Gunjan Allen

Take us back to the beginning. How did your career start?

I’m originally from India and migrated to the UK before settling in Australia. I spent my time in the UK studying for my Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and Communications and then my Master’s Degree in Marketing Communications before moving to Australia in 2005. Growing up, my dad was a very successful senior sales and marketing executive who worked in FMCG, going on to become India’s national Vice President for a global electronics company, while my mum was an established child psychologist. I was already so exposed to the world of sales & marketing, and I like to think I have it in my blood.

Despite having the educational background to set me up for success, I struggled to find a job when I first moved over. I applied for over 100 roles with no luck before reaching out to a recruitment agency to have a quick chat. I came in to interview as a candidate but ended up sparking the interest of the General Manager of the recruitment agency! At this point, I still had no idea what role was on offer, but I took the opportunity to start my career then and there. It turned out to be a Sales Coordinator role, so nothing to do with marketing but still an invaluable experience that was my first break in Australia.

My General Manager nurtured and mentored me which was life-changing. She knew my goals and helped me get to where I wanted to be. Shortly after my stint in sales, I moved into a marketing role with Horticulture Innovation, a grower-owned, notfor-profit research and development corporation for Australia’s horticulture industry, which was pivotal in solidifying my presence in Australia. This experience was invaluable for my career going forward, and really helped me land more senior positions at other organisations later down the track.

My role now is Head of Marketing, Digital, and CX at Circonomy. Circonomy is a registered social enterprise that is on a mission to create a world where nothing goes to waste. Circonomy is passionate about repairing, repurposing, renewing, and rehoming quality goods to keep products and materials in use for longer – reducing waste, and creating a more sustainable future in the process. My role is about developing the brand strategy to raise awareness and develop our digital/e-commerce channels as well as maintain & improve customer experience across all our offline and online touchpoints.

I’ve had the pleasure of working on a variety of campaigns so far in my career, but my proudest achievement would be my impact on the avocado industry as the industry’s marketing manager for almost 6 years. At the time, avocados weren’t hot property like they are now, so it was about pivoting the perception and putting together a market strategy that would drive avocado demand up and increase market share. Even though avocados are fresh produce, I approached them as a brand that needed a marketing strategy. Where the avocado market is now is phenomenal, everyone knows what an avocado is. I implemented the food service strategy for the industry, which is partially why we see so many avocado-based products on menus now.

Moving to Australia, in retrospect I think my name was a barrier to entry in my career. I wasn’t Allen at the time, it was a different and very uncommon last name to Australians. Arriving in a new country, not knowing anyone or having any networks on top of the barriers above was difficult. I’m very lucky to have mentors and to have people who have believed in me along the way as well. It’s like having that ‘wind beneath your wings’ kind of thing. It’s a group of people who propel you to grab that opportunity and make it your own.