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Westfield’s marketing leader John Batistich leaving after nine years

Batastich heralded Westfield's entry into digital

Batastich heralded Westfield’s entry into digital

John Batistich, group marketing and digital director of Scentre, parent of Westfield, is leaving the role after nine years.

Scentre announced Batistich was leaving to “pursue new opportunities” and did not make any comments about a possible successor.

Batistich’s departure comes just weeks after CEO Peter Allen revealed the company would create a customer experience division that would align centre management, marketing, digital and insight teams to make sure the company focused all of its activities on the shopper.

Batastich has been credited with growing Scentre’s use of data and digital technology to better connect shoppers with the brand, and the thousands of businesses which are housed within Westfield malls.

In a statement, the company said Batistich was leaving the business in a strong position.

“Batistich leaves the organisation well positioned to continue this direction, with major achievements including facilitating our first web-to-mall platform, westfield.com.au searchable mall, and delivering Scentre Group’s wifi service and location analytics platform across all 35 Westfield shopping centres in Australia,” the statement said.

At the recent Mumbrella Retail Summit, Batistich warned Australian retailers had been held back by the lack of tech leadership, having been overtaken by the fintech sector.

“What we’re seeing in the market place is an arms race in fintech led by Westpac and CBA, with ANZ and NAB following,” Batistich said.

“But in retail tech we’ve not really had anyone lead from the front and make investments in start-up communities in retail.”

The newly-aligned customer experience division is promising to build stronger connections between Westfield and shoppers.

“The new division will oversee every single-shopper touch-point – before, during and after visits to a Westfield centre and reflects the business’ desire to have a more direct relationship with shoppers,” the statement said.

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