Customer service agency Lavender has continued to expand its team with the appointment of Damian Sharpley as strategy director.

With experience on both the client and agency side, Sharpley has worked across financial services, IT, professional services, telco and automotive in both B2B and B2C roles in Australia and the UK.

His previous roles include head of marketing business at Bankwest, integrated marketing lead for Australia and New Zealand at Accenture, and head of global brand communications at ANZ.

At Lavender, Sharpley will lead strategy across the Westpac Banking Group portfolio – the agency’s longest-standing client of 20 years.

Lavender CEO Roy Capon said: “Damian is another brilliant addition to the senior team. His deep client-side experience in the financial services market will bring immense insight and value to our partners.

“From his consultancy experience through to managing brands, Damian’s unique experience helps us continue to build the complete CX offering.”

Commenting on his new role, Sharpley said: “Marketing is moving into a new era where the primary tools that drive value for clients are upon us.

“In my view, Lavender is making the right bets in terms of investment in these capabilities unlike any other agency I know. So, I am excited by the opportunity and pleased to be working with such a great team to make a real difference to our clients’ business.”

Sharpley joins other recent hires at Lavender, including business partner Ineke Williams, head of data Brian Sliman, head of experience design Eric Folger, experience design director Mitchell Seeto, and strategy partner Nick Andrews.