Sara is available for hire
Hire SaraSara Kahlau
Verified Expert in Finance
Management Consulting Expert
Location
Sydney, Australia
Toptal Member Since
April 19, 2022
Sara is a top-tier strategy consultant with a background at Booz & Company. She brings hands-on execution experience as CCO and CMO for a major health insurer and national professional services firm. Sara enjoys freelancing as it offers the perfect blend of doing exciting work and being present for her young family.
Career Highlights
Director of Growth and Client Experience
Griffith Hack
Senior Consultant
Strategy&
Case Studies
Expertise
Work Experience
Director of Growth and Client Experience
2021 - 2022
Griffith Hack
- Rebuilt the growth and client experience function across client engagement, business development, brand, and marketing, from a passive to a proactive and client-facing function.
- Implemented a new business development strategy and associated plans, domestically and internationally, leading to a 15% increase in business in 12 months and ranking second by market size (previously ranked fourth).
- Built a pricing framework that introduced clear pricing strategies for different markets and approaches for value-based and time-based pricing of services.
- Introduced the concept of client experience and led a CX project that delivered strategic artifacts for client segmentation (service development, pricing), journey mapping (service improvements), and an EVP.
- Sponsored and led the development and launch of a new brand strategy, visual identity, and digital presence, including the website, to reposition the firm as innovative and progressive.
- Shaped a multi-channel marketing strategy, leveraging paid search engine marketing (SEM), social media, content, and email marketing to increase inbound leads.
- Developed a new advisory service offering after identifying a client's need, building out, pitching, and delivering packaged solutions to clients.
- Delivered inaugural growth reporting to the executive team and the ownership group across domestic and international product lines, consisting of a balanced scorecard with lead and lag metrics, updates on key initiatives, and risks and issues.
Focus areas: Growth Strategy, Business Development, Customer Experience, Branding, Marketing, Digital, Sales, CX Strategy, Analytics, Automation, Customer Data, Root Cause Analysis, Customer Segmentation, Analysis, Human-centered Design (HCD), Marketing Strategy, Operating Models, Operations Improvement, Project Management, Innovation, Change Management, Process Transformation, Research, Customer Insights, Strategy, Customer Analysis, Management, Asana, Miro, Zoom, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Market Research, Market Research Analyst, Discovery, Brand Design, Brand Management, Value Proposition, Employee Stock Options, Digital Strategy, Employee Engagement, Governance, Pricing, Pricing Models, Negotiation, Writing & Editing, Customer Experience Management, User Research, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Quantitative Analysis, Culture, Corporate Culture, Target Operating Models, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Visual Design, Visual Storytelling, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Innovation Strategy, Innovation Management, Team Building, Modeling, Partnership Management, Customer Support, Mailchimp, Marketing Automation, Email Marketing Automation, Brand Positioning, Brand Guidelines, Business Strategy, User Experience (UX), Workshops
Group Executive Customer and Community (CCO)
2018 - 2021
icare
- Led a redesign of the operating model and a full restructure and merger of existing teams into an end-to-end capability of 65+, reducing role duplication and clarifying responsibilities.
- Developed a voice of customer strategy, championing a customer-centric framework including key artifacts such as segments, moments that matter, and journeys for service improvement and project prioritization.
- Grew innovation portfolio by 30% in one year, at social cost-benefit ratios of up to 1:65, with the first social impact report winning an award for effective investment at the Social Impact Measurement Network Australia Awards (SIMNA).
- Improved foundation outcomes, developing a targeted strategy with a focus on proactively addressing customer challenges, an end-to-end design and investment model, assessment and governance structure, and a quantifiable measurement approach.
- Scoped, designed, and implemented a new customer experience measurement platform with advanced analytics and automation, blending best practices and stakeholder needs to lift the insights capability, achieving 90% savings in OPEX and 35+ NPS points.
- Led the development of strategic customer initiatives, including a multi-channel interaction strategy and an overhaul of customer complaints, both aimed at improving customer experience, reducing operational costs, and achieving compliance outcomes.
- Delivered a partnership with the Invictus Games, attended by 200+ customers who recorded a 93% satisfaction rating, resulting in improved health and wellbeing outcomes.
Focus areas: Customer Experience, Customer Insights, Community Management, Research, Strategy, Due Diligence, CX Strategy, Analytics, Automation, Customer Data, Root Cause Analysis, Customer Segmentation, Analysis, Human-centered Design (HCD), Operations Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Cost Reduction & Optimization, Operating Models, Operations Improvement, Project Management, Innovation, Change Management, Process Transformation, Digital Transformation, Digital, Customer Analysis, Branding, Marketing, Management, Asana, Miro, Zoom, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Market Research, Market Research Analyst, Discovery, Brand Design, Brand Management, Value Proposition, Employee Stock Options, Employee Engagement, Governance, Writing & Editing, Customer Experience Management, User Research, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Quantitative Analysis, Culture, Corporate Culture, Target Operating Models, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Investments, Investment Strategy, Innovation Strategy, Innovation Management, ROI, Team Building, Modeling, Partnership Management, Customer Support, Brand Positioning, Business Strategy, User Experience (UX), Workshops
Founder
2017 - 2019
Up&Atem
- Designed and launched an eCommerce retail store on Shopify, later supported by a WordPress website.
