In a bid to restructure the Australian agency Executive Channel, executive chairman Bruce Fink has announced the company's new board of directors, which includes Kim Wiliams, the former boss of News Corp, who has joined the company, which specialises in selling ad space in offices and has plans to expand globally. Williams will join Executive Channel International as a non-executive director, alongside Fink and his co-founders Charles Parry-Okeden and Craig Cohen. Bill Muirhead, a founding partner of M&C Saatchi, has also been appointed to the same role, and Chris Winterburn has been named as an executive director. This marks a return to media for Williams, who had been fielding numerous offers, and had been rumoured to replace Roger Corbett at Fairfax Media.
Left: Charles Parry Okeden, Center: Chris Winterburn, Right: Kim Willaims
Bruce Fink has announced the company's new board of directors, which includes Kim Wiliams, the former boss of News Corp
Williams has been involved in the arts, entertainment and media industries throughout his illustrious career, working both in Australia and overseas. His executive roles over the years have included stints at News Corp Australia, FOXTEL, Fox Studios Australia, the Australian Film Commission, Southern Star Entertainment and Musica Viva Australia, as well as a senior executive at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Underlining his commitment to the arts and entertainment in general, he became a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2006 for his services to the arts and public policy formulation in the film and television industries and serves as commissioner of the Australian Football League. Winterburn, meanwhile, has a 20 year history in media, with his most notable role that of managing director at MediaCom, where he contributed significantly to the successful introduction of their digital and strategic offering.
Executive Channel – The Office Media Specialists
Muirhead is another industry veteran who joined Saatchi & Saatchi in 1972, and has spent the intervening 40 years working with clients such as British Airways, Qantas, The Conservative Party, Toyota and BP. He became chairman and CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi London in 1989 and then of Europe, before moving to New York in 1994 to serve as chief executive and president of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide. He founded M&C Saatchi with David Kershaw and has been appointed both and Agency General for South Australia and a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia, for significant service to the community of South Australia through the promotion of international trade. The current managing director of Media i, Australia’s most consumed trade media platform for media agency professionals, also played a large role in the George Pattison Bates buyback from Cordiant Communications in the UK when he worked for WPP, as well as the acquisition and subsequent transition of the MediaCom business from Zenith Media.
Global CEO Parry-Okeden, believes that the appointments “Will greatly assist in continuing to build Executive Channel into a world leader in office media.”
Fink is “Delighted that Kim, Bill and Chris have joined the board,” and feels “Privileged to be working with them.” He believes that “Their extraordinary skills and experience will be of great benefit to the organisation.” Global CEO Parry-Okeden, adds that the appointments “Will greatly assist in continuing to build Executive Channel into a world leader in office media.” Williams himself might have chosen ECI because of its focus on technologically savvy office advertising. When asked a month ago about the likelihood of his return to media, he said; “What's particularly interesting in office media is the way in which office media has an immediate impact on internet action. People see something in a foyer or a lift and they are motivated to act on it within seconds when they get to their work space.” He also added that he was primarily interested in “New arenas in technology and delivery and new market, because that's where a lot of the future in real revenue growth and market dynamics repose.”
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK.
