Ausgrid appoints head of CX and corporate comms lead
Ausgrid has hired Karthik Venkataraman as head of customer experience and operations and Dani McComber as corporate communications lead.
Venkataraman was most recently at Qualtrics as head of customer operations and head of partner success for Asia Pacific and Japan. Previously, he spent five years at Deloitte as Queensland lead director and later COO of IP incubation and commercialisation.
Venkataraman has also worked at Asciano and Rio Tinto.
McComber has joined Ausgrid from Haystac
McComber joins from Haystac, where she started in January 2018 as a senior account executive and was elevated to account manager nine months later. At the agency she worked with brands including JAX Tyres, Skyscanner, Sydney Fish Market and Greater Bank.
She has previously worked at Eleven PR and One Green Bean.
McComber said that the role gave her the opportunity to explore her passion points in the industry.
“I’ve been very fortunate to work with many wonderful brands, customers and communities throughout my career,” McComber said.
“The appeal of Ausgrid as a customer-centric and future focused business means that I get to explore these personal passion points while contributing to the wider community in a way that benefits them.
“As Ausgrid continues to transition into a disruptor for the energy sector, particularly with the introduction of renewable energy initiatives like a community battery scheme, it’s an incredibly exciting time and I am thrilled to be joining the Ausgrid team.”
Venkataraman said he will be focused on creating a culture of customer empathy.
“Joining Ausgrid in this role is a privileged opportunity to take personal accountability to deliver better outcomes for customers and users in the city and state I live in,” Venkataram said.
“My focus will be on creating a customer empathy culture within the organisation and weave customer into all our decision making processes.“I also believe in helping create a great employee experience because you just don’t get the desired customer outcomes without that.”
