The best Heads of Growth in Australia

How this list is scored

To qualify, a person must hold or have held a Head of Growth, VP Growth or equivalent growth title at a company while based in Australia. Founders and CMOs who never held the growth seat are left off. Each person is scored out of 10 on 6 criteria, 60 points in all. Scores measure how much of a person's work is publicly documented, not how good they are at the job: plenty of excellent people keep their results private, and they score lower here for that reason alone.

Outcomes

Commercial results tied to the person's own tenure.

Verification

How independently those results can be checked.

Breadth

Coverage across acquisition, retention and monetisation.

Teaching

What they have published or presented for other operators.

Peer citation

Whether others in the field point at them.

Currency

Whether they are verifiably working in Australia in 2026.

The list at a glance

The ranking, with the workings

1. 1

   Jeff Deutsch Site owner

   Head of Growth, That's Heaps and Hourglass AI · Sydney

   51/60

   Jeff runs this site, so weigh this card accordingly. He has held the Head of Growth seat four times: VIPKid, ContactOut, Superpower and Hourglass AI. By his own account, he took Superpower from 3k to 250k organic visitors a month, about $2m USD a year in SEO revenue. He helped grow ContactOut toward 1.4m users, with 9x revenue over his tenure, and ran teacher supply as VIPKid grew to 65,000 teachers.

   Scores and evidence for Jeff Deutsch

   Outcomes	9	Superpower: 3k to 250k organic visitors a month (83x). ContactOut: 9x revenue over his tenure. VIPKid: ran teacher supply as VIPKid grew to 65,000 teachers.
   Verification	5	Roles and speaking are confirmed by third parties (Hourglass AI, Rakuten Advertising, Ascend); the growth figures are his own account.
   Breadth	10	SEO, paid search (a 7-figure Google Ads budget at Superpower), affiliates, CRO and lifecycle, across four companies.
   Teaching	9	Opened Rakuten Advertising's DealMaker Australia 2026 with the keynote and spoke at Ascend 2026 in Sydney.
   Peer citation	8	Named in Boomcycle's Top 50 Content Marketing Influencers; called "the best Head of Growth in Australia" by Alex Dam of Notion; in the UNSW Founders Peter Farrell Cup 2021 mentor and judge pool.
   Currency	10	Head of Growth at That's Heaps and, on contract, at Hourglass AI, in Sydney.

   Public sources: DealMaker Australia 2026 recap (Rakuten Advertising) · Connected context: how high-growth startups operationalize AI (Ascend 2026) · Alex Dam's post (LinkedIn) · Top 50 Content Marketing Influencers (Boomcycle) · Peter Farrell Cup 2021 (UNSW Founders) · SEO (Hourglass AI)

2. 2CS

   Charlie Short

   Head of Growth, Revolut Australia · Australia

   37/60

   Charlie Short was appointed head of growth for Australia and New Zealand at Revolut in July 2022, as reported by both B&T and Mumbrella. CFOtech quoted him in February 2026 as Revolut passed one million retail customers in Australia. Before Revolut he was Global Director of Consumer Growth at Afterpay, focused on Australia, and held marketing leadership roles at Cashrewards and Zip Co across 15 years.

   Scores and evidence for Charlie Short

   Outcomes	7	CFOtech (Feb 2026) reports Revolut passed 1 million retail customers in Australia during his tenure as head of growth.
   Verification	8	B&T, Mumbrella and CFOtech independently confirm the role and the customer milestone.
   Breadth	5	Record covers consumer growth and marketing at Revolut, Afterpay, Cashrewards and Zip Co.
   Teaching	2	His public record centres on his roles and Revolut's results rather than talks or writing.
   Peer citation	6	Appointment covered by B&T and Mumbrella; quoted by CFOtech.
   Currency	9	Quoted as Head of Growth at Revolut Australia on 9 Feb 2026.

   Public sources: Charlie Short appointed as head of growth at Revolut Australia (B&T) · Fintech firm Revolut hires ex-Afterpay global director to lead growth (Mumbrella) · Revolut hits 1m Aussie users, plans AUD $400m push (CFOtech Australia)

3. 3JB

   Jessica Box

   Former Head of Growth, Linktree · Melbourne

   37/60

   Jessica Box was hired as Linktree's first head of growth in early 2020 and is Melbourne based by her own account. SmartCompany reports that Linktree's user base grew from four million to more than 24 million over two years in the role. By her own account, more than half of new users arrived through referrals from existing Linktree pages. She has presented on product-led growth at Product-Led Alliance and given several interviews on experimentation. Her title is confirmed to June 2022, and her 2026 role is not publicly listed.

