UPDATED: Schneider Electric newly promoted marketing chief highlights need for flexibility and agility

Flexibility and agility are top of mind for Schneider Electric marketing leader, Chris Quinn, as he takes the reins for marketing across the East Asia and Japan regions.  

Quinn was promoted from VP of marketing Pacific to the regional marketing leadership role in July. He’s relocated to Singapore and will oversee 14 countries, from Indonesia through to Japan.  

The promotion comes after a 25-year career with the energy management and automation giant, stretching from marketing to management of engineering for the Clipsal brand, technical and professional services, and group oversight of marketing, communications and digital customer experiences from 2016.  

“From a role point of view, and very immediately, flexibility and agility are key as Covid continues to impact many countries in vastly different ways,” Quinn told CMO. “Looking a little further ahead, I’m also looking to build on the strong operational legacy of my predecessor and help the region prepare for a more digital future. Some aspects of the region are very digital; others are quite traditional.”  

At a personal and leadership level, Quinn said he’s working hard to get to know his new and very diverse team, as well as learn about the region and its many nuances.   

“I am quickly trying to learn which parts of what I know translate into this new region and which parts I need to ‘retire’,” he continued.  

A deep involvement in digital change in the Pacific, combined with a comprehensive knowledge of how Schneider Electric works, are key to achieving success for Quinn.    

“I have been involved in many different parts of the business during my career so have a good appreciation of how things fit together and impact each other,” he continued. “I’m used to operating broadly across topics as a result and I will bring some of that perspective to this new role as well.”  

Having overseen Pacific group marketing for more than five years, Quinn said he has plenty of achievements to look back on with pride. A key one is taking on responsibility for Schneider Electric’s ecommerce strategy and implementation four years ago, a role which saw him growing the business from scratch.   

“The ecommerce business has grown by 50 per cent+ year-on-year since then and is now a significant part of our channel business,” Quinn said. “This is also an example of impacting our digital change.”  

More broadly, Quinn said he’s been pleased to see great people come through his team and move on to bigger roles.   

“We have successfully exported team members to places like London, Boston, Hong Kong and Paris for bigger roles, even during Covid. This is a very rewarding aspect of my role,” he added.    

Schneider Electric’s new local VP marketing  

Quinn’s successor as VP marketing for Pacific is Josette Addinall, who joins from Telstra. She spent seven years with the telco, most recently as marketing director for enterprise. Her resume also includes three years as business director at DDB, account management at Permission Communications and digital marketing with 3i Group in the UK.      

Credit: Schneider

Welcoming Josette’s appointment, Pacific Zone president and MD, Gareth O’Reilly, highlighted Addinall’s experience in marketing and leadership along with her passion for digital innovation and a data-driven approach.

“We are impressed with Josette’s agile and strategic thinking, and her vision for the next chapter in Schneider’s storytelling and customer engagement,” he said.

For her part, Addinall said she was looking forward to joining a business with “sustainability, efficiency and progress for all at the heart of its purpose”.

“I look forward to working with the global marketing and local leadership teams to continue to drive brand and business growth. Centre to this will be focusing on creating seamless digital experiences for our customers and frontline teams alike,” she said.

 “It’s such an interesting time in Schneider Electric Pacific’s digital transformation journey. I look forward to helping shape the future direction of the global brand here in the Pacific and to work closely with some of the most innovative minds in the industry.”

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