Meet Luke Nathans, the new CMO of Kingfisher

Luke Nathans, the former CEO of APAC, has taken up a new role as the CMO at Kingfisher. Last year he left Iris in order to initiate his own consultancy firm.

Based out of Singapore, the B2B firm works with mobile service providers developing products that allow the customers to opt for up-gradation of their mobile phones according to their likings. It has team members in Hongkong and around the world and currently works with Telstra in Australia. It is planning to launch in Europe and the US.

Kingfisher refers to itself as the 'next-gen mobile experience company’, offering a service plan called ‘Flip’ for mobile carrier customers. Under Flip, if a customer gets a new device from their phone provider but does not like it for whatever reasons and wants a newer model, he can avail the service of 'Flip'. Kingfisher then takes the old phone, repurposing it through Nexus, its secondhand device reseller. Nexus is the supplier of the latest second-hand devices in the industry.

Nathans’ new role will have both B2B and B2C elements, which are essential to start with the service. What works for telcos is an increase in subscriber base from legacy products, lesser chances of customer churning, and an overall better experience differentiating from competitors. Nathan’s work will be with carriers articulating how the product works for the customers, by positioning the benefits of flexibility and freedom with a message of sustainability as well, all devices being repurposed.

The challenges are the past records of big telcos of not being able to enable change easily and implement ideas quickly. What attracts Nathans to B2B after serving years in agency life is the opportunity to work directly with companies helping them to make real changes and shifts in their business offerings and services, instead of jumping midway to contribute on the communication side.
Nathans says: “My career has been based on creating participation brands, actually making a significant difference. These brands make people want to busily lean in and engage with them and their products”.

“With several discussions about the purpose of the brand going on, it was plain direct with Kingfisher that there was a vision behind our undertakings. We had to just be more coherent with it surrounding the need for pliability and emancipation in the industry. What I can bring to the table is articulating about the brand’s purpose and product in a better way, besides ensuring that whatever we are doing is pertinent and apposite in the lives of the people”