Meta ANZ Sales Chief Departs After 14-Year Tenure

Naomi Shepherd, Meta's group industry director for Australia and New Zealand, has departed the company after nearly 14 years, leaving the platform's ANZ advertising business without a named successor.

Shepherd announced her exit via LinkedIn in February 2025. No replacement has been confirmed, and Mumbrella reported it could not verify whether the role would be filled.

A Career That Spanned Facebook's Transformation Into Meta

Shepherd joined the company in 2012 as an IC5 Client Partner, when the business was still operating under the Facebook name. She advanced through roles including head of FMCG and head of brand before being appointed group industry director in 2017, a position she held for eight years.

Her tenure covered some of the most disruptive periods in digital advertising, including the Cambridge Analytica crisis, Apple's iOS 14 privacy changes, the company's rebrand to Meta, and the rise of TikTok as a competing platform for advertiser budgets.

Will Easton, Meta ANZ's managing director and vice president, publicly acknowledged the depth of the working relationship. "Naomi has been a great colleague and leader, and a hugely valued part of our team for almost 14 years," Easton said. "In the 13 years I've worked alongside her, I've seen the heart, sound judgement and real grit she brings to everything she does."

Shepherd reflected on her time at the company in her LinkedIn post. "What I'll take with me most is the people," she wrote. "The teams I've built and worked alongside. People who care about the work, who back each other, who say the thing that needs to be said, and who know when to have a laugh."

No Successor Named Amid Active Hiring

Despite the senior vacancy, Meta ANZ posted a Client Partner role focused on ecommerce on March 8, 2025, with applications subsequently closing. The role required 10 or more years of experience in performance marketing or digital media, along with C-level networks and ecommerce sales expertise.

The combination of a director-level vacancy and active individual contributor hiring suggests Meta ANZ is expanding its sales capacity at one level while leaving its commercial leadership structure unresolved at another.

No regional restructuring or Asia Pacific organizational changes have been announced by Meta as of early 2025. How Shepherd's responsibilities are being managed in the interim has not been publicly confirmed.

Shepherd's Pre-Meta Background Spanned Radio and Cross-Market Media

Before joining Facebook ANZ in 2012, Shepherd worked across UK and New York radio networks including Clear Channel, Nova Entertainment, Global, and SCA. That cross-market, cross-media background informed her approach to advertiser relationships across the ANZ region throughout her tenure.

Shepherd addressed her clients and partners directly in her LinkedIn announcement. "To my clients and partners across ANZ, thank you," she wrote. "The trust and the willingness to be challenged and to challenge back has been a big part of what made this role so rewarding."

She added that she was "looking forward to what's next," though no specific next role has been announced.

Marketing leaders with significant Meta ANZ investment may wish to contact their account teams directly to confirm continuity arrangements during the transition period.