Former Woolies marketer joins National Heart Foundation as new marketing lead

The National Heart Foundation has welcomed former Woolworths marketing head, Chris Taylor, as its new marketing lead, tasked to develop a single marketing function for the national body for the first time.

Taylor steps into the foundation’s newly created leadership role as GM of marketing, media and communications, a position that will see him drive important messages to market. He commences the role on 26 March.

“He will enlarge and enhance our team of marketing and media professionals to deliver on our brand goals and support the raising of valuable funds for research to fight heart disease,” National Heart Foundation CEO, Adjunct Professor, John Kelly, said in a statement.

“Chris has fantastic experience building brands and delivering commercial outcomes for a range of national and international organisations. His leadership skills and experience in direct response and performance marketing, plus strong digital background, make him an exceptional appointment at a critical time for the Heart Foundation.”

Taylor joins the foundation from Woolworths, where he was the retailer’s head of marketing for the digital, e-commerce and loyalty and services team, WooliesX. He has more than 20 years’ marketing experience, in a career that has seen him hold senior brand marketing, advertising and sponsorship roles, working across diverse industries and global brands.

Kelly noted how Taylor’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the foundation as it looks to increase the awareness of heart health initiatives throughout the community.

“Heart disease is the single biggest killer of Australians, but many people are unaware of the risks and do not take steps to maintain their heart health – this is particularly the case for younger Australians," he said. “Cardiovascular disease has been identified as a National Health Priority, and the Heart Foundation is well placed across Australia to play a leading role in the education and research agenda.”

Taylor said he was delighted to be joining the Heart Foundation and looked forward to working to support better health outcomes for all Australians.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of applying my marketing experience to help Australians understand the adverse effects of heart disease,” he said.

“It’s vital we ensure our marketing helps us achieve these important goals in what has become an increasingly competitive not-for-profit landscape. It’s getting harder to cut through because we are competing for the public’s attention with thousands of other charities. This means we need to continually be more sophisticated and creative in the way we use data and our channels to communicate our messages.”

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