VMLY&R chief executive officer Pete Bosilkovski departs the agency to pursue other interests

WPP AUNZ has confirmed that former Y&R CEO Pete Bosilkovski has decided to leave the agency to pursue his own business interests.

Bosilovski, who joined the agency over 14 months ago from Leo Burnett, has for the past seven months worked in a joint CEO capacity with Aden Hepburn, to fully integrate VML and Y&R as part of the global VMLY&R merger.

WPP AUNZ interim CEO John Steedman said throughout the integration, Bosilkovski has played an intrinsic role within the business. However, now the process is nearing completion, he has opted to pursue other opportunities and seek new challenges.

Says Steedman: “It has been highly beneficial to have Aden and Pete work together as joint CEOs particularly in the early stages of the merger. Both have been working tirelessly to bring VML and Y&R together in this market to create what is already proving to be a market-leading, fully integrated digital and creative offering, and we thank them both for their professional approach and keen eye for optimal business outcomes.

“Pete now leaves the business with our gratitude and best wishes.”

Says Bosilkovski: “I was enticed to Y&R by the offer of a very specific brief to revitalise the brand in Australia and New Zealand. The opportunity to work with (former) WPP AUNZ CEO Mike Connaghan, who I have had a great professional relationship with for a long time, was an absolute bonus. The VMLY&R leadership structure is a different brief and I have decided to resign in my joint CEO role. I wish Aden the best of luck.

“I’m exceptionally proud of my talented team, their commitment to executing our transformation plan and the successes we achieved in my time in the role. I also would like to thank our fantastic client partners for all their support and belief in creating world-class creative solutions. I wish them all the success in the future. I’m now in the process of planning out my next chapter.”

WPP announced the creation of a new brand experience agency, VMLY&R, in September 2018, uniting two leading brands to deliver a contemporary, fully integrated digital and creative offering to clients on a global scale. The new agency is led by global chief executive officer Jon Cook, reporting to Mark Read, chief executive officer of WPP.

VMLY&R is part of WPP AUNZ, Australasia’s leading creative transformation company.