Aussie-based Shippit recruits new CMO, product chief

Shippit has brought on a new chief marketing officer as well as chief product officer as its looks to scale up regionally.

Brett Chester has joined the logistics company as CMO, returning to Australia after a decade-long stint in the US. On his resume are marketing leadership roles with retail and SaaS companies including Replicon, Singular and Deputy.

Chester noted he joined Shippit following its landmark rebrand launched in market nine months ago.

“I’m sucked in by almost everything advertised to me, and being time poor I shop online, a lot. I’m generally satisfied with most website experiences, but I struggle daily with poor delivery experiences,” Chester commented. “Based on that personal mission, and my background in retail, and experience growing, fast scaling SaaS companies in Silicon Valley, it was a no brainer to join Shippit.

“Shippit is uniquely positioned to help both merchants and carriers realise their aspirations to get packages into consumers hands as efficiently as possible. Accordingly, as marketers our role is to amplify the message that solutions to logistics challenges exist; not only for the benefit of Shippit, but for the betterment of the ecommerce industry at large.”

Alongside Chester, Shippit has confirmed former SiteMinder product leader, Inga Latham, as its new chief product officer. She has more than 20 years’ experience with organisations such as Yahoo, Lastminute.com, Ticketmaster and Commonwealth Bank and made it on the Software Report’s list of top 50 women leaders in SaaS in 2021. Latham is tasked with evolving Shippit’s software for retailers, couriers and consumers.

“Creating a better delivery experience for consumers is relatable. But when you dive under the surface of it, you discover the immense potential to revolutionise archaic processes and enhance delivery experiences for buyers, merchants and carriers,” Latham commented. “Shippit already has an incredible vision and strategy, and my role is a collaborative one, with a focus on leading the product function to ensure we can achieve it. That’s motivating, and just a little bit intoxicating, too.”

Shippit was founded by William On and Rob Hango-Zada in Australia in 2014. The company has nearly doubled in size over the last two years and now boasts of 250 staff across Australia and Singapore as well as customers such as Target, Myer, Cotton On and Big W. According to the company, it shipped more than 40 million deliveries in 2021, a 300 per cent increase on pre-pandemic levels.

Helping facilitate this growth was the acquisition of Australian last-mile solutions provider, Premonition, in February last year as well as Southeast Asian startup, Luwjistik. Shippit also struck a partnership with Uber on on-demand delivery services for retailers in 2022.

The latest appointments come more than a year after retail leader, David Gordon, was appointed chairman of the Board to help Shippit expand globally, enhance its platform and attract and invest in talent and leadership. Helping these efforts is $50 million in capital secured by Shippit last year.

“We have a vision for the future, and Brett and Inga are fundamental to that,” said Hango-Zada. “Their experience and reputation is world-class, their vision is unparalleled, but more importantly, they’re good people. We have a diverse team with diverse backgrounds, expertise and ways of thinking, and that’s why we have the foundations to grow even as the industry contracts.

“Investing in strong leadership is a crucial means of delivering value to our customers. By having the opportunity to work with seasoned leaders, we are giving our broader team the best support possible as we embark on our next chapter of growth.”  

Announced to market in July last year, Shippit’s new brand logo and visual identity focuses on the company’s evolution and the role it plays for customers. Key attributes behind the new logo are movement, growth and momentum. The new branding spans all Shippit channels, including social media, paid advertising, email marketing and its in-product app and was developed by DesignStudio.