Virgin Velocity program gets its first CMO

Dean Chadwick

Virgin’s Frequent Flyer program division has appointed the former American Express VP of consumer acquisition and product development as its new chief marketing officer.

In his new role at Velocity, Dean Chadwick will be responsible for leading a team of marketing, program design and digital staff focused on delivering the airline’s customer loyalty marketing campaigns across multiple channels. He reports to Velocity CEO, Karl Schuster and commenced the newly created role on 12 December.

Chadwick has spent the last 23 years working for American Express across a variety of marketing and customer experience roles. His most recent position was VP and general manager of consumer acquisition, product development, marketing and chief digital officer of A/NZ.

Key achievement during this time include issuing Apple Pay in Australia, as well as the Amex Offers digital loyalty program. He was also a regular speaker on the use of data in driving better customer experiences and engagement.

In a statement, Schuster highlighted Chadwick’s track record in delivering profitable growth and digital transformation as key reasons for his appointment.

“As we continue to grow the business and provide a winning member experience, Dean’s wealth of knowledge in this field will be invaluable to our team and our business,” he said.

Chadwick said he believed the Velocity program to be the best in Australia and one that has experienced strong growth over the past 10 years.

“I am particularly excited about developing the Velocity brand, especially in the digital space,” he said.

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+:+google.com/+CmoAu