Roxy Jacenko Exits Australian Business Landscape, Husband Eyes Billionaire Status

PR powerhouse Roxy Jacenko is stepping down from her last Australian business, The Ministry of Talent (MOT), to focus on personal life and an e-commerce venture based in Singapore. The decision marks the end of Jacenko's more than two-decade career at the forefront of Australia's publicity and influencer management industry.

Jacenko will transition directorship of MOT to longtime protégé Emily Hayman, who has worked with the company since 2019. Jacenko will remain in an advisory and founder role for the next 12 months to support Hayman's leadership. The handover is effective from July 2026.

"Gifting the business to her is something she's absolutely earned, and it's important to me that I'm there to support her through the transition," Jacenko told the Daily Mail. Hayman, who began as an intern at MOT, expressed pride in the agency's growth and her readiness to lead it forward.

Jacenko, who launched her first agency, Sweaty Betty PR, in 2004, has steadily moved away from her Australian commercial interests. She relocated her family to Singapore, which she described as an ideal base for her current travel schedule. "I won't be starting anything new – it's time to enjoy life a little more," Jacenko stated, reflecting on a career that began at McDonald's at age 14. Her remaining business focus will be on a DIY e-commerce brand called Findlay, operated with a fellow expatriate in Singapore.

Jacenko's departure from her final Australian business comes as her husband, Oliver Curtis, experiences a significant upswing in his financial fortunes. Curtis is reportedly on track to become Australia's next billionaire through his involvement in an artificial intelligence infrastructure business.

Curtis, who previously served 12 months of a two-year prison sentence for insider trading convictions in 2016, co-founded a company after his release that is building Australia's first green AI factory in Launceston. The venture, known as Project Southgate, is intended to support large AI language models for global tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft. The company, Firmus, has seen its valuation triple to $6 billion in a two-month period late last year and is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Jacenko stated that she is not planning a return to Australia, preferring to remain based in Singapore. She is currently spending the European summer in Saint-Tropez.