R/GA Australia appoints Marie Conley to executive strategy director role

Creative innovation studio R/GA Australia has appointed Marie Conley to the role of executive strategy director.

As brands look for new opportunities at the intersection of creativity and technology, Conley will draw from her UK experience with large scale, regions and budgets to identify fresh paths for growth and innovation.

Conley was formerly strategy partner at The Pharm/VML, leading WPP’s global partnership with Walgreen Boots Alliance, and charged with combining brand experience, customer experience and commerce to drive growth. While in the UK, she held senior strategy roles at TBWA, Fold7 and MullenLowe. Conley brings expertise in creating connected brand growth across brand, data, and channel planning. She has led teams to create award-winning work recognised at the APG Creative Strategy and Effies awards in Media Innovation and Best Use of Data categories. This is a testament to her ability to drive creative effectiveness and growth for brands across multiple capabilities.

Conley started her career as a graphic designer , but transitioned into strategy to be more involved in the entire brand. Leveraging her hybrid experience, she has developed fresh and holistic brand repositionings for established brands including Unilever, Rightmove, Adidas, and VisitDenmark.

Says Michael Titshall, APAC CEO at R/GA: “Brand strategy fundamentals remain constant, but to be effective today, marketing needs to flex and adapt in new ways to evolving channels, behaviours and customer expectations. So diversity of thought within our team is crucial. Marie brings an unique perspective and skill set that seamlessly integrates brand, data, communications, technology, and customer experience thinking. And she’ll help deliver impactful solutions tailored to the needs of brands.”

Says Conley: “After almost 12 years in London, and many roles trying to entice me home, R/GA was the one that finally got me. I’ve always worked across multiple strategic disciplines, both at large global networks and smaller boutique agencies – and I didn’t want to compromise on that. Ideas that are unshackled from a specific discipline are the ones that unlock growth. R/GA’s newly evolved studio model embodies this approach, and I’m so excited to embark on this new journey with them .”

Conley’s appointment is the latest in a series of newly appointed roles fueled by continued growth in Australia, including Seamus Higgins as chief creative officer and Tish Karunarathna as executive director of client services to lead R/GA Public Practice.