McDonald’s chief marketing officer Mark Lollback has been appointed Australia and New Zealand CEO at WPP’s GroupM, replacing John Steedman, who left in June.

Lollback, who joined McDonalds in January 2012, previously worked at Unilever, PepsiCo and ANZ Bank. From January, he will work across all of GroupM’s businesses.

“It’s a great honour to lead GroupM in Australia, particularly at a time of acute transformation in our industry,” said Lollback. “We have seen enormous change over the past five years, and the next five will be incomparable.

“GroupM Australia’s diverse and unrivalled talent, from top to bottom across the business, places it in a formidable position for the future.”

Lollback’s appointment fits with “ambitious” plans for GroupM in the region, including new business, partnerships, products, services and initiatives.

His replacement at McDonald’s will be announced early in the New Year.

“Mark is a unique talent with a depth and breadth of experience, a leadership style and personality that will work well in our culture with an appetite for change and a natural inquisitiveness that will serve our clients, partners, him and us well,” said GroupM Asia-Pacific and China chief executive Mark Patterson.

“We were looking for someone who will bring fresh thinking, ideas and approaches to complement our current leadership team.”