Ipsos Australia has taken the wrappers off its new integrated Customer and Employee Experience (CEX) division. This development comes in the wake of Ipsos' recent acquisition of CX and EX specialists, Big Village Australia.

The integrated CEX team will offer a comprehensive suite of services, providing insights that bridge the gap between CX and EX. To help, three senior CX and EX specialists have been appointed to the new division. Melissa Yow has been named Director of Customer Experience, Rollo Grayson will serve as Director in the Australian CX Advisory team, and Bhavna Sawlani has been appointed as Account Director in the EX team.

Yow brings 15 years of consulting and research experience to the table, specialising in CX measurement. She previously held the position of General Manager of Customer Experience Advisory at Forethought. Grayson, meanwhile is a seasoned strategist, working in CX and marketing roles across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, and Europe. He was previously the Head of Customer Strategy and Insights at Vodafone New Zealand.

Sawlani, transferring from the Ipsos UK EX consulting team, has nearly a decade of EX experience. She has worked for both private and public organisations across a range of sectors in the UK.

According to Ipsos, it's seeing significant growth in the CX and EX space following its acquisition of insights business Big Village Australia last year. The acquisition brought large-scale federal government programs to the market research firm, along with multinational clients in the professional services and IT sectors on CX metrics, and EX assessment and advisory services for government and commercial clients.

Ipsos Director, Customer and Employee Experience, Wendy McInnes, said, today's announcement of the new CEX division and senior team appointments followed growing demand from our clients for a total understanding of the human experience with corporations and service providers.

"We recognise that understanding people as both employees and customers is crucial for success, and this new team connects our individual CX and EX spaces to enable businesses to truly thrive in today’s competitive market. Our CEX team has been bolstered by the appointment of Melissa, Rollo and Bhavna – together, they bring a combined 40 years’ CX and EX experience to the business, with a wealth of knowledge across the full gamut of CX and EX strategy and activation. I’m certain they will continue to maintain the rigour and high-quality insights of our CX and EX space and use their vast expertise to offer a fully integrated experience for both new and existing clients," she said.

Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing over 18,000 people.