Telstra’s chief marketing officer, Brent Smart, has stepped down from the telecommunications giant after almost four years.
A Telstra spokesperson confirmed the move to B&T this morning.
“After an incredibly impactful chapter at Telstra, Brent has chosen to take some time out to recharge his creative batteries,” they said.
“Under Brent’s four years of leadership, the brand has gone from strength to strength. Today, Telstra is one of the top 10 strongest brands in Australia and the fourth strongest telco brand in the world. We also earned the most prestigious award in advertising, the 2025 Canne Lion Grand Prix for Film Craft. That doesn’t happen by accident. Brent and his team have truly transformed our brand and taken it to new heights. His legacy will continue to inspire us for years to come.”
In a statement from Smart he said: “I’ve put everything I have into transforming the Telstra brand over the last four years and I’m proud of the impact the brand has had in the business and in the market.”
“I’d like to thank Telstra leadership for their faith and my team and partners for their support. I’ve decided it’s the right time to close this chapter and recharge before I take on the next challenge,” he added.
Smart joined Telstra in June 2022 from insurance firm IAG and led a series of marketing wins for the telco, most notably with its viral, award-winning “Wherever We Go” campaign.
Brent Smart is one of the longest standing members of B&T’s CMO Power List, appearing first whilst he was helming NRMA Insurance. He’s appeared in subsequent three years on the spin as CMO of Telstra. Since joining the telco in September 2022, Smart has overseen a radical change in the way Telstra looks, feels, sounds and appears in the minds of consumers through unrivalled creative confidence and character.
He also appeared in B&T‘s Top 10 Best of the Best CMOs in 2023 where he ranked third on the list, recognising his successful transition from IAG to Telstra.
What happens now?
Telstra confirmed to B&T that stepping into Smart’s role is Jana Kotatko with the newly created title of chief marketing officer and retail executive.
Kotatko has had over 20 years in the telecommunications industry.
Her background includes serving as the CEO of Belong, Telstra’s budget brand, where she successfully positioned it as Australia’s first certified carbon-neutral telco and a key growth engine.
More recently, she served as the executive for Telstra Retail & Regional, overseeing customer-facing initiatives and digital security features like the Device Security Essentials suite. Prior to her long tenure at Telstra, Kotatko built her global expertise through senior leadership roles at Vodafone, Optus, and 3 Mobile, focusing on digital transformation and improving the overall customer experience.
Smart, a former advertising agency executive, is widely credited with bringing creative firepower back to Telstra, with the “Wherever We Go” campaign ranking among the top Australian ads of 2025 by multiple independent research firms.
Prior to joining Telstra, Smart led the five-year brand transformation of NRMA and previously spent a decade in the US, where he served as CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi New York and managing director of BBDO San Francisco.
Following his arrival at Telstra, Brent oversaw the telco’s adoption of a bespoke agency model under the name +61 towards the end of 2023, which brought together creatives from independent agency Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, alongside TBWA, and media planning and buying from OMD.
A year later, Telstra launched its landmark ‘Wherever We Go’ brand platform during the AFL Grand Final in September 2024 featuring ‘Mick’, the marching mascot.
The original launch video has since racked up 3.7m views on Youtube, while the broader campaign won eight Cannes Lions last year.
Earlier this month, the telco released its latest iteration of the campaign, which saw “Mick” pick up a whole new crew of companions as the telco rolls out its latest, bringing back the signature “telstrut” and the whistling seagull sidekick.
