Strategy is at the heart of every great campaign and Australia is blessed to have some of the best in the world. This makes choosing ten strategy chiefs a near impossible task.
This year, we have chosen not to include chief product officers, which means that some of the best strategic minds (the likes of Alex Pacey, Matt Scotton, Gavin Gibson and company), have not been considered for this list.
In compiling this list, B&T’s considers strategists market reputation—and we have done our homework—agency success and the role they have played in outstanding work for clients.
There are several names that came very close this year and are ones to watch for the future. These include Clemenger BBDO’s Sophie Gallagher, Wavemaker’s Kate O’Loughlin and Summer Treseder, Accenture Song’s Tom Davies, Mediahub’s Linda Fagerlund, PHD’s David Bielenberg and Havas Media’s Mitchell Long.
Before you dive into the top 10, make sure you nominate suggestions for future B&T Best of the Best categories; Independent Consultants are up next. You can do that by filling out the form below.
Here is this year’s B&T Best of the Best Media Strategy Chiefs.
10. Raj Gupta, chief strategy officer, UM
Raj Gupta is one of the most experienced strategy leads in the market, having a career spanning Australia, Asia and further afield.
Having led strategy at UM for nearly seven years, he was the APAC chief strategy lead for MEC (now Wavemaker) for seven years and spent nearly two decades at the WPP agency having led transformation projects at Citibank, Chanel and Colgate-Palmolive. Gupta is regarded as one of the sharpest minds in the industry, exceptionally intelligent and savvy, but also a mentor to many.
It’s been a challenging year for UM, particularly with the Omnicom acquisition looming, but Gupta makes the cut because he is regarded as one of the top strategic thinkers who has helped shape many careers.
9. Eliott Eldridge, head of strategy, Mindshare
A newcomer to the list, Elliott Eldridge’s strategic acumen has helped deliver growth for Mindshare and its growing client list over the past two years. Alongside product chief Gavin Gibson, Eldridge was instrumental in securing the Unilever account and delivering award winning work Lynx and Dove, which won Silver and Bronze at the APAC Festival of Media for Dove’s menopause policy initiative.
Eldridge has also been a leader on the Kayo Sports account, helping the business rapidly grow in a cluttered streaming market. His strategic leadership has helped Mindshare win MG, Footlocker and Nova.
This week, the agency won Australia’s largest media pitch, Suncorp Group.
8. Melissa Mullins, managing partner, Avenue C
Melissa Mullins is widely respected for her behavioural insights driven approach to strategy that delivers business outcomes for clients. She leads strategy at one of the hottest and most reputable indies.
Mullins work has been globally recognised at Cannes Lions and the Festival of Media, and she is making waves locally. Mullins was on hand to pick up the MFA’s Agency Talent and Culture Award for businesses with less than 100 staff.
The agency has also won notable new business in recent times, picking up AMP, Zip Water and Alinta Energy.
7. Tom Dodd, chief strategy officer, Initiative
Tom Dodd brings more than 20 years experience shaping award-winning work, specialising in brand transformation strategies and media innovation. He started as a media planner across OMD UK and UM, and was elevated into the chief strategy officer role at Initiative in January.
Previously, he led media at IAG, including for NRMA Insurance, where his transformational strategies earned a Grand Prix Long Term Effie. his other awards speak volumes. Dodd won Adweek’s International Media Plan of the Year for A Fire Inside (2022), Spikes Asia Grand Prix for NRMA Safety Hub, and Silver Spikes for Climate Warriors. He has also won Cannes Lions, Festival of Media Gold and B&T’s Campaign of the Year for Jägermeister. Stepping into Chris Colter’s shoes was never going to be easy, but Dodd is more than capable in the strat hot seat.
6. Asier Carazo, chief strategy officer, Atomic 212°
Atomic 212° has had its most transformative year on record, and much of that success is down to the strategic thinking and energy of its strategy lead Asier Carazo. The agency acquired the media division of kwpx, and was then acquired by Publicis Groupe.
In recent times, Atomic 212° has won dozens of new clients, including Bluescope, GWM (Great Wall Motors), Darrell Lea and BMW & MINI New Zealand and retained Bupa, Origin Energy, Charles Darwin University and Sydney Water.
