The A2 Milk Company's Massasso to stay on with expanded brand and growth remit

The A2 Milk Company CMO, Susan Massasso, has announced her intention to stay on with the group in a new and expanded role following a restructure of the executive team confirmed today.

Massasso, who was ranked third in the 2018 edition of the CMO50 for her transformative marketing and brand efforts at the ASX-listed milk producer, has been appointed to the newly created role of chief growth and brand officer. News of her plans to stay on come three months after Massasso originally announced her intention of leaving The A2 Milk Company.

It also comes nearly two months after managing director and CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, announced she would step down from the role after just over a year at the helm, with former boss, Geoff Babidge, returning to the top job in an interim capacity. A permanent CEO is expected to be announced by the end of FY20.

Massasso’s expanded role will now encompass innovation, new product and market development, quality and regulatory affairs, while also overseeing marketing and brand development. A search is now underway for a head of group marketing to report directly to Massasso. The new role officially commences today.

Massasso joined The A2 Milk Company as global CMO and spent six years in the position. Prior to this, she spent 12 years with Campbell Arnott’s in marketing and divisional roles, rising up to group Asia-Pacific marketing director.

“I am so pleased to be staying with The a2 Milk Company and highly motivated to take on this newly created and expanded role,” she told CMO. “To be able to manage the brand from end-to-end without being functionally siloed is progressive, highly relevant to our consumers, and exciting for me personally.

“I look forward to working closely with the passionate people in our broader business team to further realise the growth potential of this great brand and company.”

As well as the change in CEO, The A2 Milk company’s technical leader, Phil Rybinski, also exited the business earlier this year. In a statement, the company said its chief operations officer, Shareef Khan, had been leading the technical team on an interim basis and will continue to oversee quality activities in conjunction with Massasso.

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, follow our regular updates via CMO Australia's Linkedin company page, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia.