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Bridget Lamont departs Countdown

Countdown general manager of marketing Bridget Lamont’s 13-year tenure at the retail business has come to an end.

Dave Chambers, the managing director of Progressive Enterprises (Countdown’s parent company), says that Lamont made the decision to leave the business.

Lamont could not be reached for comment before the time of publishing this story.  

This comes shortly after Lamont oversaw the pitch that led to Countdown ending its 20-year creative partnership with Ogilvy & Mather and appointing Y&R NZ and the Wellcom Group to the account.

Lamont joined Progressive Enterprises in October 2004, after holding marketing roles at NZ Post, Sky City Entertainment Group, Ezibuy and a number of independent marketing consultancies.

She steadily moved her way up the ranks at Progressive, taking on the roles of business manager of customer engagement and insight and senior marketing strategy manager taking the reins as the general manager of marketing, a role she has held for the last six years.

As the marketing boss at Countdown, Lamont has been integral in growing the One Card loyalty scheme, lifting the creativity of the retailer’s advertising and finding ways to connect the foreign-owned company with the local community.

“Bridget has made a huge contribution to Countdown over the years, from her passion for the Onecard programme and most recently building the foundations of the future of the Countdown brand,” Chambers says.  

Over the last year, Lamont has also spearheaded a number of ‘for good’ shifts within the business.

In addition to making a pledge to move away from plastic grocery bags, Countdown released the Ugly Bunch imperfect fruit range to reduce food wastage and also adopted more inclusive LGBTQI staff policies.         

Chambers says Lamont has not yet announced a new role.   

“Bridget will be looking for a new challenge in the New Year after spending a much-deserved summer break with her family. We’re grateful to have had such an experienced operator at the helm of our marketing team, and wish her every success for her next venture.”

Countdown has similarly not announced a replacement and is currently on the hunt for a new general manager of marketing. 

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