Carazo, who is a member of MFA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council, is a strong advocate for using data analysis to drive strategic thinking and helped develop the agency’s Sonar tool.
5. Penny Shell, chief strategy and product officer, Zenith
Since joining Zenith a year ago, Penny Shell has led strategy, planning and product capabilities at one of the industry’s most successful media agencies. Zenith’s recent winning streak includes Flight Centre, Lululemon, Mars and Stockland.
Shell’s strategy has also helped clients pick up notable awards for campaigns, including the RACQ (Festival of Media Global), Aldi (MFA) and Superloop (Festival of Media Asia).
She has developed new agency assets, including Zenith’s ‘Imagination Scorecard’, and applies her smarts to industry events, such as at the B&T CMO to Watch breakfast.
Shell joined Zenith in 2023 and has previously held senior strategy roles at OMD and Starcom.
4. Rob Frost, chief strategy officer, OMD
Rob Frost was appointed OMD’s chief strategy officer last month. Prior to joining OMD, Frost spent over a decade with EssenceMediacom, where he held strategic roles in both Sydney and New York.
He has led strategy at a local, regional and global level across some of the world’s leading brands, including Budweiser, Uber, Coca-Cola, and Volkswagen. His trophy haul includes accolades from the Festival of Media Global, Adweek and Effies.
Frost is described as one of the top media planners in the industry and will now lead strategy across the largest media agency, with clients including Coles, McDonald’s, Telstra and Qantas.
Recently, he delivered one of the more thought-provoking presentations at the MFA Ex event about why neurodivergent minds can teach the industry to working more effectively.
3. Catherine Rushton, chief strategy officer, This is Flow
Catherine ‘Crush’ Rushton has redefined strategy at This is Flow, growing and improving the media strategic capabilities of the agency and its clients. Her remit and leadership spans data, technology and measurement, and recently she launched the agency’s Partnership and Influencer division. Flow has been on a hot streak, winning Health Vitality, Meshki and Yoto and retaining Carnival Cruises, John Deere and a2 Milk. The agency recently won the MFA Award for Content Amplification Strategy for a Meshki campaign.
Rushton has had a huge impact on people outside of the agency, launching This if Flow’s positive impact committee, chairing the MFA Awards and MFA Ex committees, leading industry strategic counsels and sharing her wisdom on many industry panels.
2. Sophie Price, chief strategy officer, EssenceMediacom
There are many reasons why EssenceMediacom picked up B&T’s Agency of the Year Award last November, but few have earned the accolade as much as the agency’s strategy chief. Sophie Price, alongside product lead Matt Scotton, are arguably the most formidable strategy team in the market. Testament to this is the agency’s work and new business success, winning Specsavers, Australian Retirement Trust, Lion and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Price has led strategy at the WPP Media agency for more than four years and prior to this led strategy at Bohemia when that indie was successful.
Starting out in creative agencies, Price has worked at some of the most illustrious agencies in the market, including Droga5, UM, The Hallway and Campaign Palace, having worked with brands including Coles, Optus, Fantastic Furniture and Freedom.
She has been the winner of multiple Cannes Lions, Australia Effies, MFAs, and has been awarded Woman in Media in 2016, 2018 and 2021.
1. Chris Colter, managing director, media strategy, Accenture Song
Chris Colter holds onto the top position for this year’s list. Simply put, he is widely regarded as the leading strategic thinker in this industry, and is slowly building Accenture Song’s media division into a powerful outfit that could reshape media planning and buying for the future.
Recently, Accenture Song won one of the biggest reviews of the year, creative and media for telco Optus. B&T understands that Colts, Mel Fein and Sam Geer played a critical role in that success, which moved from a multi-agency village model into a consolidated one-stop shop with Accenture Song with Droga5.
The media division, which now numbers 25 staff, also works with Airwallex.
Outside from his role at Accenture Song, Colter is an industry leader who gives plenty back. He co-chairs the MFA Awards and has co-chaired MFA Ex for three years running. Expect to see big things from Colter and Accenture Song’s media team in the coming year.
Article originally published on B&T.
