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Media agency Initiative announces the appointment of Paige Wheaton as Chief Investment & Partnerships Officer. Wheaton also joins Initiative’s national senior leadership team.

Based in Sydney, Wheaton is responsible for further evolving Initiative’s Investment and Partnerships approach, working closely with clients nationally to deliver and create market leading value, innovation and opportunity geared for sustainable growth.

Melissa Fein, CEO Initiative Australia said investment and partnerships underpins the overall success of the agency and it is essential that an exceptional talent leads this team: someone with outstanding people and leadership skills and with a strong point of view on media responsibility and planning for a sustainable and inclusive future.

Fein said: “As Initiative looks to evolve its investment and partnerships offering, I believe we have found a phenomenal talent in Paige. Her experience across the full funnel, not just traditional, makes her a unicorn in this market. Compounding that is her knowledge in the purpose-driven area of investment which perfectly complements Initiative’s ethos in this space.”

Currently National Head of Investment at Mindshare, Wheaton brings 15 years media experience to Initiative, beginning her career at Mediacom and spending time at several Australian independent media agencies. At Mindshare she has grown the investment community and been instrumental in the development of globally adopted tools around the responsible and sustainable investment of media dollars.

Wheaton said: “Initiative’s value proposition, culture and suite of investment products and services will allow me to develop meaningful relationships with our partners, delivering on-point creative investment strategies and campaigns that outpace the current market standard.

“I’m passionate about making an impact. The most exciting thing is having a thriving community of investment individuals who I can help grow and develop in their careers. I’m a hugely people-centric leader and I’m so excited to partner with the investment leads in each of the markets to deliver on that promise.

“The other element that excites me is the culture at Initiative which they are so renowned for. It’s what initially attracted me to the role and having the opportunity to truly deliver market-leading work was the icing on the cake.”

Initiative’s National Managing Director, Sam Geer added: “Put simply, Initiative wants the market’s best talent, and we have heard from media owners time and time again that Paige is exactly that. She joins us at a time when our product is evolving and the integration of Performance, Digital and Traditional has never been more critical. With Paige’s knowledge and experience in this area we have found the perfect match to drive our investment proposition into the future.”

Wheaton’s appointment is effective mid-July. She replaces Simon Reid who left the agency earlier this year.