Medibank has recruited former Swinburne University marketing chief, Carolyn Bendall, as interim CMO, a role left vacant since the tragic passing of Lisa Ronson last November.

The health insurance giant confirmed the appointment to Mi3 last week, noting Bendall as interim CMO while it finalises a permanent replacement in coming months.

In a LinkedIn post, Bendall said she was excited to have joined the team at Medibank last week as Interim Chief Marketing Officer.

“It’s a privilege to join such a purpose-driven company, and such smart, values-led people on their mission to create the best health and wellbeing for Australia,” Bendall said. “It’s also a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Medibank’s beloved former CMO. Big shoes to fill indeed. Thank you for the very warm welcome.”

Bendall finished up her five-year stint as CMO of Swinburne in December, switching from the banking industry and a 12-year-long tenure on the ANZ marketing team for the tertiary education sector. It was a gig that commenced just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, forcing students and staff into one of the world’s longest lockdowns in Melbourne over two years.

As she told Mi3 in an exit interview, Bendall’s team along with partner, Merkle, made “biggest and quickest pivot of all time” by transforming the university’s annual open day into the digital bonanza, Swintopia, within six weeks. The gamified virtual campus took potential students through an interactive tour of its Hawthorn site, with personalised itineraries and experiences along the way of courses, clubs, labs and facilities, student life highlights, alumni talks and hangouts. https://www.mi-3.com.au/20-01-2025/modernising-university-marketing-carolyn-bendall-switching-banking-swinburne-uni-five

It was many of milestones for Bendall, who also cited digitisation and a reorientation around growth during her time with Swinburne.

At the time of her departure, Bendall said she would look to a portfolio career, focusing on fractional CMO and board opportunities. She’s also spent the last six months as an advisory board member to Think HQ and is also an advisor to edtech, Quitch, plus a committee member of Melbourne Cricket Club.

* With additional reporting by Nadia Cameron