What you need to know:

• Carat USA east coast and mid-west VP and MD Anathea Ruys has been named as the new CEO for UM Australia
• Ruys steps into the role following the departure of Fiona Johnston for a UK-based IPG Mediabrands role last week
• She was managing director of Mindshare Melbourne from 2012 to 2014

UM Australia has appointed Carat USA's Executive VP and MD Anathea Ruys as its new CEO, following the promotion of current local boss Fiona Johnston last week.

Ruys, who begins in the role in April, has a 25-year international career in media business leadership and is currently executive vice president and managing director of Carat West Coast and Mid-West USA, as well as the lead of Dentsu’s West Coast office.

During her time with Dentsu she led business development resulting in US$300 million in new revenue in her first two years.

Prior to her Carat and Dentsu leadership, Ruys was based in Singapore as head of Fuse APAC, an Omnicom Media Group strategy, content and activation division.

“Anathea was a stand-out media leader before leaving Australia to pursue her international career. Since then she has become a world-class talent in building collaborative, performance work cultures as well as business and team partnerships," IPG Mediabrands Australia CEO Mark Coad said.

Johnston, who led the agency through a period of significant new business growth, takes on a new role as Global/EMEA Chief Growth Officer within IPG Mediabrands. The move sees her return to the UK.