MKTG Sports + Entertainment Australia, a dentsu Sports International agency, today announced the appointment of Hugh Rogan as sponsorship account director, Sara Farr as business project director, Jess Surkitt as senior event production manager, Jeff Leong as sponsorship manager, Chris Anderson as motion graphics artist, Jai Lockwood as the commercial team coordinator, Kelvin Giraldo as content coordinator, and Bianca Gerin and Taylah Gillis as multiskilled technical operators. The agency also announced the promotion of Martin Ansell to Strategy and Insights Director.

“Since the launch of dentsu Sports International and thanks to the incredible effort of our entire team, we are in the fortunate position of being able to continue to invest and evolve our business to create new value for our clients and partners,” said Matt Connell, MKTG APAC MD. “Today’s announcements reflect our continued momentum, our commitment to attracting new talent and developing our existing game-changing talent to help accelerate our business forward. With further key hire announcements before the end of the year, it’s certainly an exciting time for MKTG.”

Hugh Rogan joins as sponsorship account director, marketing and management services, and will work across client leadership, specialist sponsorship consultancy, and new business development. With over ten years in the sports industry, Rogan has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Marriott, Heineken, Telstra, McDonalds and Coca-Cola. He joins from the sponsorship activation specialists Gemba and has also held leadership roles in sports working across brand, media and agency landscapes, including Network Seven and IMG.

Sara Farr joins as business project director, bringing her global knowledge and experience from previous roles at sporting bodies and agencies. She recently relocated from New Zealand, where she was senior account manager for dentsu Sports International’s sister agency, Halo Sport, leading the Westpac, Chemist Warehouse accounts and Taisho Pharmaceuticals’ partnership with the All Blacks most recently. In the new position, Sara will act as a key connecting role to drive operating efficiencies across MKTG’s teams, specifically focusing on integrated business opportunities.

Jess Surkitt joins the award-winning Experiences + Events team as senior event production manager. She will lead the agency’s team of producers to plan and deliver events, PR stunts and sponsorship activations for clients, including upcoming events for the AFL, AFLW and NRL Grand Final. She joins from the Stroke Foundation’s Fundraising and Events department, where she was the national manager, leading the organisation to achieve its highest income (and net profit) in its 25-year history.

Jeff Leong has joined the team to support client services and specialist sports sponsorship management. Jeff’s experience at several digital-first agencies and passion for all things sport will help advance the team’s digital and content offering and its approach to implementation, measurement and evaluation.

Martin Ansell has moved into the strategy and insights director role, where he will help drive MKTG’s business and industry-wide research and analytics offering, client growth agenda and purpose-driven brand consulting.

MKTG also welcomes Chris Anderson into the content delivery team in the newly-created role of motion graphics artist. Chris comes from a background in broadcast graphics and control room operations and joined the business from Seven, where he worked on Seven News, The Front Bar, The Latest and the Olympics.

Jai Lockwood has joined the Commercial team as a commercial coordinator, working across the rights and partnerships function, supporting the team to continue delivering great outcomes for MKTG’s partners and clients.

Kelvin Giraldo has joined in the role of content coordinator. He will work across Club and Partnership management and closely with MKTG’s in-house Studio team to deliver content.

Bianca Gerin and Taylah Gillis have joined the team in permanent roles as multiskilled technical operators. Bianca and Taylah joined MKTG over a year ago through a partnership training program between MKTG and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). MKTG has partnered with RMIT to harness emerging talent since 2017, where MKTG now has five full time RMIT graduates on staff.