Media Roundup: Brittany Higgins' new PR role, CoStar's next Aussie buy, Clive Dickens' new project, Top CEO's AI warning, and boss' office job

Brands

CoStar expands its Aussie footprint

US-based real estate giant CoStar Group is making a calculated push into the Australian property listings market.

While its proposed $3 billion takeover of Domain has captured headlines, a smaller but symbolically potent acquisition has quietly slipped into place.

According to Zoe Samios in the Australian Financial Review, CoStar has acquired the Homes.com.au domain for $22.8 million, an early signal of how the company might reshape its local presence, regardless of whether the Domain deal proceeds.

Read more

Disney’s ‘robotic Grampa’ draws fire from founder’s granddaughter

Walt Disney’s own flesh and blood isn’t thrilled about his comeback.

As Richard Luscombe writes in The Guardian, Joanna Miller, granddaughter of the legendary entertainment trailblazer, has blasted the company for turning her grandfather into a “robotic grampa” ahead of Disneyland’s 70th anniversary this July.

Her comments follow news that Disney will debut an animatronic version of Walt in a new Main Street attraction celebrating the park’s 1955 opening.

Read more

AI

Clive Dickens’ new venture tackles AI head-on

There’s a new player on the advisory scene, and it’s not business as usual.

The Meliora Company, launched by industry veteran Clive Dickens, is setting out to redefine how companies across IT, telecommunications, and media-entertainment sectors embed AI into their operations.

Instead of offering generic roadmaps and off-the-shelf strategies, Meliora wants to dig into the messy middle, where ambition meets execution.

Read more

Top CEOs warn Australia risks becoming the ‘left-behind country’ on AI

CBA boss Matt Comyn and Telstra CEO Vicki Brady have issued a blunt wake-up call: Australia’s not moving fast enough on AI.

The two execs say the tech is evolving at a blistering pace, and unless we start treating it as a national priority, we risk being outpaced on productivity, innovation and global relevance.

As Amelia McGuire and Paul Smith write in the Australian Financial Review, the message from the top appears obvious: stop marvelling at the tech, start working out how to use it before it uses us.

Read more

Australia’s AI talent gap could be its secret weapon

Yes, Australia is staring down a shortfall of 60,000 AI workers by 2027, but the real story might be the opportunity buried inside that bleak stat.

In this Op-Ed by Danielle Haj-Moussa in Capital Brief, she writes that instead of doomscrolling through the deficit, industry leaders are urging us to flip the script: use the gap to supercharge skilled migration and double down on homegrown talent.

Haj-Moussa goes on to warn that while we’re lamenting brain drain, the US is overflowing.

Read more

Public Relations

Read more

Read more

Retail

Wesfarmers taps Kmart boss to reboot Officeworks

Wesfarmers is handing the Officeworks reins to Kmart chief John Gualtieri, betting he can work the same retail magic that turned Kmart into a national favourite.

As Carrie LaFrenz writes in the Australian Financial Review, Gualtieri will replace outgoing Officeworks boss Sarah Hunter in August, after her six-year run at the top.

Gualtieri is a Wesfarmers lifer, rising through the ranks at Kmart since 2008 before taking the CEO role in 2021, then adding Target to his remit in 2023.

Read more

Star Discount Chemist takes aim at pharmacy’s biggest player

Taking on Chemist Warehouse isn’t for the faint-hearted, but Peter Piliouras thinks he’s got the playbook.

As Simon Evans reports in the Australian Financial Review, The Star Pharmacy Group CEO is channelling his underdog energy from On The Run, where he helped grow a single Adelaide servo into a billion-dollar empire snapped up by Viva Energy.

Now, he’s applying that same growth-at-scale mindset to Star Discount Chemist, which currently runs 70 stores across the country.

Read more

Keep on top of the most important media, marketing, and agency news each day with the Mediaweek Morning Report – delivered for free every morning to your inbox.