Ita Murphy, head of media at Lloyds Banking Group, has become the UK chief executive of WPP digital agency group Syzygy, re-entering the agency landscape after five years.
She will report to group chief executive Lars Lehne and be responsible for developing the company’s position as a “specialist digital agency that aligns strategy with creative and media”. Syzygy works with clients including PayPal, L’Oréal, Avis Budget Group and Mazda.
Murphy was managing director at Mindshare between 2000 and 2012 and has more than 25 years’ experience in media. She joined Lloyds as interim head of media for nine months in 2015, then worked at News UK for just over a year before returning to Lloyds for another nine-month stint.
Lehne said: “I’m delighted to have Ita join the global management team to increase the expertise and bandwidth of our UK operations. Ita is a very rare breed of leader that brings to the table sales, agency and brand-side experience and on top of that she will be great fun to work with.
“As well as being a seasoned business leader, Ita’s time as a management coach means she will bring a fresh perspective and energy to the development of Syzygy UK’s talent.”
