzu and NRL, and are now RECMA’s only ‘Dominant’ media agency, notching up 130 points.
Berlocher has scaled the agency’s data, tech and transformation division, delivering a 113 per cent increase in revenue for that department, while also expanding its planning and strategy chops. With senior talent including Matt Scotton, Sophie Price, Marine Turner, Sarah James and Jazmaree Bell making waves across the industry, Berlocher and her 500-strong team are building something truly special.
1. Maria Grivas, chief executive, Mindshare
Topping Pippa for the number one spot is stablemate and Mindshare boss Maria Grivas.
If there is one word that describes Mindshare, it’s ‘momentum’. Mindshare topped COMvergence’s net new business table by securing some of Australia’s largest and most prestigious accounts. WPP Media (OpenEra) won Suncorp Group from OMD in Australia’s largest media review of 2025 and Grivas is widely credited as playing a central part.
Mindshare also added MG Motor, Citibank and the Australian Labor Party, topping RECMA’s Vitality ranking, which measures new business momentum, along the way.
Although 2025 has been a standout year for the ‘Good Growth’ agency, it’s the agency’s performance in recent years that have caught the eye. Mindshare has had the biggest turnaround of any media agency since Grivas took the reins in 2022, rising from ninth to third in RECMA’s Australian agency rankings.
A defining feature of Grivas’ leadership has been embedding AI and technology into everyday agency practice, rather than treating innovation as a bolt‑on. She has also built an outstanding leadership team, including Gavin Gibson, Laura Fell, Nik Doble and Elliot Eldridge, and modernised how Mindshare works with clients with overhauling operating models, transformation programs, capability academies and integrated talent structures.
Article originally published on B&T.
