Leadership News, Features, and Interviews

AI is only as good as the training data it is fed, and we must be aware of in-built bias as we move into a future where AI becomes increasingly relied on, said experts at the Dreamforce conference last week.

Analytics is often thought of as a discipline based in numbers. But Sandra Hogan is taking a very human-centric approach to her role as group head of customer analytics at Origin Energy.

Far from it being a retail apocalypse, the proliferation of data and technology has pushed us into a retail renaissance, said Salesforce at Dreamforce this week.

Australia is quick to embrace new technology and brave in its application, Salesforce APAC senior vice-president, Lee Hawksley, claims.​

Doing good is just part of doing business today for Unilever and Marriott, which featured in the Dreamforce keynote as examples of putting customers at the centre of business.

​The fourth industrial revolution was front and centre at the official Dreamforce keynote today, with Salesforce launching a number of new applications to better enable what they consider to be at the heart of this new revolution: connection.

Youfoodz has appointed former Tourism Northern Territory and Racing Queensland marketing leader as its new CMO as it sets its sights on global expansion.

A new campaign focused on the eye health of Australian consumers is the culmination of years of investment into transforming and actioning Specsavers’ brand mission, its CMO says. And it’s not the only sense the company has its sights on.

Out-of-home platform player, oOh!media, has recruited Virgin mobile’s former CEO and one-time marketing chief, David Scribner, as its new chief customer officer.

The National Heart Foundation has brought on two new senior marketers as part of its ambitious and historic plans to transform the structure of the national not-for-profit organisation.

The Star Entertainment Group’s first CMO has recruited four senior marketing specialists and promoted one longstanding staffer as part of a new-look, unified marketing team focused on driving brand growth nationally.

​Adam Ballesty, former Diageo Australia marketer and innovator who left the organisation in May, has resurfaced as director of marketing – sports at Foxtel.​

Marketers must be willing to research their own product ideas, know when to call it quits on focus groups, and have the courage to stick to one creative concept and see it through.

NAB is appointing its first chief customer experience officer, waving goodbye to its retail and wealth chief, rebranding its customer products and services division, in an executive leadership restructure it says will help put customers first.

​Consumers are looking for in store experience and convenience, rather than loyalty programs. This is the word from tcc global, which recently ran a global research study of 15,000 shoppers in 15 countries to map the behavioural triggers, identify preferences, and define what loyalty means in today’s retail world.

Next-generation payment solutions provider, Zip Co, has brought on its first executive-level head of marketing to accelerate its brand efforts.

Myer will stop discounting - getting rid of clearance floors by mid-2019 - reduce floor space, and focus on exclusive brands, as it fights to come back from a shocking near $500 million loss in the year to June 2018.

​The new CEO of the Australian Alliance for Data Leadership (AADL), Stephen Porges, has been ordered to pay almost $1 million by the NSW Supreme Court for ‘misleading and deceptive conduct’.

The concept of category design has not only given hipages the tools to create its first mass market brand campaign, it’s also crystallising the business strategy for its next rapid phase of growth.

Australian insurance player, Youi Insurance, has promoted its group chief marketing officer and founding local chief back to the top job following the departure of its CEO last week.

​In a sea of blue, grey and white, Juniper Networks has decided to go green. Not only in the environmental sense, but also for its new logo. And the stand-out colour is just part of what has been a global brand refresh for Juniper Networks this year.