Ogilvy ANZ appoints Kirsty Muddle as CEO to lead next chapter of growth

Ogilvy has named Kirsty Muddle as CEO of Ogilvy Network Australia and New Zealand, marking a significant leadership shift as the agency continues its momentum across the region.

Muddle joins from Dentsu, where she served as CEO of Practices & Products for ANZ, overseeing a broad portfolio spanning creative, PR, government, customer experience, Salesforce, data and tech, commerce, and B2B marketing. She brings more than 25 years’ experience across media, creative and strategy, and is known for building businesses from the ground up and leading large, integrated teams.

Muddle will oversee Ogilvy’s operations across advertising, PR, social and influencer, customer engagement, consulting and health.

“Kirsty has an undeniable track record of delivering real value and impact for clients,” Laurent Ezekiel, global CEO of the Ogilvy Group, said. “She deeply understands the complex challenges businesses face today and champions creativity not just for its own sake, but as a powerful force that can solve those challenges.”

Rose Herceg, WPP president for ANZ, described Muddle as “a unicorn” - a rare blend of creative instinct and commercial acumen.

“When we searched for Ogilvy’s new leader, we felt we were asking for a unicorn – a modern marketer built for the emerging world,” Herceg said. “In Kirsty, we found that rare blend; a genuine love for creativity that moves mountains, coupled with experience harnessing the disciplines that creativity needs to thrive in a dynamic, fast-moving media landscape.”

Muddle said the decision to join Ogilvy was driven by the agency’s clarity of purpose and belief in creativity as a growth driver.

“Ogilvy is a place where every leader I’ve encountered has a strong point of view, saw change as an opportunity, and spoke with clarity about AI, data and integration but wasn’t lost in it,” she said. “Importantly, they also never forgot why this business was born – the power of creativity to drive growth. That enduring belief made Ogilvy feel like home.”

Prior to her time at Dentsu, Muddle was a founding partner at cummins&partners, where she spent 11 years building the agency’s creative reputation. She also held senior roles at Mindshare in both the UK and Australia, and currently sits on the boards of the Australian Council of Advertising, the Australian Association of National Advertisers and Ridgeway, an Indigenous social change agency.

Muddle replaces Sally Kissane, who stepped down from the ANZ CEO role in July after three decades with Ogilvy.

Her appointment comes as Ogilvy ANZ continues to build momentum, with recent wins including Tourism New Zealand and Specsavers. The agency was also named Network of the Year at the 2025 APAC Effie Awards, and picked up multiple awards for work with the Department of Health and Aged Care and KFC.

Muddle will officially join Ogilvy in early 2026.