SunRice head of marketing departs, replacement search underway
SunRice head of marketing and insights Andrew Jeffrey has left the company after he joined in January 2018.
Jeffrey was responsible for leading SunRice marketing both in Australia and New Zealand, and in the Middle East and Pacific. During his tenure at SunRice, Jeffrey oversaw campaigns such as the 2019 Chinese New Year campaign.
Before SunRice, Jeffrey has spent time in offices across Asia Pacific with Coca-Cola, most recently as strategy director at Coca Cola South Pacific in Sydney according to his LinkedIn.
A SunRice spokesperson told Mumbrella: “Andrew Jeffrey departed the SunRice Group at the end of January after four years as Head of Marketing and Insights. Andrew leaves with our thanks for his contribution during his time with SunRice, and our best wishes for his next professional endeavour.
“We will make an announcement regarding the position in due course.”
Jeffrey told Mumbrella: “I have had a great 4 years at SunRice. Many people are not aware of the scope of the business which spans broadly 5 global regions (Middle East, Asia, Pacific Islands, North America and ANZ) in roughly equal sizes and is a category that is at the heart of cultures. For a marketer, representing an Australian business in these regions and connecting with consumers in such diverse parts of the world has been truly rewarding.
“My decision to leave is more driven by the desire to seek a new challenge having been through a full cycle of experiences at SunRice. Along with the many highs with such a business, an international agribusiness comes with its fair share of challenges (drought, record low crops, shipping challenges, covid, geo-political realities to name a few). I feel that now the business is broadly through these times, it is a good time to move on in the knowledge the business is in good health.”
Jeffrey added: “Whilst I am very proud of how we have been able to progress our home market within Australian retail with strong sales growth, great relations with our retail partners and successfully expanding Australians use of rice and rice based foods, it is also the International successes that I cherish the most. With a mostly Sydney based team, I have very much enjoyed the successes we have achieved in really connecting with local consumers who relate to rice and meal time in culturally very different ways to those we are personally familiar with. From our first ever TV campaign in the Solomon islands during the Soccer World cup, to our pan-Arab campaign across the Middle Eastern markets, and the expansion of our snacking brands into new markets in Asia such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore, have been clear highlights. I was also very proud of our collaboration with Identity Communications in developing our program connecting with rice loving Australians from ethnic food heritages leading to a winning the NSW Premiers Multicultural Award – Campaign of the Year.”
This article has been updated with comments from Andrew Jeffrey.
Have your say