Susan Lyons appointed Khemistry GM, Kelly Brightwell joins as strategy director
GrowthOps has appointed Susan Lyons as general Manager of behaviour change creative agency, Khemistry having joined Khemistry in October 2021 as executive strategy director.
Khemistry co-founder, Andy Fyffe will take on a key client relations role, while also supporting Lyons’s transition to general manager.
Kelly Brightwell steps into the role of strategy director, also joining Khemistry’s senior leadership team.
GrowthOps chief executive, Clint Cooper said, “We are extremely grateful to Andy and incredibly excited about Susan’s appointment as General Manager. We’re also very pleased to welcome Kelly.
“When Susan joined the Group last year, I flagged that we saw her as a significant future leader for the wider GrowthOps business, well equipped to foster the group’s momentum as a leading growth experience partner.
“She has quickly developed a great rapport with our people and clients, and with Andy’s guidance and mentorship, she has already assumed greater responsibility for the Khemistry business.
“In recognising Susan’s abilities, energy and drive, Andy has magnanimously decided to step to one side and hand custodianship of Khemistry to Susan.
“We’re incredibly indebted to Andy for what he has built – a thriving business, respected brand, strong client base, dynamic team and fantastic culture. His entrepreneurial leadership, care, commitment, selflessness and talent have created value for his team, the group and our clients.
“We’re very pleased he’ll continue to work his magic across Khemistry and the wider group.”
Fyffe co-founded Khemistry in 2009 with a desire to help clients gain new traction on big issues by combining creativity, technology, and content in novel ways. Today, it specialises in innovative behaviour change campaigns, content, and digital platforms for businesses and government. In particular, it’s a trusted partner of state, local and federal government agencies and entities across health, sustainability, public safety, equity, economic development and other significant areas of public policy.
Fyffe said: “Co-founding and leading Khemistry has been the highlight of my professional life. The business remains my pride and joy, and marketing communications remains my passion.
“I’ve always admired the way someone like Robert Morgan at Clemenger Group has evolved their role over time, remaining deeply involved and influential in the business while making way for generational renewal and fresh leadership talent.
“Of course, you can only do that if you’ve found someone like Susan, who embodies all the qualities of the new age agency leader; a tech-to-psychology-to-creative boundary spanner, powerfully business minded and data literate, sharply attuned to the contemporary marketing landscape and talent mindset.
“With Susan stepping into the leadership role, I plan to be more valuable to our clients and our people than ever, refocusing on strategic counsel, thought leadership, talent attraction, and cultural and professional development.”
Lyons joined Khemistry from Publicis where she was executive strategy director. Also, having previously worked at CHE Proximity, PwC and Clemenger BBDO, she has brought enterprise level customer experience strategy and data driven marketing expertise to the business.
Lyons said: “It’s a huge privilege to be given the opportunity to lead the Khemistry team. It is not lost on me that I am taking over from Andy, a founder who has put their heart and soul into building a business that both serves our clients impeccably and deeply cares for our employees.
“I’m delighted to be able to lead an agency that has the capability to create behaviour change in whatever form is needed. Whether that be a more traditional campaign idea or a first-of-its kind digital experience. It’s simply about what works.
“I’ve been very lucky to work with many great leaders over my career. So I hope to be able to take what I’ve learnt, merge it in with my own personality and strengths and help to guide Khemistry into our next phase of growth.”
Meanwhile, Kelly Brightwell has stepped into the role of strategy director.
Brightwell brings a 15-year track record establishing, growing and repositioning brands across tourism, financial services, health and retail having previously worked for Suncorp, Lorna Jane, Velocity Frequent Flyer, Virgin Australia and Virgin Blue.
Lyons highlighted Brightwell’s deep understanding of the pressures faced by marketers to deliver a tangible return on marketing investment.
Lyons said, “Kelly’s ability to use customer data and insights to unlock new business opportunities is second to none in this market. She’s done it repeatedly for some of Queensland’s biggest brands from the inside, and now we’re delighted she’s agreed to come over and apply that expertise to Khemistry’s clients.
“Kelly’s a learner, a doer and a winner. Our clients are going to absolutely love working with her.”
Brightwell said she was drawn to Khemistry’s unique combination of passion, process and people.
“Their reputation for combining creativity with insight to deliver truly impactful work was a huge draw card for me. The clincher though, was the calibre of their team and vision of their leadership. It’s a really exciting time for Khemistry and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
Have your say