About | Hearts & Science Australia
What’s the Heart? Science?
We dig deeper into Behaviour
Understanding your customers, what motivates them and their behaviours and journeys. Positioning your brand in all of this to maximise returns. That’s the Heart.
We dig deeper into Data
To be customer centric you need to be where your customers are. To do that effectively you need data. To manage this data you need technology. To decision this data you need insights. That’s the science.
Australia | Our Business, Our People
Hearts & Science was founded in New York in 2016 as a data-driven marketing agency designed from the ground up to rethink legacy media processes. The new approach resulted in client wins exceeding US$4BN in media spend and the agency grew to 800+ people within 12 months. Hearts & Science in Australia enjoyed some early global wins in 2017 and was officially launched in Melbourne and Sydney in 2019 as the third pillar agency of the Omnicom Media Group (OMG), incorporating the existing m2m agency. Hearts & Science Australia services a number of leading Australian and global brands delivering media audiences & insights, media planning, media buying and advisory services alongside SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), MMM (Market Mix Modelling) and Analytics services.
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Jane
Stanley CEO, ANZA trailblazer at heart, Jane is in her element as she sets the vision for what the global Hearts & Science mission looks like in Australia and New Zealand. The status quo is meant to be pushed and she is constantly looking to uncover new and daring ways to adapt to consumer behaviour.
As an analyst in her early career, Jane is deeply rooted in the power of data and understands its ability to provide audience insights. With over 15 years of executive experience at digital agencies like PHD and Clemenger Harvie, she has influenced work that has won Cannes Lions awards, Effies and Festival of Media awards across multiple continents. The recent winner of Campaign Asia Women Leading Change Vision, Jane is a talented woman - she even makes a mean gin from scratch!
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Luke
Hutchinson Chief Operations Officer, AULuke first joined Hearts & Science in 2017 as our Chief of Investment, and was promoted to Chief Operations Officer in 2022. He has held roles across Sydney and London and has experience in major categories including but not limited to, FMCG, banking, automotive and tech. Luke offers market intelligence, commercial insight and driving positive value outcomes for our clients.
Luke is passionate about golf, to the point of obsession! When not on the course he can be found running half marathons and frequenting wine regions around Australia.
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Darren
Stein Managing Director, AUA qualified psychologist, Darren has always had a fascination with consumer behaviour. His breadth of experience covers 20+ years across client, publisher, agency and consultancy roles.
Darren knows how to get the best out of a technology stack and use data properly to make good decisions with the right information, but his biggest strength is his ability to get to the crux of an issue quickly and work with clients to find the solution to the problem that best suits their business.
He has developed several tools, including the CMO Lens ®, which helps clients accomplish what matters most; and the Triage Process ®, which buckets audiences into manageable, addressable groups for strategic and tactical action.
Darren is father to three teenagers and loves basketball, tennis and going to the gym. And if that isn’t enough to keep him busy, he has recently decided to learn how to read music and take up the piano.
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Kylie
Pascoe General Manager, MelbourneKylie joined Hearts & Science at the beginning of 2023 to lead the Melbourne office as General Manager, bringing a unique and infectious energy & vision to our team and clients.
After more than 20 years in media & communications, she still discovers something new every day in this industry.
With a background in strategy & communications planning, working across Brisbane, Melbourne and London, Kylie most recently held senior roles in client management & leadership within the Omnicom Media Group.
Kylie has a long-standing passion for retail, ecommerce and FMCG clients, having worked on these categories throughout her career, with clients including Mars Group, Kmart, L’Oreal, Bonds and Coles Group.
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Peter
Skarparis General Manager, SydneyAfter nearly two decades' media experience in the Australian and UK markets, Peter joined Hearts & Science in 2023.
Having worked in implementation, comms planning and client leadership roles across Brisbane, London, and Sydney, he has a keen interest in helping people progress, enjoys enhancing Hearts' output, and is curious about commercial improvement.
Peter simply loves gelling with his colleagues to take things to the next level both for the agency and our clients.
