Katie Rigg-Smith appointed Mindshare CEO
New Mindshare CEO Katie Rigg-Smith and new COO Sharb Farjami
Mindshare has confirmed last night’s reports of the appointment of chief strategy officer Katie Rigg-Smith as the new CEO of Mindshare Australasia.
Rigg-Smith is to take the helm of the agency after the departure of boss James Greet to run Ikon Communications was announced yesterday. Mindshare has also promoted chief exchange officer Sharb Farjami to the role of COO but with continued oversight over the trading desk.
Although Rigg-Smith will not be the first female leader of a major Australian media agency – her predecessors have included Belinda Rowe at Zenith Optimedia, Anne Parsons at Mediacom and Tracey Michael at Initiative – she will be the only current one. She will also be among the youngest.
Congratulations Katie. Always a pleasure to work with you and it’s fantastic to see you get this role. Good luck with it. Phil
Are her gender or her age really relevant? How about we just list some of her professional accomplishments instead, seeing as that’s how she probably got the job.
First class person. Well done.
Tim mindshare Melbourne is also xx led.
Hi Me,
Not to mention Nicole Body at Mediacom in Brisbane. I was thinking of national CEO roles rather than state based.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Hi Sarah,
In the context that there has been an ongoing debate about the lack of women in senior media agency roles, yes it is: https://staging.mumbrella.com.au/a-message-to-the-men-of-the-media-federation-146342
In terms of her ability to do the job, of course not.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Well done Katie
Congratulations to Katie and bravo to GroupM for an inspired choice. Sarah, you are 100% right, her gender should not be at all relevant. However, given the current state of our industry, I agree with Tim that it is an issue that needs to be raised.
I may be biased but…. Katie you are such an inspiration to many people in the industry – much of this is based on your work ethic, dedication and how generous you are with your time to everyone. You deserve this promotion and will be amazing.
(you’re also a pretty awesome little sister xxx)
Congrats. What an excellent appointment. Someone with intelligence, charisma and highly developed media and marketing skills.
Good to see someone stay with the same company for 14 years and end up as CEO! Well done Katie.
A great achievement for both Katie and Sharb and very well deserved! Congratulations to both! They will take the agency to the next level without a doubt.