Gloster’s LinkedIn profile also says she was appointed this month as an advisor to UN Women Australia, confirmed by the organisation in a statement yesterday. UN Women Australia President  Debra Eckersley said Gloster would “help shape and amplify” the “important work, our programs and message” on gender equality.  

Gloster’s role at Accenture is in the CMT industry practice, separate to Accenture Interactive which globally has been aggressively acquiring advertising, digital and design businesses which historically are the domain of big global communications companies like WPP, IPG, Omnicom, Publicis and Havas. 

Co-founder of the Accenture Interactive-acquired Australian ad agency The Monkeys, Mark Green, was appointed in November last year as Lead for Accenture Interactive across Australia and New Zealand and remains Group CEO of The Monkeys. 

High profile adman, Russel Howcroft, joined PwC in 2017 as Chief Creative Officer but left in June to become a radio broadcaster for Nine-owned 3AW in Melbourne.

Another former media agency executive, Ben Shepherd, followed Howcroft to PwC but switched back to agencies, joining Clemenger Group’s CHEP. He has since left to join another agency, Thinkerbell, which PwC has a small equity stake in.

And the hustle continues. 

Former CEO of WPP’s old George Patterson Y&R Australian agency, Matt McGrath, was appointed Global Chief Marketing Officer for Deloitte two weeks ago while Deloitte Digital’s global boss, Andy Main was poached earlier this year by WPP to run it international ad network Ogilvy. 

McGrath told Mi3 in a podcast and feature this week that Ogilvy’s appointment of Main “can only demonstrate that what we’re doing with Deloitte Digital is so powerful that they want our talent. Just as we used to recruit from advertising agencies, now the agencies are recruiting from us.”

Conversely, Australia and New Zealand chairman of Omnicom-owned DDB, Martin O’Halloran, was appointed global CEO of DDB last month but told MI3  he was working on a global alliance at DDB with a consulting firm he would not name. “There’s opportunities for management consultants and agencies to partner better than we do right now,” he said. “I’ve had conversations with some consulting firms. I’m working on some stuff there which will surprise people – they are in awe of our creative abilities. And the reality is creative people don’t want to work for a consulting company and work in that environment.”     

Accenture’s biggest international creative agency acquisition to date involved another Australian connection when last year it acquired the New York-based Droga5, founded by expat Australian David Droga, in a deal some estimate to top $300 million.

Locally, Gloster’s appointment appears slightly left-field given the appointment at Accenture Australia allows her to retain other roles beyond the firm and is outside the traditional turf of Accenture Interactive where former marketing services and agency executives typically land. 

Accenture Australia’s Managing Director for Communications, Media and Technology, Jonathan Restarick said in a statement: “Sunita has a reputation for being a connector of people, solutions and building partnerships that all drive the customer growth agenda. She brings a wealth of experience to Accenture that will enable our clients to capitalise on disruptions triggered by new customer and employee experiences and expectations.”

Gloster declined to comment. Accenture Interactive’s Mark Green would not comment on Gloster’s appointment but said the commerce, technology, brand  and customer experience expertise at Accenture Interactive had shielded the unit from the bigger impact being felt by others in the media and marketing services sector

As the great migration continues between consulting firms and marketing services groups, the struggling media sector too is looking to tap new advisory and agency revenue sources. News Corp last month appointed former WPP AUNZ CEO Mike Connaghan as Managing Director of Commercial Content. Connaghan’s remit includes developing is agency-like services directly to blue chip corporates.