CulturalPulse appoints former Naked MD Tim Kirby as new Chief Commercial Officer
Independent multicultural marketing and media agency CulturalPulse has strengthened its leadership team to support a new phase of growth, appointing Tim Kirby as Chief Commercial Officer and expanding roles for senior leaders Karissa Fletcher and Reg Raghavan.
The appointment marks a key milestone for the agency as it scales to meet growing demand from brands seeking to better engage with Australia’s increasingly diverse population. Kirby will work alongside Fletcher – now formally stepping into the role of Chief Operating Officer – and CEO Raghavan to grow the agency’s commercial and strategic footprint and expand partnerships with media and creative agencies.
Kirby joins from Galore Creative, the agency he founded in early 2021 to champion diversity of thought and progressive creative thinking, following senior leadership roles including Managing Director of Naked Communications.
“It’s been a great journey building Galore over the past five years, but I’ve always had an itch to help push the industry forward,” says Kirby. “As that ambition grew, so did my focus on the enormous opportunity with today’s multicultural Australia. Our cultural diversity is one of Australia’s greatest strengths, yet so much of the industry still treats multicultural marketing as an afterthought.
“CulturalPulse is leading the way in showing how deep cultural insight can drive real business outcomes. Joining the team is a chance to take the thinking and capabilities we built at Galore and apply them to a new challenge – one that’s commercially vital and creatively energising. I’m looking forward to helping more brands tap into this space with the depth and nuance it deserves.”
Founded in 2010 by Raghavan and Patrick Skene, who is the agency’s Chief Creative Officer, CulturalPulse has long track record delivering major engagement programs across government, sport, media and corporate sectors – including work for CommBank, TEG- Qudos Bank Arena, ANZ, FIFA Women’s World Cup, AFL, Meat & Livestock Australia, Stan and Federal and State Governments.
The agency helps brands unlock growth opportunities by understanding and activating culturally diverse audiences powered by rich data, targeted media and more than a decade of trusted community partnerships.
With over 300 languages spoken at home and communities from Chinese, Indian, Filipino and Nepalese backgrounds among the fastest-growing communities, Australia is projected to be 57% multicultural by 2026. Despite this, many brands still underinvest in these audiences – missing a powerful opportunity to grow market share and brand relevance.
Alongside Kirby’s appointment Fletcher is promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
Says Fletcher: “The data reinforces what we already know from experience – Australia’s diversity isn’t just part of the narrative; it is the narrative. With Tim joining the leadership team we’re even better positioned to scale our impact and take on more ambitious, growth oriented projects with our clients and agency partners.
“Our focus is on building long-term, meaningful relationships between brands and communities – moving beyond token campaigns to strategies grounded in real insight, cultural relevance and trust. The opportunity is enormous, and having the right team in place means we are ready to move faster, think bigger and deliver value for our clients with even greater depth and creativity.”
CulturalPulse’s offering includes campaign strategy, creative, media and cultural community activation. Its proprietary planning tool, AskGenie, is Australia’s first cultural intelligence platform – helping marketers understand cultural values, behaviours and preferences that unlock commercial opportunities for growth.
Says Founder and CEO Raghavan: “We’re at a moment where the way brands think about diverse community engagement is evolving fast. What we offer isn’t just multicultural marketing; it’s a new model built on cultural intelligence, community connection and data-driven delivery. That mix is proving essential for clients across government, sport and the corporate sector who are looking for more than surface-level inclusion.
“We’re also investing in tools like AskGenie that bring cultural insights to life in ways the industry hasn’t seen before – turning complexity into actionable strategy. With Tim now on board and Karissa stepping into a broader operational role, we have the leadership team in place to scale that impact and continue leading the market in meaningful, modern engagement.”
Pictured (L-R): Tim Kirby, Karissa Fletcher, Reg Raghavan
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