Harold Mitchell was ‘Ruthless as Hell, Loyal and Generous’

Harold Mitchell was one of Australia’s most successful media buyers, forming his own independent company, Mitchell and Partners, in 1976. He was and will continue to be respected to the utmost degree by all who knew him. He was a dedicated mentor and philanthropist. 

He created the Harold Mitchell Foundation in the year 2000, focusing on donating money and promoting causes among the arts and community health. 

In 2004, he was appointed a Order of Australia, “for service to the community, particularly as a benefactor and fundraiser in support of artistic and cultural endeavour and to business through advertising and media interests.” 

Danny Bass, CEO, media at dentsu had this to say about his passing, 

“Arriving in Australia in the late ‘90s, it was clear the industry was defined by three: Murdoch, Packer, and Mitchell. Harold Mitchell was a titan that defined Australia’s media landscape for many decades and must be remembered in the pantheon of Australian media legends.” 

As a man, Harold was extremely competitive and firm, as is expected when working within the media buying sector of the industry. And yet, at the same time, he was incredibly kind, providing guidance to many people within the industry. 

“Harold Mitchell’s legacy is one that is hard to capture in a few short sentences, but it is one that lives on in those who knew him and the industry he helped shape into a competitive force on the global stage. His passion for the arts and sports and efforts in philanthropy will also be remembered.” Danny continued. 

His immense intelligence and self-awareness bought him to write a memoir in 2009, ‘Living Large: The World Of Harold Mitchell,” in which he detailed his life from the son of a sawmiller who left school early to step into the city of Melbourne to one of the biggest names in Australian media. Harold’s memoir has been described as ‘part autobiography, part guidebook.’ 

He was the chairman or board member of various organisations, including the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the New York Philharmonic, the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum Board of Victoria, Opera Australia, CARE Australia, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tennis Australia, the Deakin Foundation, the Melbourne International Festival of Arts, and the Australia-Indonesia Centre.

Adam Ferrier, founder of Thinkerbell, told his own story about the famous media buyer,

“He bought us in to jointly pitch for I think Nissan in 2006. It was a joint pitch and on the morning of the pitch Harold had got word that I intended to wear a t-shirt and jeans.

To rectify the situation he had someone in his team get / buy / commandeer a suit for me to wear….. which obviously I wasn’t going to do. It all came to a head and he called me into his office and had me sit down opposite to him, his legs spread as we sat very close to each other.

Harold then said to me “What’s this I hear about you refusing to wear a suit?” To which I replied jokingly “I’ll wear the suit, if you wear a t-shirt.” As quick as a flash he lent forwards and put his finger in my face and said “Don’t fuck with me, Ferrier.”

The Michell’s team wore suits, the Naked team didn’t, and we lost the pitch.” 

Adam continued to describe Harold as ‘ruthless as hell’, ‘loyal’ and ‘generous’. 

Tributes to Harold Mitchell continue to pour in as the media mourn the death of a man who knew what it took to be successful.