Optus names Lauren Dawber as top marketing chief

Optus appoints Lauren Dawber as executive general manager of marketing, reinforcing its customer‑first strategy and trust‑building ‘We’re On It’ brand platform.

Optus has promoted senior marketer Lauren Dawber to the role of executive general manager of marketing, underscoring the telecom’s renewed push to rebuild customer trust and sharpen its brand promise in Australia’s highly competitive market.

Optus Elevates Lauren Dawber to Lead Marketing

Optus has confirmed the appointment of Lauren Dawber as its new executive general manager of marketing following a formal executive recruitment process.
The move signals the company’s intent to double down on customer-centric growth and marketing leadership at a time when Australian consumers are demanding more clarity, reliability, and transparency from their telco providers.

Since joining Optus in 2023, Dawber has served in a series of senior leadership roles across the marketing portfolio, where she has been closely involved in strengthening internal capabilities and helping to reshape the organisation’s broader marketing strategy.
Her remit has included developing new ways for Optus to connect with customers, refining its brand positioning, and supporting key campaigns designed to repair and strengthen trust with Australians.

Optus’ appointment of Dawber also highlights how major brands are increasingly elevating marketing leaders with deep customer insight and cross-channel experience, rather than focusing purely on performance or product marketing alone.
The decision positions marketing at the centre of Optus’ transformation agenda, aligning brand, communications, and customer experience under a leader known for building high-performing teams.

A Customer‑Led Marketer with Global Experience

Dawber brings more than two decades of experience working with leading global media agencies and large-scale enterprise organisations, giving her a broad perspective on how to build and sustain customer‑led brands in fast-moving markets.
Throughout her career, she has specialised in leading teams that unify brand building with measurable commercial outcomes, helping organisations navigate shifting consumer expectations, new technology, and changing media behaviours.

Her background across agency and client-side roles means she understands both the strategic and executional dimensions of marketing—from long-term brand building and media strategy to creative development, customer journeys, and data-led optimisation.
That mix is particularly important in the telco sector, where brands must balance big, emotional platforms with clear, product-driven messaging that speaks to everyday customer pain points such as reliability, coverage, and value.

At Optus, Dawber has already played a key role in “strengthening marketing capability,” helping build a more integrated, modern marketing function that can respond quickly to customer needs while still investing in long-term brand trust.
Her promotion to executive general manager formalises that leadership and gives her a larger mandate over how the Optus brand shows up for Australians across channels and moments of truth.

Timing Aligned with ‘We’re On It’ and Trust Rebuilding

Dawber’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for Optus, as the company looks to sustain momentum behind its “We’re On It” platform and broader efforts to demonstrate that it is listening to and acting on customer expectations.
The “We’re On It” campaign positions Optus as a brand focused on addressing real customer frustrations head-on, from network performance to service experiences, and making tangible changes that matter in everyday life.

By placing a seasoned, customer‑obsessed marketer at the helm, Optus is underlining that trust is not just a messaging strategy but a leadership priority.
Marketing will play a central role in how the brand communicates progress, closes the gap between promise and delivery, and ensures customers can see and feel improvements over time.

With Australian consumers increasingly discerning about which providers they choose, the telco recognises that brand trust, clarity, and ease are as important as price or product innovation.
Dawber’s role will therefore extend beyond campaigns to encompass how Optus presents itself in a way that is “clear, consistent and grounded in what matters most to our customers and Australians,” as the company’s leadership has emphasised.

Leadership Backing for a Customer‑First Mandate

Optus chief corporate affairs and marketing officer Felicity Ross has framed Dawber’s promotion as a reflection of the “importance of strong, customer‑focused leadership” and of marketing’s critical role in how Optus delivers for customers.
Ross has pointed to Dawber’s track record in building customer-led brands and leading high-performing teams as core reasons behind the appointment.

According to Ross, Dawber has already made “a significant contribution” since joining the business, particularly in strengthening marketing capability and shaping how Optus connects with customers across its portfolio.
Formalising her leadership in the executive general manager role is designed to ensure marketing has the authority and resources needed to support Optus’ ambition of becoming a “better Optus—one that is easier to trust and easier to choose.”

This endorsement from the C-suite also illustrates a broader industry trend: marketing is being recognised as a strategic driver of business transformation rather than a downstream communications function.
By embedding a customer-led marketer in a key executive position, Optus is signalling both internally and externally that brand and experience are now central pillars of its long-term strategy.

Towards a More Trusted and Choiceworthy Optus

The elevation of Dawber comes as Optus continues to reframe how it “shows up” for customers across touchpoints, from advertising and product communication to service interactions and digital experiences.
Her mandate will be to ensure that the brand’s narrative, tone, and behaviour are aligned, so that Australians experience Optus as clear, consistent, and focused on the issues that matter most to them.

That means marketing will need to work hand in hand with product, network, and customer operations teams to close the loop between brand promises and on-the-ground delivery.
Dawber’s experience with cross-functional leadership and high-performing teams is expected to be an asset as Optus drives that integration and seeks to build momentum around a more customer‑centric culture.

From a market perspective, the move also underlines the competitive intensity of the Australian telco sector, where providers are battling for share in a mature market and differentiation depends heavily on trust, experience, and emotional connection.
By aligning its leadership structure around these priorities, Optus is looking to create a clearer, more compelling reason for Australians to choose—and stay with—the brand.

For marketing and martech professionals watching from across the industry, Dawber’s appointment is a case study in how senior marketing talent is being tasked not just with demand generation but with helping steer large organisations through change, reputational repair, and customer‑led growth.