Kennedy trades Country Road for Grill'd

Col Kennedy has left his role as Country Road’s general manager of brand and customer experience and taken up a marketing director’s position with Australian QSR, Grill’d.

Kennedy joined Grill’d in March after a 14-month stint with Country Road, where he reported directly to the managing director. His newly created role at the group, which includes brands Witchery, Mimco, Trenery and Country Road, included overall brand positioning and customer engagement strategies, from visual merchandising and creative to online, including ecommerce, and marketing globally.      

Prior to this, Kennedy spent three-and-a-half years with Australian clothing retailer, Cotton On, where he was global head of marketing and commerce. His professional history also includes local and global stints with Target, The Walt Disney Company, Sony PlayStation and TUI Travel.

The new remit sees Kennedy responsible for the full spectrum of marketing and customer experience at Grill’d, which launched in Australia in 2004 and now boasts of 125 locations nationally.

The group previously had a marketing leader, but Kennedy said the role represented a significantly expanded and executive remit in line with the company's growth ambitions.

“I am a regular customer and have always been a fan of Grill’d, its focus on burgers from a better place and playing an active role in local communities,” Kennedy told CMO. “I was then blown away by the future ambition for the brand after I met Simon [Crowe, founder] and the team.”   

Country Road had not responded to repeated requests for comment on Kennedy’s replacement at the fashion retailer at time of publication.

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