Mindshare’s Christian Solomon to lead Spark Foundry Melbourne
Christian Solomon joins Spark Foundry Melbourne
Spark Foundry has appointed former Mindshare Melbourne leader Christian Solomon as its new Melbourne managing director.
Solomon replaces Peter Butler, who held the role for a decade before departing in February to join independent agency Media33 as managing partner.
He confirmed his exit from WPP last week, having joined Mindshare Melbourne in 2018 as NAB managing partner. Prior to that, he spent six years with Mediacom China, where he rose to chief digital officer.
Speaking to Mumbrella, Solomon said: “I was attracted to the momentum at Spark Foundry, as well as the reputation of Publicis Group globally,” he said.
“Spark has a strong reputation in Melbourne, which I see as a great platform to build on. I’m excited to join the team and will be focused on accelerating growth, leveraging the technology platforms Publicis has already developed and invested in.”
Spark Foundry Melbourne is a key market within Publicis Australia, servicing major clients including Toyota, AustralianSuper, and its 2023 win, Cancer Council.
The appointment comes just over a week after Spark Foundry unveiled its new brand positioning, “intelligent disobedience”, encouraging brands to embrace tension, friction, and differentiation.
Spark Foundry Australia CEO Matt Turl told Mumbrella the agency had undertaken an extensive search process before hiring Solomon.
“We’ve been in the market for a new managing director for several months, looking across Melbourne, Sydney and internationally for the right person. It was a rigorous process,” he said.
“Chris will be instrumental in driving our new brand positioning of ‘intelligent disobedience’, balancing that with his strong client service background.
“He will help drive client-led solutions and represents a step-change opportunity to further embed artificial intelligence and automation into the way we work.
“While leading Melbourne, he will also play a key role as part of our national leadership team.”
Solomon’s role at Mindshare Melbourne, meanwhile, has been assumed by Peta Southcombe.
