Sydney, March 15, 2013: Ogilvy PR Australia has announced that David Bell, former General Manager, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability for Westpac, will join the consultancy in the newly created role of Group Managing Director, Corporate.
Mr Bell comes to Ogilvy PR following a distinguished career in communications, high-level
management, corporate brand reputation and government. Prior to Westpac, Mr Bell was CEO for the Australian Bankers’ Association and has headed corporate affairs at both NRMA and Telstra, and served as Managing Director for prominent public affairs company Gavin Anderson & Kortlang (now Kreab Gavin Anderson).
In his new role Mr Bell will oversee a number of the companies and product offerings within the
Ogilvy PR group, including leading public affairs company Parker & Partners, employee engagement and change communication consultancy Ogilvy Impact as well as the sustainability communications practice OgilvyEarth.
Kieran Moore, Ogilvy Australia PR’s CEO, welcomed Mr Bell’s appointment, which comes after a nine-month international search.
“David is a highly-credentialed practitioner who will bring an enormous amount of knowledge,
insight, energy and connectivity to this role. We are delighted to have him on board to add further impetus to already strong brands,” Ms Moore said.
“The current managing directors of each of the companies will remain, but we see David’s role as drawing together our existing strong abilities in areas like thought leadership, issues and crisis, corporate reputation and housing them under one umbrella so we can offer them as a more compelling option to the market.”
“We wanted someone who would be able to draw on the obvious synergies that exist between the various Ogilvy PR brands. David’s background and ability makes him the ideal candidate for such a senior role,” she added.
Mr Bell said he was looking forward to the challenge of further enhancing Ogilvy PR’s standing as Australia’s leading agency.
“There is no agency respected more in Australia, and none with as impressive a client list,” Mr Bell said. “I see this as an incredible opportunity and challenge to take a number of our brands, services and people and make them even more successful.”
Mr Bell will commence at Ogilvy PR on April 15. He will be based in Sydney but will work throughout Ogilvy’s Australian offices. Ogilvy PR is a joint venture between WPP and STW Group, Australia’s leading marketing content and communications service group.
Ends. For further information, please contact:
Rebecca Tilly, STW PR on 0410 501 043
About Ogilvy Public Relations
Ogilvy Public Relations (Ogilvy PR) is a global, multi-disciplinary communications leader operating in more than 85 offices across six continents. In 2012, Ogilvy was named Cannes Lions Network of the Year and Most Effective Agency Network by the Effie Global Effectiveness Index, named Public Affairs Consultancy of the Year by the Holmes Report, won Consumer Consultancy of the Year in Asia Pacific (Holmes Report), and won the WPP global, top award (WPPed Cream, Crème de la Crème) forthe fifth time in six years. Ogilvy PR integrates deeply with all Ogilvy & Mather disciplines (advertising, direct marketing, activation, promotional, digital and entertainment) through the proprietary Ogilvy Fusion™ approach to delivering comprehensive, business solutions through content creation, community building, and communications with measurable results. For more information, visit our Web site at www.ogilvypr.com.au or follow us on Twitter at @ogilvypraus.
