A leader who genuinely cares about people, stays calm when everyone else is panicking, and always acts with integrity – putting the best interests of the industry at the heart of everything he does.
Peter Horgan – or Horgs, as he’s known to industry veterans and newcomers alike – has helped shape our industry, bringing his trademark geniality, good humour and, of course, lycra bike shorts along for the ride.
His career may have had a shaky start – famously being fired by Lesley Edwards just three months into his first Australian agency job at Y&R – but it certainly didn’t slow him down.
Horgs went on to work at some of Australia’s most influential agencies, alongside many of the industry’s biggest names. At every stop, he left his mark through a leadership style built on integrity, loyalty, candour and compassion.
After Y&R, he joined Media Decisions, working with Pam Lane, Simon Bellamy and Phil Hayden. Three years later, he moved to Optimedia, joining Belinda Rowe, Mark Kennedy, Andrew Winn and Simon Rush in a business that was redefining the role of media in marketing. A year at Carat, working with Richard Halmarick, followed.
Then came the move that would define much of his career: OMD, alongside James Greet, as Clemenger and DDB merged to create the new media agency. Bringing two strong agency cultures together wasn’t easy. But it taught Horgs an important lesson: culture matters.
This was also the beginning of one of his most important professional relationships – with Mark Coad and Leigh Terry. Together, the trio would go on to mentor and support many of the leaders shaping our industry today.
“I’ve had the good fortune of having our careers intertwined for almost 20 years now, and I am incredibly grateful for that,” says Mark Coad, currently Advisor at Hatched. “I have seen first hand his incredible knowledge, his ability to cleverly articulate complex issues, and, most of all, his many successes.
“What is so unique about Horgs, and why he is worthy of induction into the MFA Hall of Fame, is that through all those successes, he has always acted with great integrity and with the best interests of the industry at heart. We saw that in the way he threw himself into the role of MFA Chair for 10 years, as well as in the deeper responsibility he fulfilled as an agency and Holdco leader. For that alone, we all have a bit to be grateful for.”
Interestingly, media wasn’t Horgs’ first career choice. He was chasing a job in investment banking when the 1990 recession hit, dashing his ambition to be a “Gordon Gheko” type. A friend suggested media buying. He gave it a shot – and never looked back, starting in London before returning to Australia soon after.
What kept him in the industry, Horgs says, was the camaraderie and the relationships. “Media owners went from combatants and adversaries in the UK to collaborators, with more of a philosophy of, ‘What can we build together to solve a client problem?’” he recalls.
And then there was the constant change. “It just keeps evolving,” he says. “The waves of disruption from media fragmentation, programmatic, the good and the bad that’s come out of it, the complexities keep coming.
Former Seven West Media Chief Revenue Officer Kurt Burnette, who spent many years across the negotiating table from Horgs, says Horgs’ induction into the MFA Hall of Fame is “thoroughly, ridiculously deserved”.
“He has, without question, been a foundational figure in the growth of this industry, with that impact felt on every side of the business – client, agency and media owner alike” Kurt says.
“Not just through the work he did for his own business but the effort and positive impact he’s had on media owners, clients and the industry as a whole – by consistently giving his time, his opinion and his actions for the betterment of the industry.
“He’s smart, articulate, and has an innate ability to just make stuff happen. Not always smoothly but always effectively. It’s a rare talent, and it thoroughly deserves recognising.”
MFA CEO Sophie Madden knows that talent well. Horgs joined the MFA Board in 2004 and, after what he calls a “10-year apprenticeship”, became Chair in 2014.
“Back then, the Chair role was, let’s say, not exactly coveted,” Sophie says. “It was more a ‘someone’s got to do it’ kind of job - often decided by who made the mistake of leaving the room during the vote. Horgs changed all that. He turned it into a role that’s now aspirational, and highly contested.
“Under his leadership, the MFA tackled industry reputation wobbles, rebuilt combative relationships with client bodies, championed initiatives to develop our future leaders and helped unite an industry that wasn’t always great at moving in the same direction.
“Ultimately, he helped strengthen the industry we’re all proud to be part of.”
For 2022 MFA Hall of Fame inductee Greg “Sparrow” Graham, Horgs’ greatest impact was the way he straddled both the media agency and the client side of the industry, championing collaboration and transparency – particularly through his position on the Board of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (now the Marketing Association of Australia).
“Having a voice on the AANA Board elevated the conversation around media’s role with clients, and that was really important,” Sparrow says. “It wasn’t standard for the AANA Board to include a media agency leader, and Horgs really pioneered the way for media to showcase how important it is to clients. And he never shied away from the big issues.”
For his part, Horgs says it all comes back to a fundamental belief: the industry is stronger when agencies, clients and media partners work together to tackle the big challenges facing both the industry and society. “One of the things I’m most proud of is the fact that the MFA and the peak client body are closer now, recognising the benefit of working together,” he says.
He’s also a passionate advocate for the role agencies can play in driving growth. “I’ve always been motivated by how agencies can help marketers win, not just against their competitive set, but also the role of marketing as a growth engine for business.”
As for his proudest achievement, Horgs says “the trust, consistency and reputation we, and I underline we, built at Omnicom” is top of the list. And building his own business at Joy Agency in this next chapter of his career is also a highlight.
For PHD CEO Laura Nice, though, Horgs’ greatest legacy is his compassion as a leader – and the people he brought with him.
“He was a boss I really admired because of how he deeply cared about people,” she says. “He was always your number one supporter and while he challenged you, if you came to him with an idea you really believed in, he’d back you all the way.”
In 2021 when Aimee Buchanan left as OMD CEO, Laura – then the agency’s Managing Director – and Chief Digital Officer Sian Whitnall approached Horgs with an idea: they wanted to become Co-CEOs of OMD. “He listened, gave us feedback and then backed us all the way to global,” Laura says.
It’s a leadership style Laura has carried into her own career. “He never looked panicked,” she says. “Even if everything was burning, he always remained calm. He had a brilliant way of making you feel that it didn’t matter, we would be ok.”
Another defining aspect of Horgs’ leadership is his ability to bring people together – personally and professionally – and open doors for others. Laura recalls visiting Melbourne with her daughter and Horgs inviting them both to a barbecue at his parents’ home.
“When you meet Horgs, he opens the door to his whole world and lets you in,’ Laura says. “He’s the same with his professional relationships. He’s never protective of his connections.”
WPP Australia & New Zealand CEO and current MFA Chair Aimee Buchanan also highlights Horgs’ role in opening doors and mentoring a large portion of the industry’s leaders.
“Horgs has dedicated his career to making our industry better. He has spent decades opening doors for people, developing talent, advocating for the value of media, promoting the importance of transparency and always bringing the industry together,” she says.
“As a long-standing agency leader and former MFA Chair, he has helped shape what the media agency industry looks like today. His influence extends well beyond the businesses he has led.
“Myself and many other industry leaders have benefited from his mentorship, generosity and willingness to champion others. His induction into the MFA Hall of Fame is recognition of his extraordinary career, enormous industry impact and an even greater contribution to the people around him.”
Kurt Burnette sums up the general sentiment from everyone: “But what I'll remember isn’t the titles, the business wins or the industry milestones. It’s the fact Horgs was exactly the same bloke at a barbecue as he was in a boardroom. No airs. Just someone who backed the people around him and made the whole industry better for having him in it.”
But surely the last word should go to Horgs. “I’m way too young to be a Hall of Famer and there’s plenty of life left in the old dog,” he says.
