PHD and OMD Australia Get New CEOs in Omnicom’s Regional Reboot
Omnicom strengthens its Oceania leadership under CEO Nick Garrett, uniting Australia and New Zealand in a single P&L.
Omnicom Media Group has appointed Laura Nice as CEO of PHD Australia and Sian Whitnall as CEO of OMD Australia. The group's latest leadership moves follow the network's July 2025 consolidation of Australia and New Zealand operations under a unified Omnicom Oceania structure.
The pair previously served as co-CEOs of OMD Australia for four years, delivering double-digit revenue growth in one of the region's most competitive media markets. Nice replaces Mark Jarrett, who will transition to a group-level role to be announced in the coming weeks.
Leadership Split Follows Oceania Restructure
Nice will focus on accelerating PHD's growth and seek to strengthen its innovation and performance capabilities, while Whitnall takes sole leadership of OMD with a mandate to deepen collaboration and deliver new levels of creativity and effectiveness for clients.
"These appointments reflect OMG's commitment to delivering market-leading outcomes for our clients," Kristiaan Kroon, COO of Omnicom Media Group Australia, said in a statement. "Laura and Sian exemplify our culture of nurturing talent and building leaders who prioritize client success."
The changes mark the latest step in OMG's regional reorganization. Omnicom Oceania was formed in July 2025 under CEO Nick Garrett, creating a unified profit and loss structure across both markets.
Leighton Cosseboom
Unified Structure Targets Asia's Growing Digital Market
The Oceania consolidation comes as digital advertising accounts for 70% of Asia's total media spend, with the region's ad market projected to reach US$280 billion in 2025. Asia-Pacific ad spend is expected to grow 5.8% this year, with programmatic advertising expanding at double-digit rates in Southeast Asia and India.
"This new structure allows us to deliver specialist capabilities at scale, exactly what clients demand in complex markets like Asia," Garrett said when the Oceania entity launched. The unified approach enables Omnicom to use proprietary platforms like Omni and AI capabilities across markets, positioning the network to compete more effectively against rivals like GroupM and Dentsu.
Kroon's promotion to COO aligns with restructuring aimed at enhancing cross-agency collaboration, a capability increasingly critical as clients demand integrated solutions across multiple platforms. "Our focus on home-grown leadership ensures deep market expertise while using Omnicom's global platforms," Kroon said.
Leighton Cosseboom
Timing Coincides with Broader Industry Shifts
The leadership appointments come as Omnicom pursues its acquisition of IPG Mediabrands, a move that could reshape competitive dynamics across APAC. The transaction remains pending regulatory approval.
Nice's track record in innovation positions PHD to capture emerging opportunities in connected TV and video-first platforms, where Southeast Asian ad spend is growing 22% year over year. Her appointment also comes as Australia implements new influencer marketing regulations that took effect in mid-2025, creating a potential template for similar rules in Asian markets like Indonesia.
The restructure reflects broader consolidation trends across the holding company landscape, with competitors like GroupM recently expanding regional oversight structures in a bid to serve multinational clients better, operating across multiple Asian markets.
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