Asia-Pacific Power List 2020: Sweta Mehra, ANZ

Sweta Mehra

Chief marketing officer
ANZ
Australia

Long-time FMCG marketing executive Sweta Mehra has refreshed the marketing approach of heritage ANZ Bank since she took up the CMO role three years ago.

Mehra joined the largest bank in Australia by value of total assets, in 2017 and has overseen one of its most successful campaigns in recent times: 2019’s ‘Signs of Love’. The campaign, in which the bank jazzed up Oxford Street signs across Australia to mark its support for Sydney's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, scooped several gongs at Cannes Lions, Spikes and One Show. It was followed by 2020’s ‘Love Speech’ campaign which challenged homophobic slurs.

Mehra is recognised for refreshing ANZ’s approach to marketing from being purely focused on driving profitability to taking into account financial well-being, customer life stages, and first-party data, according to Adobe, which listed Mehra on its CMO50 2019 list. The marketing leader has also driven tactical partnerships with brands such as Qantas to deliver loyalty programmes to customers. In March, she hired Mondelez International marketer Kjetil Undhjem as head of marketing and brand strategy.

Prior to joining ANZ, Mehra was a veteran executive at FMCG giant Procter & Gamble, where she held a variety of positions leading brands and marketing for more than 17 years. This year Mehra mentored junior marketing talent via The Marketing Academy Australia’s scholarship programme.