(l-r) Tim Kirby, Karissa Fletcher, Reg Raghavan.
Multicultural marketing and media agency CulturalPulse has appointed Tim Kirby chief commercial officer and given expanded roles to senior leaders.
Kirby will work alongside Karissa Fletcher, now chief operating officer, and CEO Reg Raghavan.
He joins from Galore Creative, the agency he founded to champion diversity of thought and progressive creative thinking, following senior leadership roles including MD of Naked Communications.
“It’s been a great journey building Galore over the past five years, but I’ve always had an itch to help push the industry forward,” says Kirby.
“As that ambition grew, so did my focus on the enormous opportunity with today's multicultural Australia. Our cultural diversity is one of Australia’s greatest strengths, yet so much of the industry still treats multicultural marketing as an afterthought.
“CulturalPulse is leading the way in showing how deep cultural insight can drive real business outcomes. Joining the team is a chance to take the thinking and capabilities we built at Galore and apply them to a new challenge - one that’s commercially vital and creatively energising. I’m looking forward to helping more brands tap into this space with the depth and nuance it
deserves.”
Alongside Kirby’s appointment, Fletcher is promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
“The data reinforces what we already know from experience - Australia’s diversity isn’t just part of the narrative; it is the narrative," she said.
"With Tim joining the leadership team we’re even better positioned to scale our impact and take on more ambitious, growth oriented projects with our clients and agency partners.
“Our focus is on building long-term, meaningful relationships between brands and communities - moving beyond token campaigns to strategies grounded in real insight, cultural relevance and trust. The opportunity is enormous, and having the right team in place means we are ready to move faster, think bigger and deliver value for our clients with even greater depth and creativity.”
CEO Raghavan said the way brands think about diverse community engagement is evolving fast.
"What we offer isn’t just multicultural marketing; it’s a new model built on cultural intelligence, community connection and data-driven delivery," he said.
"That mix is proving essential for clients across government, sport and the corporate sector who are looking for more than surface-level inclusion.
“We’re also investing in tools like AskGenie that bring cultural insights to life in ways the industry hasn’t seen before - turning complexity into actionable strategy.
"With Tim now on board and Karissa stepping into a broader operational role, we have the leadership team in place to scale that impact and continue leading the market in meaningful, modern engagement.”
CulturalPulse, founded in 2010 by Raghavan and Patrick Skene, who is chief creative officer, has worked for CommBank, TEG- Qudos Bank Arena, ANZ, FIFA Women’s World Cup, AFL, Meat & Livestock Australia, Stan and federal and state governments.
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