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Dentsu has appointed Elyse Foley as managing director, Media NSW, and promoted Harriet Swinburn to head of strategy, Media NSW. Foley joins from PHD with more than 15 years of media-agency experience; Swinburn has been at dentsu for close to six years and served as iProspect’s strategy lead for four years. Dentsu says the changes are intended to align client, commercial and strategic leadership more closely across New South Wales, accelerate delivery of integrated media solutions for its NSW clients and strengthen internal capability and collaboration.
Great businesses are built by great people.
Chris Ernst, chief practice officer, Media
Key takeaways
- Appointment: Elyse Foley has been appointed managing director, Media NSW at dentsu.
- Promotion: Harriet Swinburn has been promoted to head of strategy, Media NSW.
- Experience — Foley: Elyse Foley joins from PHD and brings more than 15 years of media-agency experience.
- Experience — Swinburn: Harriet Swinburn joined dentsu almost six years ago and has spent the past four years leading strategy at iProspect.
Table of contents
Who was hired and the roles they will fill
Dentsu has named Elyse Foley managing director, Media NSW, and elevated Harriet Swinburn to head of strategy, Media NSW. Foley will oversee dentsu’s media operations in New South Wales, bringing together teams across the state’s media services to deepen collaboration and deliver integrated client solutions. Swinburn will set the strategic direction across dentsu’s media brands in New South Wales, working with client teams to connect strategy, creativity, media, technology and customer experience.
Chris Ernst, chief practice officer, Media, framed the moves as part of building a single connected media business in NSW. Ernst said: "Great businesses are built by great people." That line was used to underline the organisation’s stated priority on leadership that can align commercial and people objectives. Both appointments were presented as internal capability investments rather than as responses to a particular client loss or sectoral shock.
Background on Foley and Swinburn and what they bring
Elyse Foley arrives from PHD Australia, where she most recently served as national head of planning and previously held senior roles at PHD and Initiative. Dentsu says she has more than 15 years’ experience across Australia’s leading media agencies, with strong credentials in strategic planning, client leadership, business transformation and developing teams. She has been tasked with combining commercial rigour and a people-first leadership style to lift performance across dentsu’s NSW client portfolio.
Harriet Swinburn has been at dentsu for nearly six years and led the iProspect strategy team for the past four years. The appointment promotes an internal strategic leader whose remit in the new role is to strengthen how strategy links creativity, media and customer experience to solve client challenges. Swinburn’s brief, as described, emphasises commercially grounded strategic thinking to help brands navigate rapid change in media and customer behaviour.
How the appointments change dentsu NSW’s operating approach
Dentsu describes the hires as part of integrating client, commercial and strategic functions in New South Wales. Practically, a single media leader in Foley and a cross-brand strategy lead in Swinburn are meant to reduce handoffs between planning, strategy and execution and to speed up integrated propositions. That structure favours pooled accountability for client outcomes and is consistent with dentsu’s stated aim to build a connected media business across the state.
The appointments also create internal career pathways: Swinburn’s elevation from a four-year iProspect strategy leadership role signals that dentsu is promoting strategic capability from within. For Foley, an external hire with agency leadership experience is positioned as bringing fresh commercial perspective and transformation experience, which dentsu says will help align teams around shared growth objectives.
| Name | New role | Prior role / employer | Tenure at dentsu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elyse Foley | Managing director, Media NSW | National head of planning at PHD; senior roles at PHD and Initiative | New hire (joins dentsu from outside) |
| Harriet Swinburn | Head of strategy, Media NSW | Group strategy director, iProspect | Nearly six years |
The case for and against the reshuffle’s likely impact
The case for
- Centralising leadership can reduce duplication across brands and speed integrated offers to clients.
- Promotion of internal strategic talent preserves institutional knowledge and supports staff retention.
The case against
- Bringing together multiple teams under a single remit may create short-term disruption as reporting lines and KPIs are aligned.
- An external hire at the top risks cultural friction if transformation expectations outpace implementation capacity.
What to be careful about
- Short-term instability as teams adjust to new reporting and decision-making structures in NSW.
- Potential loss of momentum on individual-brand initiatives while integration is prioritised.
- Cultural mismatch between externally hired leadership and existing dentsu teams during a transformation push.
The bottom line
Dentsu’s appointments of Elyse Foley and Harriet Swinburn sharpen its leadership in New South Wales around two priorities: a single media lead to drive commercial and operational alignment, and a cross-brand strategy lead to connect planning with creative and technology execution. Both moves are presented as capability investments—Foley as an experienced external hire bringing transformation and planning expertise, and Swinburn as an internally promoted strategist with nearly six years at dentsu. The near-term test will be how quickly teams align to the new structure and whether the integration improves client delivery without causing disruption.
What to watch
- Watch how Foley restructures Media NSW to bring planning, commercial and delivery teams together; no date has been set.
- Watch for Swinburn’s first cross-brand strategic framework and how it is rolled out to clients; no date has been set.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Elyse Foley and what will she do at dentsu?
Elyse Foley joins as managing director, Media NSW. She arrives from PHD where she was national head of planning and brings more than 15 years of media-agency experience to lead dentsu’s NSW media teams.
What was Harriet Swinburn’s role before the promotion?
Harriet Swinburn led the iProspect strategy team as group strategy director for the past four years and has been with dentsu for nearly six years; she is now head of strategy, Media NSW.
Are these hires part of a wider dentsu reshuffle?
Dentsu frames the appointments as capability and leadership investments to build a connected media business in New South Wales; the source also lists other dentsu moves, including a WA promotion on 25 August 2026 and further Dentsu Creative items dated 18, 11 and 10 August 2026.
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