   Scores and evidence for Jessica Box

   Outcomes	8	SmartCompany reports Linktree's user base grew from four million to 24+ million in two years while she was head of growth.
   Verification	7	Role and growth confirmed by SmartCompany (two pieces, one partner content), MarTech Series and Product-Led Alliance.
   Breadth	6	By her own account more than half of new users came via referrals; she also covers sign-up volume and product-led growth.
   Teaching	7	Gave Product-Led Alliance talks (Jan and Oct 2021) on product-led growth and interviews on experimentation.
   Peer citation	6	Interviewed by SmartCompany, MarTech Series and Product-Led Alliance.
   Currency	3	Her Linktree title is confirmed to June 2022; her 2026 role is not publicly listed.

   Public sources: Linktree strategy (Zaccaria and Box) (SmartCompany) · Linktree's head of growth Jessica Box shares her journey from growth to impact (SmartCompany (partner content)) · MarTech Interview with Jessica Box, Head of Growth at Linktree (MarTech Series) · From zero to 9 million (Product-Led Alliance) · From 0 to 12M: driving product-led growth from the outside in (Product-Led Alliance)

4. 4AP

   Andrianes (Andre) Pinantoan

   Former VP Growth and Product, Airtasker; former Head of Growth, Canva · Sydney

   37/60

   Andrianes Pinantoan was named Airtasker's head of growth by AdNews in October 2018, after earlier growth roles at Canva and Pocketbook, and later held the title VP Growth and Product at Airtasker. A course page credits him with leading growth at Canva from startup to more than 10 million users. By his own speaker bio, his work lifted Canva's activation by 50% and retention by 35%. He taught a 16-lesson Airtasker growth course and ran a Melbourne workshop in 2019. His 2026 role is not publicly listed.

   Scores and evidence for Andrianes (Andre) Pinantoan

   Outcomes	7	Course page credits him with leading growth at Canva from startup to more than 10 million users; activation +50% and retention +35% are from his speaker bio.
   Verification	7	AdNews (Oct 2018) names him Airtasker's head of growth; a course page and an event listing confirm the Canva and Airtasker titles.
   Breadth	7	Speaker bio covers activation and retention at Canva; course lessons cover acquisition channels and content marketing.
   Teaching	8	Led a 16-lesson Airtasker growth course, ran a Melbourne 'How to grow like Canva' workshop (May 2019) and wrote a Buffer post on Canva Design School traffic.
   Peer citation	6	AdNews reported on his role; Airtasker's CEO Tim Fung taught alongside him in the course.
   Currency	2	Last publicly listed as VP Growth and Product, Airtasker (2019); his 2026 role is not publicly listed.

   Public sources: Top Airtasker marketer exits for US (AdNews) · Airtasker Growth Marketing Course (Rebekah Campbell) · How to grow like Canva with Andrianes Pinantoan, VP of Growth and Product Airtasker (formerly Canva) (events.com (organiser Zambesi)) · The Power of Research: How We Grew The Canva Blog's Traffic By 226.47% (Buffer)

5. 5SN

   Sebastian Neylan

   Head of Growth, Up · Melbourne

   36/60

   Sebastian Neylan is head of growth at Up, the Melbourne digital bank, and was listed as a speaker at SmartCompany's Growth Summit Melbourne in February 2026. His speaker bio says that as part of Up's leadership team he helped grow the community to more than one million customers, mostly Gen Z and millennials. He earlier worked as a senior growth marketer at Up, director of online marketing at Lonely Planet and on product work at MYOB, and has lectured at RMIT.

   Scores and evidence for Sebastian Neylan

   Outcomes	6	Growth Summit bio says he helped grow Up's community to more than one million customers as part of its leadership team.
   Verification	5	Customer figure comes from a speaker bio; the 2023 podcast separately gives Up over 600,000 customers.
   Breadth	4	Record covers brand and community growth; little documented on retention or monetisation.
   Teaching	6	Growth Summit Melbourne 2026 speaker, podcast guest (2023), SmartCompany byline (2022) and prior RMIT lecturer.
   Peer citation	6	Selected to anchor a brand discussion at the 2026 Melbourne Growth Summit, reported by Startup Daily.
   Currency	9	Listed as head of growth at Up for the 25 Feb 2026 Growth Summit at Crown Melbourne.

