Thrive PR has appointed Sophie Maguire to head its Melbourne operations, while Kyra Shakspeare and Lwindi Ellis have been elevated to lead the Brisbane and Auckland offices respectively.
The moves follow the recent launch of Acuity, Thrive’s corporate communications sister agency.
"I truly never imagined I'd be in this position when I walked through the doors as a 21-year-old in 2008,” Sophie said.
“I've had the opportunity to work with incredible people and brands, both internationally and here in Australia, but I've always found my way back to Thrive. It really does feel like a full-circle moment, and I'm genuinely excited to help shape the next chapter of our Melbourne office while building on the strong foundations already in place. Melbourne is Australia's cultural and sporting capital, and I see a huge opportunity for brands who want to be part of the conversations shaping culture."
In Queensland, Kyra added: "We are building a sharp, infectious energy, zero fluff, and utterly indispensable team. I want our clients to view us less like a hired agency and more like their sharpest internal comms experts.
“There's an unapologetic momentum up here in Queensland. We have shed the reputation of being a secondary market. We stand on its own two feet, and brands want an authentic presence here. Brisbane 2032 isn't just a distant sporting event on the calendar, it's an active, six-year golden runway that is fundamentally transforming how businesses talk about legacy, impact and global relevance today. Our role is to be the ultimate cheat code for clients on that journey, helping local brands scale onto the world stage and ensuring global brands show up with real local cred."
Lwindi’s vision for Thrive New Zealand is clear: she wants to grow the Auckland-based team, building on current momentum to provide NZ expertise to Trans-Tasman brands and locally based organisations.
"I was fortunate to have already worked with Thrive for six months before stepping into this role, which gave me a proper runway to understand the agency culture and get to know our global clients like BYD and Afterpay, so when the chance came to take the reins of the NZ business, I jumped at it. Thrive's an ambitious, creative and forward-thinking agency and I'm delighted to be driving its business here in Aotearoa,” she said.
(Pictured L-R: Sophie Maguire, Kyra Shakspeare and Lwindi Ellis)
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Telum Media and Truescope have entered a strategic partnership that brings together Telum Media’s curated journalist and media relations platform with Truescope’s fully integrated AI-first media intelligence service.
The partnership will surface Truescope media intelligence inside the Telum Media platform, so communications teams can see which journalists are covering their issues and pitch them without leaving the workflow.
Between them, the two companies now cover the five parts of media intelligence. Truescope brings media monitoring, social listening and media analysis. Telum Media brings the media database and distribution. For communications teams, that means one connected workflow, from finding the right journalist to measuring what the coverage achieved.
The partnership will initially focus on Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, with additional markets to follow.
For Telum Media, the partnership reflects a sharp surge in journalists demanding greater relevance in the outreach they receive from PRs, and follows its recent launch of Distribution tools within the platform.
“The ‘spray and pray’ approach to sending media releases should be consigned to the past – that’s what thousands of journalists have been telling us through our Journalist Interest Surveys,” said Telum Media Executive Chairman, Michael Webster.
“The focus is on precision-led targeting and more relevant outreach, and this partnership with Truescope will help communications teams identify and select relevant media based on demonstrated coverage and current editorial interests."
“Having this integrated into the Telum Media platform means teams can research, plan, personalise and pitch without switching between disconnected systems.”
For Truescope, the partnership follows its entry into the Australian market on 1 October 2026, and conversations with more than 30 communications, PR and public affairs leaders across Australian government, corporate and agency teams about what they need from a media intelligence service. Truescope monitors broadcast, print, digital and social media, and runs Truescope AI as part of the service: Truescope Assistant, which answers questions about what happened in the coverage, and Truescope Analyst, which explains what it means, with citations on every output.
Truescope CEO, John Croll, said the integration puts coverage data and journalist data in the same place. Truescope and Telum Media solve complementary parts of the PR workflow, and clients increasingly want monitoring and journalist intelligence to work together without compromising quality.
“PR and Comms teams want the best monitoring and the best journalist data. Until now that has meant two systems and a lot of copying between them.”
“With this partnership, a comms manager can access specialist capabilities, data quality, and innovation of both Truescope and Telum Media. They can see who is covering their issue, understand how that coverage is moving, and pitch the right journalist without leaving the workflow. That is time back, and a better hit rate”, John said.
Find out more about the Telum Media - Truescope partnership.
Philippa Perry has been welcomed at BHP Perth as Manager of the WA Communications team, supporting the company’s iron ore business. She was previously at IMDEX for two years as Head of Communications and Sustainability. Prior to this, Philippa worked as Head of Media and Issues at Telstra, External Relations Director at Lion and spokesperson at nbn Australia.
Trans-Tasman agency, Tonic Communications, has been appointed to lead the Australian launch of AI property decision-making platform, myhomii.
Led by the agency’s Brisbane lead, Amelia Oberhardt, Tonic will oversee communications related to the national launch campaign, covering earned media strategy, media relations, and influencer engagement across business, proptech, property, and consumer media.
Amelia said: "Anyone who’s searched for a property knows the chaos: fourteen tabs, three WhatsApp groups and a mum with opinions. myhomii fixes a problem almost everyone has and almost no one has solved. With affordability pushing more Australians to buy and rent with family and friends, it's a genuine global innovation story with perfect timing."
Melanie Tickle, Founder of myhomii, said: “Tonic understood straight away that myhomii’s story starts with people - the buyers and renters making a big decision, and the family, friends and advisors helping them along the way.
”We wanted a communications partner who could make the technology feel relevant to everyday Australians while building credibility in the property and business sectors. Amelia and the team brought that understanding, alongside the creativity and clear strategy we were looking for to launch myhomii.”