Starcom Australia national managing director Nancy Lan has called time on her tenure with the Publicis Groupe media agency after seven years, exiting the business at the same time as chief client officer Lisa McMillan, who is understood to have been made redundant.

Lan, who first joined Starcom as Sydney agency director in mid-2017 rose quickly through the ranks to become Sydney managing director by the end of 2018, before stepping into the national role in 2021. She is understood to be leaving the agency on her own terms to take on a new opportunity.

McMillan has also spent more than seven years collectively with the agency over her 14-year tenure with Publicis Group. She has held the chief client officer role since July 2021, after returning from a five-year stint at Spark Foundry’s New York office.

When asked where the remit of the chief client officer role would be shifted, Starcom told Mi3 it had nothing further to add at this stage.

"Nancy has been a valued member of the Starcom team for more than seven years, and her tremendous contributions to our agency and clients have been greatly appreciated. Her dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment have left an indelible mark on our organisation, and we offer our warmest wishes for her continued success in the future,” said Starcom Australia CEO Nick Keenan.

“We would also like to extend our deepest thanks to Lisa for all her hard work and effort during her time with Starcom. We wish her every success in her future pursuits."

McMillan’s redundancy is the latest in a suite of local cuts across local agency businesses, as the industry contends with a retracting ad market – spend was back 6 per cent year-on-year, according to SMI figures for February.

M&C Saatchi, VML, Media.Monks, TBWA, and UM have also been reported to have made cuts to local jobs recently.

- Reporting by Kalila Welch