Essence grows leadership team in Australia with new C-suite hires

News 9 Feb 2022 - 2 min read

Essence grows leadership team in Australia with new C-suite hires

By Sam Buckingham-Jones - Deputy Editor

These three appointments are critical as we shape the new, expanded Essence in Australia," Pat Crowley, CEO of Essence Australia, says.

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Tags: Essence pat crowley

GroupM-owned Essence has announced a new trio of senior leaders: Simon Pugh, Theo Zisoglou and Celia Wright. The new roles are designed to grow the agency’s footprint in Australia.

What you need to know:

Essence has named three new senior leaders: Simon Pugh as Brisbane MD, Theo Zisoglou as Chief Media Officer, and Celia Wright as Chief Growth Officer.
Pugh returns to Australia from a Publicis Group role, Theo has been promoted, and Celia has joined from Spark Foundry.

GroupM media agency Essence has named three new senior leaders – a new Managing Director for its Brisbane office, a new Chief Media Officer and a new Chief Growth Officer.

In September, GroupM announced it wanted to grow the Essence by folding AKQA Media into it, a change that took effect from January 1 this year.

Simon Pugh will lead the agency’s Brisbane office as Managing Director, returning to Australia from a role as Global Client Leader in the US for Publicis Groupe. He has 25 years’ experience across Publicis, Omnicom and Dentsu in New York, Sydney and San Francisco.

Theo Zisoglou, who was Executive Director of Essence in Brisbane, has been promoted to the new role of Chief Media Officer covering Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. He will oversee planning and investment.

Celia Wright has been named to the newly-related Chief Growth Officer role, joining from Spark Foundry where she was General Manager of Media. She has 15 years’ experience in the industry, working client-side at Commonwealth Bank as well as at WPP agencies Ikon and MediaCom.

Pat Crowley, CEO of Essence Australia, said these three appointments are critical for the new, expanded Essence.

“Simon and Celia bring an injection of exceptional new talent that will complement the skill sets that already sit within the agency,” he said in a statement.

“Theo’s passion for the craft of investment makes him perfectly placed to take on this newly created role and play a bigger role in shaping this fundamental discipline in our agency.”

Essence works with brands like Airbnb, Commonwealth Bank, Google, Isuzu, Ladbrokes, Lindt, Myer, Neds, nib, Snack Brands, and Tourism and Events Queensland.