Sarah Sproule departs Westpac Group for chief marketing officer role at Athena

Home lending challenger brand Athena has appointed Sarah Sproule as the new chief marketing officer starting in April.

Sproule joins the challenger from Westpac Group, where she was head of brand and marketing for Bank of Melbourne, as well as head of the in house agency – setting up the inaugural in-house creative shop.

Prior to joining financial services, Sproule spent 20 years agency side, working on many of the country’s biggest brands at shops like AKQA. Sproule also brings considerable start up experience, consulting to the tech sector as well as founding her own agency in the mid 2000s.

Says Nathan Walsh, CEO, Athena: “We are delighted that Sarah is bringing her magic to Athena as our new chief marketing officer. Since our launch in 2019, Athena has been on a journey of building a killer brand on a mission to help Aussies pay down their home loan faster. The brilliant Natalie Dinsdale built a wickedly talented marketing team that is obsessed with changing home loans for good. Sarah is ideally positioned to lead the next phase of Athena’s brand journey, with her deep category knowledge, challenger brand focus and entrepreneurial mindset. We couldn’t be more excited!”

Says Sproule: “I have watched the Athena brand with both joy and envy since it launched back in 2019 with arguably the most differentiated position and proof points in the home lending market.

“The team has done a formidable job in crafting the brand since launch. I am beyond excited to join them as we work on the next iteration of the brand.

“What excites me most is the true cross function of the business as a whole – in developing propositions and GTM strategy – all of which genuinely centre on doing what’s best for our customers.

“Nathan and Michael have created an exceptional business that is agile and market orientated, critical to driving growth in this category.”