Woolworths hires PR manager Will Lehnertz from Qantas
Woolworths has hired Will Lehnertz as public relations manager.
Lehnertz joins after five years at Qantas, spending a majority of that time as a corporate communications adviser before being elevated to senior adviser of PR and publicity in January.
In March, Qantas stood down 20,000 workers and followed up the news in June with the announcement that 6,000 people would lose their jobs and 15,000 people would remain stood down as travel restrictions due to COVID-19 continued.
Previously, Lehnertz was an associate manager of branded entertainment and new business at The Ellen DeGeneres Show in Los Angeles.
Lehnertz takes over from Menreet Kaur, who has been with the business since 2017. Kaur is moving to London with her family and taking up a new career opportunity there.
Peter O’Sullivan, Woolworths Group general manager of group external communications and community, paid tribute to the work Kaur has done for the brand during COVID-19, and welcomed Lehnertz to the business.
“Menreet has played an integral role in the development of our brand and management of our reputation over the last few years,” he said.
“As part of external communications and marketing teams she has been a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders and helped put PR at the forefront of the delivery of our customer message. In recent months she has also played a critical role in helping the business navigate through the unprecedented period of bushfires and COVID-19.
“Through all of this she has been a team player and highly respected colleague. We wish her all the best in the next phase of her career as she tackles new challenges in the UK market.
“We welcome Will to the team and look forward to working closely with him on continuing to evolve our PR strategy and our engagement with customers via earned media channels.”