Indie creative and media agency, Enigma, has appointed Kate Sheppard to the role of managing director Sydney. She joins from Connecting Plots, where she was managing director following a 20-year tenure at DDB, during which she formed a highly regarded leadership partnership with Dom Hickey, now CSO at Enigma, while running Omnicom specialist agency for J&J ANZ across creative and media.

Sheppard has more than two decades’ experience building enduring client partnerships and orchestrating large integrated teams across business management, creative, strategy, media, and related disciplines. Her career has spanned categories including QSR, FMCG, travel, retail, professional services, and government.

At Enigma, Sheppard will work closely with CEO and founder, Lisa Sutton Gardner; chief strategy officer, Dom Hickey; chief creative officer, Simon Lee; and chief media officer, Justin Ladmore, as it sharpens and strengthens its Sydney offering. Jack Mason remains as MD of Enigma’s Newcastle creative shop and Amy Dascanio as MD of Enigma’s Media division.

Lisa Sutton Gardner stated, “At a time when many agencies are understandably running scared, I’m doubling down on where I know the greatest value to clients lies: a team of world class strategic and creative business-problem solvers. And with a mind like a steel trap, fantastic depth and breadth of experience and a laser focus on driving growth for our clients and the agency, Kate is everything I’ve been looking for in a commercial leader of that team.” 

Kate Sheppard commented, “In many ways, this is a role that I’ve been preparing for my whole career. Lisa has set me and the team a bold challenge in a tough market – one that calls for the perspective and rigour I honed leading big, complex businesses in network agencies, as well as the adaptability and pace I have wholeheartedly embraced with my recent indie experience. Reuniting with Dom Hickey, someone I deeply respect and have a proven track record with, was a powerful draw, as was Simon and Justin’s commitment to creative and media integration that yields Unignorable Work that drives dial shifting commercial impact.”