Woolworths has appointed Tony Phillips, a former senior marketing executive from Coles, as its new chief marketing officer, as it continues to shake up its marketing division.

Phillips joins Woolworths from Coles, where he has spent the previous seven years in the roles of GM marketing communications, GM sponsorships and events, and GM category marketing.

The chief marketing officer role is a new operational role at Woolworths and is part of a restructure of the company’s marketing division.

As part the restructure, Woolworths has also appointed Jess Gill as its new strategic role of director, customer experience, as well as hired a new creative agency, Leo Burnett.

Gill will be leading the development of Woolworths’ brand strategy, format development including store design and layout, and online customer experience.

“We’re very excited to be adding one of Australia’s premier creative agencies to our roster and I believe this addition will help us stay ahead of the pack in what is a very competitive market,” Tjeerd Jegen, MD of Australian supermarkets and petrol, said.

“With a new marketing team of Tony and Jess, combined with a new creative agency in the roster in Leo Burnett, I know we will further strengthen our position as Australia’s leading supermarket,” Jegen said.