Ipsos has announced its new, integrated Australian CEX (customer and employee experience) division and three senior appointments, as it continues to bolster its customer and employee experience offering.
Under the new structure, Ipsos will integrate its employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX) business units in Australia into a single CEX team, designed to deliver greater impact for clients.
The newly integrated team, which is a result of Ipsos’ recent acquisition of CX and EX specialists Big Village Australia, will offer a comprehensive suite of services, providing high-quality, rigorous insights that connect CX and EX.
“Today’s announcement of our new CEX division and senior team appointments follows the growing demand from our clients for a total understanding of the human experience with corporations and service providers,” said Wendy McInnes, Ipsos director, customer and employee experience. “We recognise that understanding people as both employees and customers is crucial for success, and this new team connects our individual CX and EX spaces to enable businesses to truly thrive in today’s competitive market”.
Ipsos also announced three senior CX and EX specialists will join the new division. Melissa Yow has joined the business as director of customer experience in Australia, Rollo Grayson has joined as director in the Australian CX advisory team, and Bhavna Sawnani has taken on the role of account director in the EX team.
Yow brings 15 years of consulting and research experience to Ipsos, specialising in all aspects of CX measurement, including customer journey mapping, persona creation, and advisory services. Yow comes to Ipsos after nearly a decade at Forethought, where she was general manager of customer experience Advisory. Her experience spans various sectors, including finance, FMCG, utilities, transport, and leisure, along with not-for-profit organisations, peak bodies, and state government authorities. Notably, Yow spearheaded the winning strategy for the 2021 Ashton Media Award for Best CX Transformation, designing and overseeing a multi-phased insights and strategy development program for a leading Australian brokerage firm.
Grayson has worked in CX and marketing roles across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, and Europe. His expertise lies in helping organisations leverage their CX programs to drive strategic business change and growth. He comes to Ipsos from Vodafone New Zealand, where he was the head of customer strategy and insights. He also has vast experience across the financial services, B2B, telecommunications, automotive and energy sectors.
Sawnani, who has transferred from the Ipsos UK EX consulting team, has nearly a decade of EX experience. She has worked for both private and public organisations across a range of sectors in the UK, including healthcare, transport, financial services, and government. Sawnani brings an extensive background in culture program development, employment engagement strategy design, and activation, which will significantly enhance the Australian EX team’s employee experience design and consulting capabilities.
“Our CEX team has been bolstered by the appointment of Melissa, Rollo, and Bhavna – together, they bring a combined 40 years’ CX and EX experience to the business, with a wealth of knowledge across the full gamut of CX and EX strategy and activation. I’m certain they will continue to maintain the rigour and high-quality insights of our CX and EX space and use their vast expertise to offer a fully integrated experience for both new and existing clients,” added McInnes.
The appointments come as Ipsos records significant growth in the CX and EX space, following its acquisition of insights business Big Village Australia last year. The acquisition brought large-scale federal government programs to Ipsos, along with multinational clients in the professional services and IT sectors on CX metrics, and EX assessment and advisory services for government and commercial clients. The acquisition deepened Ipsos’ CX and EX expertise, while also contributing to its 2025 growth plan to strengthen its global public affairs business”.
The appointments are effective immediately.
