Stolarski departs Optus Justin Stolarski has announced that he has departed Optus, where he was a senior corporate affairs and stakeholder engagement manager. Reflecting on his tenure, he wrote: “Of course, five years at Optus has thrown its fair share of challenges my way. Some periods were incredibly difficult, but they also pushed me to grow enormously, both personally and professionally. When I look back across the full five years, the good times far outweigh the tough ones. Stolarski worked at Momentum2 Pty Ltd, PPR ANZ, Weber Shandwick and FleishmanHillard. He was a media and communications lecturer at the University of Sydney.  He will take two weeks to reset before his next gig.   

Laura Kiely becomes director of people and corporate comms at NSW Health Laura Kiely has been appointed director of people and corporate communications at NSW Health.  She was a director of strategic communications and public affairs and a principal advisor of PR and public affairs at the Cancer Institute NSW for 13 years. Kiely previously worked across 6dc PR and Flynn Brankin Communications. Bronte Skinner named PR and Partnership executive at Kulani Kinis Bronte Skinner has been appointed PR and partnerships executive at Kulani Kinis. She was an influencing partnerships executive and previously worked at MAXMEDIALAB, The Littl and TMC PR. Gabe Woodmansey promoted at Special Australia Gabe Woodmansey has been elevated to creative director at Special Australia. He was a senior creative at the agency for three years.   He worked at Madman Entertainment, Ogilvy, J Walter Thompson, Spew Corp, The Wilderness Society Australia, and Rouser.  Woodmansey has

Kate Millar joins Airbus as Head of Communications, APAC Airbus has appointed Kate Millar as Head of Communications, Asia-Pacific, Millar will relocate from Melbourne to Singapore to oversee communications across 26 countries and territories. Millar joins after nearly a decade at Jetstar Airways and Qantas, where she most recently served as Head of Communications. She worked across Backspin, Victoria State Emergency Service, Victoria Police, and City of Melbourne. Antonia Sanda joins Anthropic Antonia Sanda has joined Anthropic to lead ANZ communications.  She wrote on LinkedIn: “Just back from San Francisco, this week getting on the tools and finding my feet. There is so much to learn, and I’m not yet across it all. What I have seen is that people are thoughtful and are asking the hard questions.” Sanda joins the team from Deel and has worked across Meta, Facebook, Ninemsn, Text100 and Bite Communications. Sarah Markley joins Fraser Coast Tourism and

Emma Stenhouse joins Town of Cambridge as comms manager Emma Stenhouse has joined Town of Cambridge as a manager of communications and engagement. She joins the team from the City of Perth.  Stenhouse worked in media and communications roles across the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification, the City of Armadale, Mosaic Community Care, Department of Communities WA, Department of Treasury WA, Breast Cancer Care WA, Independent Market Operator, Sustainable Melbourne Fund, Solomon Islands Red Cross, Sustainable Melbourne Fund, Melbourne Airport and Australian Grand Prix Corporation.  Layla Hfaid joins Liquid Ideas Layla Hfaid has started a new role as an account manager at Liquid Ideas.  She was an account manager at we scout and had been with the agency for more than two years. She also worked across The LifeStyle Edit and Spring Retreat. Yvette Hammerschmidt steps up at Thrive PR + Communications Yvette Hammerschmidt has announced that she has bee

Ivy Shih joins Australian Museum  Ivy Shih has announced that she has taken up a role as a senior media and communications manager at the Australian Museum.  She will uncover and showcase scientific research and collections to the public and media, focusing on the Australian Museum Research Institute.  She has been with the University of Sydney as a media and PR adviser, working across health and medicine, and science and engineering.  Shih was a freelance science writer, editor and communicator and worked across the ABC, UNSW, Springer Nature Group, Australian Geographic, and The Conversation ANZ.  Jemma Ibbotson-Hansen joins The NRMA Jemma Ibbotson-Hansen has joined The NRMA as a communications partner within Roadside. She worked across Sainsbury’s, Commonwealth Bank, and Ogilvy PR. Abnormal AI is hiring a media relations manager Abnormal AI is looking to hire a media relations manager. This role is all about owning our media relation

As Principal Partner at CPRA Conference 2026, Influencing is proud to announce that it’ll be hosting a panel at the event looking at the changing nature of journalism and storytelling.  The panel titled ‘Seen, Watched and Heard: Journalism’s New Reality’ will bring together journos to discuss and share their perspectives on how journalism and storytelling have evolved via video, newsletters, podcasts and social platforms and the effect of that on PR professionals.  The panel is to be hosted by Influencing and MediaConnect Group CEO and Founder, Phil Sim and will be joined by Stephanie Vigilante, Head of Social Media at Broadsheet, Ahron Young, Founder and CEO of Ticker News and the Herald Sun’s Multimedia Reporter, Grace Frost.   The CPRA Conference 2026 “Reimagine, Redefine, Refocus” will be held at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, on November 17 and 18.  Speakers at the conference also include: CPRA Chair & Managi