Christopher Catchpoole becomes marketing chief at fast-growing automotive media brand
Former Compare the Market chief marketing officer, Chris Catchpoole, has joined CarExpert as its new CMO.
The Australian automotive website said Catchpoole’s experience and digital knowledge build during his tenure at Compare the Market made him a great executive addition as it looks to complete its transformation into a digital automotive marketplace. Catchpoole joined Compare the Market in 2017 and was promoted to CMO in 2020.
The appointment follows CarExpert’s recent $4.5 million acquisition of PriceMyCar, in August as well as fresh investment from Perth billionaire, Laurence Escalante. Seven West Media also took a 15 per cent stake in the business last year.
“The opportunity to turn CarExpert into something that no other website or business is doing in Australia is truly compelling,” Catchpoole commented. “I look forward to helping CarExpert transition customer perceptions into a world where we continue to be there for expert advice, reviews and content but are also seen as a dependable and indispensable part of the transactional process.”
Credit: CarExpert CarExpert is a media-led digital portal providing car reviews and industry news, sold pricing reports, new car deals and discovery tools. It was founded by Alborz Fallah with former CarAdvice founder, Tony Crawford, and Paul Maric in 2020. CarAdvice, now known as Drive, was acquired by Nine Entertainment in 2018 for $65 million.
“Great people make great businesses and we are very lucky to have someone of Chris' calibre join our business,” Fallah said. “We have massive targets and goals ahead of us and with the right level of investment and people, we are very confident of achieving them."
CarExpert has now flagged plans to embark on a $10 million TVC marketing campaign from late October.
CarExpert also confirmed the departure of its inaugural customer and innovation chief, Jason Bradshaw, who joined the company last year and left the business in July 2022.
Compare the Market declined to comment further on its plans for marketing leadership following Catchpoole's departure.
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