- Sourced and purchased products, specifically stationary, globally, and managed supply chain and partnerships.
- Priced and photographed products for D2C distribution, all online.
- Managed customer service and support globally, including product packaging, distribution, follow up support and ongoing management.
- Set up marketing automation, specifically using MailChimp, delivering automated content, follow up communication, and purchase content.
Focus areas: eCommerce, eCommerce Design, eCommerce Management, Spotify, Photography, Visual Design, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Writing & Editing, Distribution, Supply Chain, Partnership Management, Supply Chain Management (SCM), WordPress, Customer Support, Customer Success, Mailchimp, Marketing, Marketing Automation, Email Marketing Automation, Branding, Brand Positioning, Brand Guidelines, Business Strategy
General Manager Transformation
2017 - 2018
icare
- Repositioned the transformation function as the go-to for project management within the organization, developing a resource lean operating model equating significant cost savings.
- Improved transparency, measurability, and portfolio reporting to ensure targeted 5x return, establishing streams of work aligned to customer KPIs, including NPS.
- Led a project to provide a consolidated and transparent view of benefits realized and tangible measures for the first time, collating findings and reporting to the executive/board and external stakeholders.
- Led the design and procurement of a digital payments facility, leading business case development, executive approval, and the tender process to uplift CX and manage rising costs.
- Exceeded expectations by delivering against all strategic objectives including customer and employee NPS, delivery of transformation initiatives, and management of expenses to budget.
- Achieved high employee engagement, retaining employee NPS above stretch target.
Focus areas: Digital Transformation, Process Transformation, Agile Transformation, Change Management, Innovation, CX Strategy, Analytics, Customer Data, Analysis, Cost Reduction & Optimization, Operating Models, Operations Improvement, Project Management, Research, Digital, Strategy, Management, Asana, Trello, Skype for Business, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Market Research, Market Research Analyst, Discovery, Business Design, Digital Strategy, Employee Engagement, Governance, Negotiation, Cost Analysis, Writing & Editing, Quantitative Research, Quantitative Analysis, Culture, Corporate Culture, Target Operating Models, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Innovation Strategy, Innovation Management, ROI, Team Building, Quantitative Modeling, Modeling, Partnership Management, Business Strategy, Workshops
General Manager Office of the CEO
2015 - 2017
icare
- Led the development of a new CX vision serving as the foundation of a three-year strategy, heavily influencing the organization’s current success and positioning today.
- Championed the cultural integration of 70 senior leaders, addressing silos and delivering rapid growth through quarterly forums and an algorithm-based meet and greet program.
- Initiated the construction of an innovation lab called iLab, which is now a core design asset with high utilization, in response to issues with collaborative problem solving.
- Managed engagement with external stakeholders, including ministers, developing an understanding of how to influence outcomes up to the board level.
Focus areas: Strategy, Project Management, Process Transformation, Customer Insights, Operations Improvement, CX Strategy, Analytics, Root Cause Analysis, Customer Segmentation, Analysis, Human-centered Design (HCD), Operations Strategy, Cost Reduction & Optimization, Operating Models, Change Management, Research, Customer Experience, Customer Analysis, Management, Asana, Skype for Business, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Market Research, Market Research Analyst, Business Design, Employee Engagement, Governance, Writing & Editing, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Quantitative Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Quantitative Modeling, Modeling, Business Strategy, User Experience (UX), Workshops
Senior Consultant
2013 - 2015
Strategy&
- Realized an around 40% operating cost reduction for a paper manufacturer in response to market decline, creating a cost efficiency roadmap and best practice shared service model for Australia.
- Developed an evidence base to support a road authority’s transformation, creating a 4-pillar strategy across cost, customer, culture, and brand to respond to operational challenges.
- Led the split of a state-owned insurer with 85% market share, navigating a resistant, political environment through an 8-week organizational design and change management program.
- Safeguarded the annual revenue of a nonprofit medical services provider, developing a marketing and operational strategy in response to market changes as a result of the NDIS.
- Embedded post-reform changes across a major transport agency, supporting the business to track projects across the reform portfolio in the midst of a change-resistant environment.
Focus areas: Growth Strategy, Strategy, Operating Models, Cost Reduction & Optimization, Change Management, Process Transformation, Marketing Strategy, Operations Strategy, Analytics, Root Cause Analysis, Analysis, Project Management, Research, Customer Insights, Business Development, Customer Analysis, Skype for Business, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Cost Analysis, Writing & Editing, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Quantitative Analysis, Target Operating Models, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Quantitative Modeling, Modeling, Business Strategy
Education
2010 - 2012
Bachelor's Degree in Marketing Communications
University of Technology Sydney - Sydney, Australia
Certifications
JUNE 2016 - PRESENT
Leading Human Centred Design
Huddle
MAY 2016 - PRESENT
Introduction to Human Centred Design
Huddle