Please join us in welcoming Louise Austin, our new Director of Marketing & Communications.
 
As an undergraduate at the University of Melbourne, Louise earned a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics, as well as a dual major Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Philosophy. Armed with her degrees, Louise launched her first project; to ski around the world uninterrupted for a year, starting in the US, and moving to Canada, Europe, and back for winter in Australia. She then launched her career in management consulting with Accenture in Australia. Louise came to the US to earn her MBA at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
 
Upon graduating, she joined VISA International as Director of the digital wallet initiative, working with the development of the first chip card reader. She transferred to VISA USA as Vice President of Consumer Credit, premium products. While there, she provided marketing and account management support for VISA Gold, led the launch of VISA Platinum and the design, development and launch of VISA Signature. Her most recent position was as Director of Marketing for financial technology startup, PayWithMyBank, working with clients such as PayPal, Facebook, and UNICEF.
 
Louise has also focused her time on fundraising and marketing initiatives for non-profits such as schools, the American Youth Soccer Organization, and the American Red Cross. She has three children, each born in a separate continent – Australia, the US, and France, where she lived for two years. She enjoys spending time with her family, running at the beach with her two Schnoodles (that’s a Schnauzer crossed with a poodle), and as a certified natural chef, preparing healthy, delicious, whole foods.
 
Louise is excited to join Essex as Director of Marketing & Communications, and, in conjunction with the marketing team, is looking forward to immersing herself in the important and transformative marketing initiatives underway, and yet to come!
 
Welcome to the E-Team, Louise!