M&C Saatchi Group’s customer engagement business LIDA supercharges strategy team

LIDA, the customer engagement business within the M&C Saatchi Group, has supercharged its strategy stocks with three major talent hires.

The trio is led by world-class expert, Lucy Acheson, who is now head of data strategy.

Acheson has more than 18 years at the nexus of where data and CRM intersect in Australia and the UK, most recently at RAPP DDB as head of data science and insight.

Arguably one of the most sought-after data leaders in the country, Acheson’s eclectic career has seen at the forefront of a broad spectrum of data-driven initiatives – from establishing CRM roadmaps with enabling technologies to full-scale data science projects mining huge data volumes across a multitude of formats.

This “insights obsession” has driven strategies that have resulted in significant growth for clients such as Telstra, McDonald’s, Tesco Bank, VW, Skoda, Philips Avent, Diageo and Gumtree, to name just a few.

Acheson will report to LIDA strategy partner, Victoria Curro.

Says Curro: “Lucy is simply the best at what she does – implementing data strategies from which she gleans the richest insights, to fundamentally effecting transformational change. We are thrilled to have her on board, as are our clients.”

Katrina Riddle joins LIDA as senior strategist from Cochlear where she was global CRM manager. The role saw her responsible for rolling out a global CRM and marketing automation system, as well as the development and implementation of a global database marketing strategy.

Prior to Cochlear, Riddle had key roles at Microsoft and Sydney Symphony. 

The youngest of the new appointments is Sarah Elsmore who joins LIDA as a CRM strategist from MercerBell where she made a big impression on a number of big brands including Mastercard, Toyota, Foxtel and Allianz.

LIDA managing director Christine Gardner called the appointments a watershed moment for the evolution of LIDA.

Says Gardner: “Lucy, Katrina and Sarah each bring phenomenal talent, skills, IP and experience to our offering. Above all they have a profound empathy for our clients’ business challenges and are hell bent on solving them.”

LIDA, the UK’s Customer Engagement Agency of the Year for 2013 and 2014, launched into the Australian market in May last year with Gardner at the helm.

It rapidly won new business and has grown to more than 40 staff with the likes of CommBank, CommSec, Lexus and IAG’s Insurance brands NRMA, SGIO and SGIC on its client roster.

(Pictured from L-R: Lucy Acheson, Sarah Elsmore, Victoria Curro, Katrina Riddle, Christine Gardner)