Ogilvy taps new CEO to lead Australia and New Zealand

Ogilvy has announced the appointment of Kirsty Muddle as its new CEO of Ogilvy Network ANZ. She will be starting in early 2026, replacing Sally Kissane who stepped down from the ANZ CEO role in July 2025 after three decades with Ogilvy.

As CEO, Kirsty will lead Ogilvy's operations in Australia and New Zealand, overseeing all capabilities spanning advertising, PR, social and influencer, customer engagement, consulting, and health.

Kirsty will be joining from Dentsu, where she currently holds the role of CEO of Practices & Products for Australia and New Zealand, leading its practices across creative, PR, government, customer experience, Salesforce, insight, data and technology, commerce and B2B marketing and media. She has more than 25 years' experience, having built new businesses from the ground up and led a range of organisations, including as Founding Partner at Cummins&Partners, and having spent nine years at Mindshare, both in the UK and Australia.

Laurent Ezekiel, Global CEO of the Ogilvy Group, said: "Kirsty has an undeniable track record of delivering real value and impact for clients. She deeply understands the complex challenges businesses face today and champions creativity not just for its own sake, but as a powerful force that can solve those challenges.

"Her ability to build strong, trusting relationships with clients, always putting their needs first, and her knack for bringing together diverse capabilities - from social and influencer to cutting-edge technology and data - to create truly impactful solutions, makes her an exceptional leader for Ogilvy in this key market. I look forward to working with her as we enter this next exciting chapter for Ogilvy."

Kirsty said of joining the agency: "Ogilvy is a place where every leader I've encountered has a strong point of view, saw change as an opportunity, and spoke with clarity about AI, data and integration but wasn’t lost in it. Importantly, they also never forgot why this business was born - the power of creativity to drive growth. That enduring belief made Ogilvy feel like home.

"I'm humbled to partner with an incredible set of clients and the exceptional talent within both Ogilvy and WPP to harness the network's full power and collectively move us all forward into what’s next."