Future proofing by making the big transition from physical to digital proposition and engagement has seen Australia lifestyle offer business, Entertainment, embark on simultaneous digital and brand transformation.

Virgin Australia has confirmed the appointment of its chief customer and digital officer and recruited a new Velocity CEO as part of a fresh executive leadership team full of aviation experience announced today.

Foxtel’s chief customer, marketing and sales officer, Kieren Cooney, is returning from pay TV back to his telecommunications roots and joining TPG group as group executive of consumer from March.

Virgin Australia has brought on a chief customer and digital officer in a step its CEO says will help the airline’s transformation as it steps up plans for 2021.

Homegrown construction tendering software player, EstimateOne, has confirmed MYOB’s customer success chief as its new chief customer and commercial officer.

Commercial kitchen equipment provider, SilverChef, has created its first dedicated executive-level customer role and appointed Wotif Group’s former digital marketing leader to it.

Tyre and auto repairs chain, mycar Tyre & Auto, has appointed a chief customer officer and set its sights firmly on making customer care the point of difference as it builds out its brand in Australia.

Digital marketing outfit, Sensis, has appointed Matt Mulligan as its new chief product and customer experience officer, tasked with the job of growing the business to be the country’s leading platforms business.

Foxtel’s chief marketing officer, Kieren Cooney, has gained end-to-end customer experience oversight under a raft of leadership and management team changes confirmed at the company last week.

More and more, consumers are looking for brands they can have an emotional connection with, says Kathmandu’s chief customer officer, Eva Barrett. And for the Australia and New Zealand-based outdoor apparel brand and retailer, credibility around sustainability will be key to achieving this as it works to build engagement locally and abroad.

A physical mascot for customers in meetings, ruthless prioritisation, cross-functional teamwork and employee camaraderie are just a few ways Australian retail group, Super Retail Group, has ridden through the COVID-19 crisis.

A customer segmentation program gleaning the underlying motivations of flybuys members has not only been a strong tool during the crisis, it provides the key to responding in the new normal, says the group’s customer chief.

WPP AUNZ has confirmed the departure of its chief customer officer, Sunita Gloster, after less than 18 months in the role and a month after the group posted more than $230 million in losses in the first-half 2020.

Team clarity, customer journey mapping and cross-functional connection lie at the heart of success for Good2Give’s inaugural chief customer officer.

Edtech startup, Cluey Learning, kicked off 2020 with a brand refresh, new website and a new campaign, 2020 Vision, exploring the future of education and new research and expert predictions for the decade ahead.

The newly created role of chief customer and digital officer for the state of Queensland has gone to Chris Fechner, whose job will be to implement the government's digital vision. Fechner was most recently chief digital and product officer at Service NSW.

Nine out of 10 CEOs agree: Mastering the customer agenda is the primary challenge their organisations face now and into the future. Yet when it comes to actually orchestrating the people, process and technological changes necessary to ensuring an organisation delivers and exceeds modern customer expectations, many are struggling to truly break ground.

As organisations look to compete on customer experience, it’s to be expected the people, processes and technologies supporting all touchpoints within their customers’ journeys operate more in harmony. And arguably, there are no two more important teams in this picture than marketing and customer service.

One in four customer experience (CX) professionals will be out of a job in 2020, according to the latest Forrester 2020 predictions. But don’t read that as a sign interest in CX is waning: On the contrary, the level of c-suite and high-level CX managers is set to increase.

It was when Catherine Anderson was promoted from CMO to Powershop’s chief customer officer in mid-2018 she felt her mindset shift from marketing to all-of-business.

Bankwest’s Andrew Chanmugam is a firm believer in marketing as both an art and a science. “Marketing gives us a natural opportunity to balance the creative with the commercial,” the EGM of customer experience, who oversees brand and marketing, five customer tribes, three organisational chapters and line-one risk functions, says.