When not at work, you can see Peter attempting to surf, improving his tennis game and, as relatively new Sydneysiders, exploring the city with his wife.
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Gerard
Max Managing Partner, MelbourneGerard joined the team in 2020, merging his business Max & Partners into Hearts & Science.
A 25-year media industry veteran, Gerard held senior leadership roles with the Nine Network, Foxtel Media and the Seven Network before starting Max & Partners. His focus is the achievement of his clients’ business objectives through delivery of effective media strategy.
Gerard and his wife Ilana are the proud parents of three sons, and he is co-Chair of Leibler Yavneh College.
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Georgia
Leathart Head of Strategy, AUGeorgia joined the Hearts & Science family in early 2021 and hit the ground running. Since she joined, the strategy division has doubled, and continues to grow as Hearts evolves its strategic offering under her leadership.
With experience ranging from FMCG to luxury fashion, Georgia has a true passion for her clients and absorbs everything she can about their industry, their consumers and the cultural shifts impacting the category. By getting to the heart of every client, she ensures that seemingly disparate trends are readily woven together and transformed into actionable insights and innovative planning outcomes.
Georgia’s passion for the impact of marketing led to her spending two years acting as a strategic advisor to The Lion’s Share Fund, an innovate solution connecting the UNDP, conservation and corporate world that allows brands to give back when using animal images in advertising. Following the conclusion of this role in 2022, Georgia is now focusing on how the marketing and advertising industry itself can better drive inclusivity and retain talent, and is an active member of the AAAG (Advertising Ageism Action Group), launched in 2023.
Global Leadership
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Chris
Stanger Chief Executive OfficerAt the intersection of customer, culture, and content, Chris brings the wealth of OMG capabilities into a cohesive playbook for clients at Hearts & Science. He excels at connecting diverse pieces of information and naturally threads them into clear solutions and strategic narratives. Often, these insights begin by encouraging diverse viewpoints within his team to challenge the status quo, expand their skills, and identify unexpected areas of growth for clients.
With nearly 20 years of agency experience across categories like tech, telco, B2B, travel, and CPG, Chris architects integrated teams to deliver customer-centric solutions that maximize business outcomes and ROI for clients. From awareness and amplification strategies to integrated acquisition solutions, Chris knows how to build blueprints for brands to compete on the world stage.
Chris resides in Dallas with his wife and twin daughters (#twinning), where his meditative riffs often reverberate through the house as he unwinds on his guitars.
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Jeff
Wamble Chief Financial OfficerCrunching numbers and deciphering analytics, Jeff lives and breathes where finance meets creativity. He loves perfecting his craft in an evolving environment like advertising and media and is always analyzing spreadsheets to provide additional value for clients. He wears many hats and gives equal attention to Hearts & Science, its employees and its clients.
Jeff has a firm grounding in finance, starting his career as a senior accountant at the Arthur Andersen accounting firm (now Accenture) before becoming the director of finance at Stillking Films Group. He later made his full foray into the media industry as a finance director at Ogilvy and later at OMD.
Jeff’s diverse work background has enabled him to successfully adapt to different personalities across the agency while still providing support as a business partner. A man of many talents, he also spent six years in the Louisiana Army National Guard and earned his MBA from Columbia University.
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Sharon
Cullen Chief Investment OfficerWhether it’s making a mean guacamole or streamlining digital and programmatic, Sharon always strives for excellence. She is excited to inspire teams at Hearts & Science to put data at the forefront of their investment decisions and knows that this approach will help build trust with clients.
Sharon has been a key part of the Omnicom Media Group family for the last 25 years. From her early stage career in research and sales for A&E and BBDO to the east coast regional director at OMD, Sharon is ready to help others pivot along with an ever-changing media landscape. She was named Media Buyer of the Year by TVWeek in 2018 and has maintained a curious attitude toward continuously learning in the midst of an evolving industry.
But it’s not just accolades and experience that Sharon has been collecting along her career—she also has a diverse set of Brady Bunch paraphernalia. Ask her about it!
