Boomtown appoints Andrew ‘Billy’ Baxter as chairman

Boomtown, the media industry collective representing the 9.9 million people living in regional Australia, has named Andrew “Billy” Baxter as its new chairman.

Baxter is one of Australia’s most recognised marketing and communications leaders, having led major agencies including Publicis and Ogilvy, and worked on campaigns such as AAMI’s ‘Rhonda and Ketut’ and Coca-Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’.

He currently serves as chair of Australian Pork, deputy chair at Foresters Financial and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and is a non-executive director at OzHarvest. He is also an adjunct professor of marketing at the University of Sydney.

Baxter said regional Australia offered significant untapped potential for advertisers.

“Regional Australia is home to 36% of our population, people who earn and spend close to the same as those in our major cities, yet media investment lags by around half in those markets,” he said. “It’s exciting to join the Boomtown team and help them on their journey to levelling out that media spend by highlighting the power of regional advertising.”

The Boomtown collective said Baxter’s strategic thinking, creativity and industry expertise would help shape its next phase, particularly as technology and AI reshape media buying.

Baxter is only the second person to hold the role, following inaugural chairman Brian Gallagher, who stepped down in June. His appointment is effective immediately.