Sydney, February 21, 2022: Kantar today announce senior leadership appointments to strengthen their CX, media and analytics capability in Australia.

Straford Rodrigues has re-joined the Australian team as Head of Media and Marketing Effectiveness from his tenure at Kantar in North America. His global experience across the UK, US, Singapore and Australia is underpinned by a unique combination of research, media and analytics. Straford says he is excited to return to Kantar in Australia because “it is a growing company with an exciting opportunity to help our clients flourish.”

“I am here to drive media measurement and analytics innovation to meet our client’s evolving needs, connect disparate data sources to support clear business decision making for clients, and help them re-balance immediate sales performance with long-term building of brand value.”

Leading CX specialist Lee Catlin has also joined as Senior Director, Customer Experience. She brings her wealth of experience as a strategic advisor for some of Australia’s biggest brands and Top 100 ASX companies to Kantar clients. Lee’s expertise in human-centred design and behavioural economics empowers brands she works with to facilitate deeper connections with their customers.

“CX has evolved over the past decade from measurement to deep consultation and strategic advisory,” says Lee. “Kantar’s commitment and passion to people, and true hunger for growth and innovation makes me excited by what I can deliver. Kantar has an amazing client portfolio and I look forward to adding extra customer insight to their program to ensure the acceleration of client growth.”

In addition, the easing of Covid-enforced border restrictions allowed Head of Creative Irene Joshy to resettle in Australia from her Singapore base in November after joining the team in June 2021. Australian clients are already benefitting from the bringing of her global experience in academia, social anthropology, semiotics, strategic planning, insights and advertising into the development and optimisation of advertising messaging across media.

“Kantar Insights Australia houses some of the best talent, amazing leadership and great clients that challenge us and keep us on our toes to deliver stellar work to maximise the impact of media spends by ensuring strong creative quality in real time,” says Irene. “Australian advertising is a league apart. The creative styles are bold; the use of humour and unique creative devices make it stand out. There is a fearlessness and hunger to create that makes my work very exciting. There is a partnership of mutual trust and respect that the teams here have forged with clients and agencies, that provides a brilliant platform to experiment and elevate one’s work.”

Kantar’s Managing Director, Insights – Australia and New Zealand, Jon Foged says, “we are committed to leading the market to ensure our clients accelerate growth through insights and human understanding powered by great thinking and exceptional technology.”

“Straford Rodrigues brings to Kantar a unique mix of media, analytics and team leadership experience, coupled with a proven track record of delivering commercial success. Leveraging his experiences in the US, he is leading our clients to embed a total marketing ROI within their business.”

“Customer experience is a highly relevant and challenging business issue for our clients, and one with considerable opportunity when combined with a brand lens,” adds Foged. “The addition of Lee Catlin coupled with our Head of CX Maree Taylor delivers a CX powerhouse to support clients to understand how their brand promise delivers to the customer experience and if the customer experience reflects the brand promise.”

“I am also thrilled to have Irene with us on the ground in Australia. She has already had a significant impact on growing our clients’ businesses with informed powerful strategies through the lens of culture and consumer insights and into early-stage creative development. Irene is hugely client centric, tenacious, has a strong willingness to support both our people and clients, and brings a high dose of energy to our business.”

Straford Rodrigues and Lee Catlin are both based in Sydney and Irene Joshy in Melbourne.

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