Arrivals & Departures

Auckland commercial music production company Smoke has appointed Sarah Fabrin to manage its marketing and sales. Fabrin has a background in model, retail and music management – she wrangled models and curated for NZ Fashion Week. 

Marketing Association ceo Gill Stewart is stepping aside after 18 months at the helm. “During her time as chief executive, Gill has led a major turnaround in the financial performance of the MA,” said chair Lance Walker.

Auckland & Wellington agency Acumen Republic has unveiled three senior appointments in both cities, replacing the management roles of chairman Michael Dunlop, who is stepping back.

DDB Group’s Track NZ (formerly Rapp) has appointed Leighton Gosnell to the newly established role of marketing technology planner, designed to bridge the gap between marketing and digital solutions.

On the back of several nice new business wins, Freemans Bay boutique full-service PR/content agency Lily & Louis has hired two senior journalists – Golnaz Bassam-Tabar and Courtney Joe. Golnaz comes from a journalism background, while Joe worked previously for Karen Walker.

OMD welcomes 10 new recruits this week to both its Auckland and Wellington offices as part of its pioneering graduate media programme. The scheme was developed to address the nationwide skills shortage agencies face when recruiting for media planning and buying roles.

CEO John Baker and Dish editor Lisa Morton have resigned from StopPress owner Tangible Media (part of the Image Centre Group).

Spark PR & Activate has appointed Chris Lloyd as its head of content & social. Most recently, Lloyd was head of business development in the MediaWorks integration team.

After an international search, 99 has appointed highly awarded Kiwi creative Jared Isle to the new position of digital creative director. Isle will return to NZ from the US to take up the role.

New Zealand Geographic founding editor James Frankham has resigned – but will stay on at Kowhai Media as publisher and photo editor. Deputy editor Rebekah White has been appointed to replace him as ed of NZ Geo.