Anna Kertesz is managing director of digitally-focussed CX agency Guerrilla, and runs a team of digital experts. She brings a rare combination of cross-sector management experience that delivers strategically creative CX projects. Working closely with Brand and Strategy Director Rob Bare, Anna and her team have completed projects for BBC Studios, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Daifuku, Mirvac, Destination Gold Coast and Queensland Airport — amongst others.
Recently, Anna and her team worked with BBC studios on the latest season of Doctor Who, the first in the franchise featuring a female lead. “This has been such an exciting project for the agency,” Anna said. “We basically created a central place online where all 40 of BBC Studios programme brands watched globally can be managed from a multi-user hub. It’s a great example of problem solving that benefits the customer.”
Anna’s rise to leadership comes off the back of a solid client service background honed through account management positions. Her interest and expertise in digital was no doubt put into play during her Bachelor of Business, Advertising and Marketing at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and a Cert IV in Graphic Design at Shillington College, before returning back to QUT to complete a Masters in Creative Advertising.
Guerrilla has a dynamic team of digital designers, strategists and brand savvy experts who are delivering on a raft of high profile clients, but for Anna the success of Guerrilla is not only determined by its output, but by the state of its internal dynamic. “Culture is an extremely important part of Guerrilla,” shared Anna. “While I believe culture develops organically, we work hard on elements we can influence to give it the best chance of flourishing. Compliments from new team members are the best feedback we receive. I’ve consciously tried to build a team that genuinely supports each other so everyone can perform at their best and cope when the pressure’s really on.”
In an increasingly digital world, with the proliferation of digital channels, Anna concedes it can be hard for businesses to maintain the right mix of staff; organisations are often faced with the dilemma of hiring digital generalists who can manage multiple channels, campaigns and projects, or specialists who can focus on optimising one specific channel. Anna believes the agency model, adopted by Guerrilla can be invaluable in this space. “Roles such as Project Managers and Co-ordinators assist in the rapid delivery of multiple projects and campaigns for clients. These resources hold specialist teams together within an agency, facilitate high-levels of communication and can assist in managing agency partnerships and important stakeholders.
From her work at Guerrilla, Anna has learnt “what a huge and all-encompassing part of the business your website really is”. To other tech entrepreneurs she advises to remember the importance of a company website. “Be clear on how people are using your website. Take time to understand where the problem areas are, and identify the pain points in managing the website.”
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