Advantage Group International has recently announced a restructure to its Australian leadership to align with the organisation's strategic objective of strengthening its customer service offerings in local markets.
After delivering impressive results for Australia in 2022, three key leaders have been promoted as part of the restructure.
Steve Andrews, who has successfully served as General Manager for Advantage Australia over the past five years, has been promoted to Managing Director of Australia. Andrews leadership across his client base, combined with his drive for innovation, has also contributed to developing the food service, specialty pet and e-commerce programs at Advantage Group.
Before joining Advantage in 2018, Andrews was General Manager at a prominent shopper research agency and prior to that he held commercial leadership roles at CUB, Diageo, Lion Nathan and Mars.
Andrews said: “I’m honoured to lead the continued growth and development of the Advantage Australia service. We’re excited by a genuine aspiration from both retailers and suppliers across numerous industries to better understand and improve their engagement, and the expert team at Advantage Australia is well placed to deliver this for clients.”
Alice Hutchin remains General Manager and takes on the additional role of Director of Global Retailer Development. Alice has been with Advantage for seven years. Prior to that, Hutchin was Commercial Director at Unilever, where she was heavily involved in retailer leadership and management.
Over the past five years, Hutchin has been at the forefront of Advantage Australia’s retailer partner engagement by developing a deep understanding of retailer needs and evolving Advantage programs to meet them better.
The third promotion sees David McLoughlin move into the role of General Manager of Australia. McLoughlin previously held consultancy roles and global client leadership roles at Coca-Cola. His deep customer experience and background in consulting have played a significant role in partnering with clients to ensure that insights are actioned and engagement strategies executed.
On announcing Australia’s newly re-structured leadership team, CEO of Advantage Group International, John McLoughlin, said: “I am immensely proud of this new Australian leadership team and the progress they made in their previous roles. Since taking over these new responsibilities, Steve, Alice, and David have set ambitious goals for Australia for the next five years.
“I am confident in their passion and capability to achieve this goal. This market is in good hands,” added McLoughlin.
Advantage Australia is a Corporate Partner of the Drinks Association.