Endeavour Group makes deep cuts to marketing team
Katie Dally presenting at Mumbrella360 earlier this year (Mumbrella)
A program of cuts across the Endeavour Group has hit its marketing team hard, with general manager of marketing and creative Katie Dally and others departing their roles at the liquor and gaming giant.
The ASX-listed company — which owns the Dan Murphy’s and BWS brands among others — has made cuts across the business including its marketing team as part of a company restructure, following a dip in profits in FY25.
In August’s full-year presentation to investors, the group flagged restructuring as a “key initiative” for FY25.
It reported a net profit of $426 million in FY25, down 15.8% on a comparable 52-week basis. While the core retail liquor businesses saw sales slip 1.2% to $9.95 billion, online sales grew 7%, now making up 8.7% of total retail revenue.
It also reported a total of $16 million in restructuring costs, suggesting that many roles have been impacted.
These included Dally, who confirmed her exit from the group in a statement to Mumbrella.
“I can confirm that I recently departed Endeavour Group as part of a company-wide restructure. My priority has been on redeploying my team and leaving the business in the best possible position to support its next chapter of growth,” she said in the statement.
“I am incredibly proud of the work the team and I have delivered over the past 2.5+ years … I leave Endeavour Group with the utmost respect and look back on my chapter there with nothing but fondness.”
Under her leadership, Endeavour Group delivered significant cost efficiencies, reimagined a group-wide creative operation model with new creative agency partner BMF, and pioneered a new creative technology company in Plus Also Studios. She was behind the Better Briefs training programs, and led new brand platforms including “Nobody Beats” for Dan Murphy’s and “Here For It” for BWS.
(L-R): Chris Howatson, Katie Dally, and Hoàng Nguyen presenting at Mumbrella360 earlier this year (Mumbrella)
“Retrenchment isn’t personal, it’s business. However the prevalence of what many are referring to as ‘quiet redundancies’, particularly for senior marketers right now is rife,” she said.
In her statement, she referenced Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data that showed an upward trend in retrenchment in Australia, and said as the impact of AI continues to accelerate it, “we need to do more to reduce the stigma and shame as an industry”.
She continued: “By supporting one another, we can learn and grow together, shifting the narrative around retrenchment for everyone.
“I want to thank the many incredible senior industry leaders for supporting me on my journey, you know who you are. For now I remain focused on using commercial creativity to drive demonstrable growth for businesses. I have already been fortunate to work with multiple brands and agencies in the brief time since my departure from Endeavour. I am exploring new opportunities and am excited about what lies ahead.”
Mumbrella has contacted Endeavour Group for comment.
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Endeavour Group has had several senior leadership changes over the past 12 months, including the departure of chief marketing officer Jo Rose, revealed last November. In a statement at the time, the group confirmed that Rose will exit after “the second quarter of the next calendar year”, following a three-year stint. According to her Linkedin, she finished in March. Josie Brown, GM of marketing for BWS and former Tennis Australia CMO, assumed her role in the interim.
It also recently announced the appointment of a new CEO and MD in Jayne Hrdlicka, former Virgin Australian CEO. Starting on January 1, 2026, pending regulatory approvals, Hrdlicka is taking on the role from Steve Donohue, who departed earlier this year.
In its full-year results, the group also said a “strategy refresh” will be underway upon Hrdlicka’s arrival: “We will continue to prioritise operating efficiency and cost savings.”
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