Dom Hickey Joins Enigma as Chief Strategy Officer

Dom Hickey is joining indie creative and media agency Enigma as chief strategy officer. 

"I received the loveliest, warmest welcome from my new Enigma family yesterday and I already feel like I’m getting stuck in," Dom told LBB.

She will be based in Sydney with frequent trips to Newcastle, adding "I have family in both cities so am looking forward to getting to know both offices."

Dom is one of Australia’s most prominent and respected strategy leaders. Across a career spanning more than two decades, she has led the strategy on some of the country’s biggest brands including Domain, Westpac, Coles and J&J.

Most recently, she was chief strategy officer at Howatson+Company, spending three years in the role before LBB broke the news of her departure in March. In her time at Howatson, the agency was recognised as a Contagious Pioneer, received multiple Independent Agency of the Year accolades and scored four wins across the APAC and Australian Effies.

Notable work from her tenure at the agency includes Domain’s brand platform ‘Know What We Know’, ModiBodi’s ‘I’m dying inside’ and ‘The Great Unsubscribe’ for the ABC.

"When I met [Enigma founder and director] Lisa, I was instantly impressed by her commitment to deeply understanding the behaviour of consumers across the whole country. It’s an agency proudly born in regional Australia, and that shapes a point of view that’s unique amongst agency offerings. Grounded in real life and relatable to real Aussies," Dom said.

"The agency feels like a well-kept industry secret. I’m joining at time where there’s been significant talent investments including Simon Lee, Claire Yarley, Joanna Lilley as well as internal promotions of Justin Ladmore and Amy Dascanio. You can feel the momentum and the ambition to deliver unignorable, world class creative."

Dom’s appointment as CSO follows that of Simon Lee as CCO in March and Justin Ladmore’s promotion to chief media officer in February.

Dom and Simon worked together previously at Lavender, forming a creative partnership that Hickey described as “one of the strongest of my career”

Enigma founder and director Lisa Sutton Gardner said  the team "scoured the country (and a fair few others) to find the best leader for this department and have more than found what we’re looking for in Dom."

"From our first conversation, it was clear that we have a shared view of how deep strategic insight can deliver the most potent impact for our clients but also shared values on how we like to work and the kind of business we want to build. Dom’s appointment is a key step in Enigma’s ongoing evolution; I’m delighted to have her on board,” Lisa said.

Justin Ladmore, Enigma chief media officer added, “We’ve always had a passion for understanding and connecting with real Australia. It drives everything we do. With Dom’s arrival and the strategic firepower of her Central Intelligence team we’re better equipped than ever to deliver truly integrated campaigns for our clients that move real Australians and shape Australian culture. Bring it on!”