Tech MVP 2021: Suzanne Croxford, Wunderman Thompson

Suzanne Croxford

Partner, marketing technology
Wunderman Thompson
Australia

Before becoming a partner at Wunderman Thompson, Suzanne Croxford was global head of digital for top international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. There, she led an international team spanning London, Singapore, Paris, Moscow, China and Australia and was responsible for driving digital innovation for the firm. During her tenure, she implemented a new CRM program including onboarding automation tools to personalise client communications and built products to improve client and employee experiences.

In 2016, Croxford met the CEO of what was then Wunderman Bienalto, a digital-first agency, and was asked to lead the Melbourne office. In 2019, Wunderman Bienalto merged with JWT to become Wunderman Thompson. Over the last five years, Croxford has grown the marketing technology practice at Wunderman Thompson to include the largest digital optimisation team across the WPP network in AUNZ. These teams form part of a centre of excellence at Coles Supermarkets and Suncorp and have driven more than $50 million of incremental revenue across both clients in 2020.

Croxford has also built a successful Salesforce practice, which generates around 10% of Wunderman Thompson Australia’s total revenue. Wunderman Thompson Australia is a market leader in Salesforce Marketing Cloud across AUNZ and is currently undertaking the first Interaction Studio in New Zealand for Z Energy. Most recently, Croxford built out the team's capability across Google Cloud Platform to become certified partners, opening up another revenue stream for the business.

Croxford is passionate about inspiring women in tech both within WPP and more broadly. She mentors two or three employees each year to grow their skills in technology and works with them to develop a clear action plan to drive their growth in the industry. Throughout her career, Croxford has consistently demonstrated that she is one of a select few people who truly understand both the technologies that are reshaping business and the business drivers that guide technology development.

Tech MVP jury members noted that Croxford is doing a wonderful job uplifting the capabilities for her clients, her team and the industry as a whole.