Collins, a well-known figure in the media industry, succeeds Andrew Lord, who is taking on full-time responsibility for Shine M, MindShare's joint venture with Shine Entertainment. Lord has been dividing his time between the two jobs and has been keen to develop the division further.
Collins' appointment comes just two weeks after Kelly Clark joined MindShare to replace Simon Rees as the chief executive. "Andrew was already spending significant time on developing the Shine M business and it makes sense for him to devote all his energy in that direction," Clark explained.
Collins has spent 18 years in the media industry including stints as the group media director at Leo Burnett and in a marketing capacity at the now-defunct ITV sales house TSMS.
She joined Optimedia as its first marketing director five years ago and was appointed to its executive board in May this year.
In her new role, Collins takes on additional responsibility for driving the agency's marketing efforts.
Optimedia has not yet announced a replacement for Collins and, given the growing co-operation in Zenith Optimedia Group (ZOG), it is unclear if one will be employed. Zenith UK has its own marketing director, Vas James, who is currently on maternity leave. Collins leaves Optimedia this week and, following a short period of gardening leave, starts at MindShare at the end of November.
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