Initiative Australia appoints UM strategy director Sam Geer to the position of chief strategy officer

Sam Geer (left) is joining Initiative Australia as chief strategy officer. He has been with the IPG Mediabrands group for the past four years at UM Australia, most recently leading UM’s national strategy team that is credited with a strong role in UM’s consistent success.

Melissa Fein (right), CEO of Initiative Australia, said Initiative would benefit enormously from Geer’s incoming strategic leadership.

Says Fein: “At Initiative we interpret cultural data signals to help our clients’ brands, products and services improve their relevance with consumers.

“Responding to these data signals helps generate ideas to fuel campaigns that create lasting impressions, helping our clients sustain long-term growth. Sam is naturally passionate about helping brands build strong cultural and strategic connections to people and we are thrilled he is joining us.”

With Geer heading UM Australia’s strategy, the business has been ranked No 1 for new client wins for the majority of 2018, achieved high satisfaction scores from clients and won the most award recognition of any agency in Australia across multiple categories. These accolades have included recognition on the global stage at Cannes, Global Festival of Media and Adweek’s International Media Campaign of the Year.

Says Geer: “My experience working with UM has been the most important of my career. The agency has great depth of creativity and insight in its strategy group and we’ve achieved a lot together. I am now looking forward to taking the next step in my career. Initiative is a truly progressive agency and their positioning around using data and tech to create ideas that grow brands through culture is tremendously exciting. I believe we can create the best work in market and will attract clients who want to do the same.”