WESTFIELD has appointed a new chief digital officer to oversee the development of its online and digital media strategy.
Kevin McKenzie, a digital media entrepreneur, has more than 16 years’ experience in internet, mobile and product development, and was the founder and president of JiWire Inc, a digital location-based media channel composed of more than 40,000 public WiFi locations.
Westfield’s co-CEO Steven Lowy said the newly-created position is significant and reflects a more concerted effort by the group to integrate its well-established and growing existing shopping centre business with new technology.
“We offer public Wi-Fi in many of our shopping centres to make it easy for the consumer to connect their smart phone and tablets for fast connectivity while they are on the go.
“We have already had success in integrating technology in all sorts of ways, including sophisticated car park guidance systems and the use of social media through Facebook and Twitter.
“We have also led the way in our industry with the introduction of ‘brandspace’ a new concept using advertising space and technology to create new and growing revenue streams for our business,” he added.
McKenzie said with so many shoppers connected to their mobile devices whilst they are on the go, there has never been a better time to bring digital services to physical shopping environments.
He will join Westfield next month and will be based in San Francisco where Westfield will expand its office to focus on digital, social and mobile innovation in retail shopping. The San Francisco Bay Area is the global hub of innovation and the development of digital technology in northern California.
Property Review
