Lee Leggett appointed national CEO of Initiative, Livingston moved to COO
IPG Mediabrands has hired the former CEO of UK creative agency Dare Lee Leggett as the CEO of Initiative Australia, with current CEO Andrew Livingston being moved to the role of chief operating officer.
Leggett spent seven years at the helm of Dare in the UK and before moving to Australia last year. She has led major accounts in the UK including Sainsburys, Sony, Coca-Cola, Vodafone and Diageo.
In response to questions of whether this was a demotion for Livingston, IPG MEdiabrand’s chairman Henry Tajer told Mumbrella: “This is a repositioning of his role into what he is really really strong at. Some people will read it as a demotion because we are bringing in another CEO into the role, but this is more about positioning and this is part of the plan that we have for the Initiative business in terms of investing in it and growing it.
“We value Andrew highly. He has been repositioned to have a different focus to what he has done. I think all would agree that in the time that Andrew has held the CEO’s role Initiative has become a stronger agency and the market will that in the coming days as well.”
Thanks so much for telling us who her husband is! This very important professional detail is all too often left out of news reports.
Hi SheSaid,
Thanks for the comment.
While not a major detail, the fact she is married to the CEO of one of Australia’s largest creative agencies is, for a section of readers, relevant intelligence.
Rest assured if the appointments had happened the other way round we would have put the same detail in the story.
Cheers,
Alex – editor, Mumbrella
Hard to feel assured when you in fact didn’t include the same detail when it was the other way around….sharpen up Mumbrella
https://staging.mumbrella.com.au/mc-saatchi-australia-appoints-ogilvy-uk-boss-jaimes-leggett-as-ceo-137728
Hi WSM,
Thanks for the comment.
At the time Lee Leggett didn’t have a role in the local market, hence not including it in the story.
Hope that clarifies it.
Cheers,
Alex – editor, Mumbrella
Hi Alex,
No it doesn’t – can you explain further please.
Cheers,
Hi What,
Sure. Lee Leggett did not have a job in the Australian industry when Jaimes Leggett was appointed to his role, therefore her role was not relevant information.
If Lee had been the first of the pair to get a prominent role in Austrlia and Jaimes the second the same line, inversely, would have been used.
It’s not a question of sexism, defining a woman by her husband’s achievements or anything like that, merely useful information for a large swathe of the industry.
Cheers,
Alex – editor, Mumbrella
No other media outlet added the “Mrs Legget” tag.
Only you Alex.It certainly wasn’t part of the press release.
So don’t try and weasel out of it.
Petty squabbles above aside, the main fact that should be commented upon and celebrated is that Lee is top talent. I had the pleasure of working with her in London. Her creative and digital agency background will add a hell of a lot. Well done Henry.
Hi Pathetic,
Thanks for the comment.
You’re quite right, no other outlet did mention it, whether that was because it wasn’t part of the press release or not who knows.
Similarly no other outlet bothered to follow up for quotes with Henry Tajer on the decision.
I’ll leave you to decide why that is.
Cheers,
Alex – editor, Mumbrella
Sleuth you may be Alex ,but you are certainly no journalist.That second paragraph is appallingly written.
Pathetic – adnews also mentioned her husband.