Ms. Marie Oldham Head of Strategy, Media Planning Group, UK

Marie started her career in media in 1983 with Dublin based agencies Wilson Hartnell and Brian Cronin & Associates. She moved to the UK in 1987 to join FCB working her way up to senior TV Planner/Buyer, working mainly on Cadbury Kid brands. Marie joined Leo Burnett in 1991 to... read moreapply her extensive TV planning and buying experience to Kraft, McDonald’s and Bradford and Bingley, amongst others. In 1993 she was made Group Media Director across a portfolio of companies including United Airlines, B&B, Hoover and the Sunday Express. Marie was also involved in helping to bring in new business such as Nickelodeon, UB and Great Western Railways. In February 1996 Marie was promoted to Strategic Planning Director with responsibility for ensuring a standard of media planning excellence across all clients. Marie made the move to the client side when she became Business Development Director at BBC Worldwide in 1998. She was responsible for developing brands as diverse as The Radio Times, Teletubbies (books) and Delia Smith (books). However, the lure of media agencies proved too much and Marie returned to MPG in Sept 2000. In the past 8 years the agency has doubled in size, led the market in digital expertise and won new clients such as The BBC and Nationwide Building Society.