   Public sources: Sebastian Neylan - speaker (Growth Summit (SmartCo Media)) · Growth Summit Melbourne 2026 (SmartCompany) · Here's the full program of inspiring speakers and fearless conversations at the Melbourne Growth Summit (Startup Daily) · Seb Neylan and Anson Parker (Up) on building Australia's most lovable bank (The Own the Moment Podcast (Acast)) · Sebastian Neylan - author (SmartCompany)

6. 6DS

   Dan Siepen

   Head of Growth, Tractor Ventures · Sydney

   34/60

   Dan Siepen is a Sydney based growth marketer who, per the Startup To Scaleup Summit 2026, leads growth at Tractor Ventures. He was Head of Growth and Marketing at Wellshare from 2020 to 2021 and co-founded Coder Academy. MitchelLake records him running the Sydney Growth Hackers meetup in 2017; by his own account the community reached more than 5,000 members. His site publishes growth checklists and case studies for operators.

   Scores and evidence for Dan Siepen

   Outcomes	4	Wellshare expansion, Cenario traffic and Coder Academy revenue figures are all from his own site or interviews.
   Verification	4	Titles confirmed by Balance The Grind, Earlywork and the S2S Summit; results are by his own account.
   Breadth	4	Record covers acquisition, organic traffic and community building.
   Teaching	8	Ran Growth Hackers Sydney (MitchelLake, 2017), S2S Summit 2026 speaker, and publishes growth checklists and case studies.
   Peer citation	6	MitchelLake recap, two interview series and an S2S Summit speaker slot.
   Currency	8	S2S Summit 2026 page says he leads growth at Tractor Ventures; his site says Sydney based.

   Public sources: About (dansiepen.io (his own site)) · Dan Siepen (dansiepen.io (his own site)) · Balancing the Grind with Dan Siepen, Head of Growth & Marketing at WELLSHARE Australia (Balance The Grind) · Earlywork #29: Growth marketing uncovered (Earlywork (Substack)) · Dan Siepen - speaker (Startup To Scaleup Summit) · Test, tweet, dream, repeat (MitchelLake)

7. 7AC

   Anna Cheng

   Head of Marketing, Turo Australia · Australia

   34/60

   Anna Cheng joined Turo Australia as its first local hire in 2022 and spoke at SmartCompany's Growth Summit Sydney in 2025 as Head of Growth and Engagement Marketing; an August 2025 podcast lists her as Head of Marketing at Turo. Earlier growth roles include HealthMatch, Curious Thing AI and Spaceship, where her UNSW bio says she was employee #3 and built a 40,000 person waitlist ahead of a launch that reached $100 million in funds under management. She mentors at TechStars.

   Scores and evidence for Anna Cheng

   Outcomes	5	UNSW bio says her Spaceship strategy built a 40,000 waitlist ahead of $100million FUM in three months.
   Verification	5	Titles confirmed by SmartCompany, GoAuto and Meetup; results come from her UNSW bio.
   Breadth	5	Record covers pre-launch acquisition, engagement marketing and product launches.
   Teaching	6	Growth Summit Sydney 2025 speaker, 2017 Growth Hackers panellist, Chello podcast guest and TechStars mentor.
   Peer citation	6	SmartCompany, GoAuto and Chello each feature or name her.
   Currency	7	Listed as Head of Marketing at Turo by the Chello podcast (21 Aug 2025), the most recent dated source.

   Public sources: SmartCompany Growth Summit 2025 (SmartCompany) · New car share entrant Turo appoints MD (GoAuto) · #16 Meetup - AARRR Pirate Metrics - Expert Panel & 4x your ROI through PPC (Growth Hackers Sydney (Meetup)) · Anna Cheng (UNSW Founders) · Challenger marketing lessons from a growth hacker (Chello)

8. 8BE

   Basem Emera

   Executive General Manager, Revenue, pay.com.au · Australia

   29/60

   Basem Emera was head of growth at pay.com.au, a Melbourne fintech, before B&T reported his promotion to executive general manager of revenue in September 2026. The expanded role brings customer acquisition, activation, account management and strategic partnerships under one commercial leader. He was earlier an early employee at Go1 for more than four years, running its global partnerships and alliances, and held executive commercial roles at FrankieOne and KAST.

   Scores and evidence for Basem Emera

   Outcomes	3	B&T reports his promotion from head of growth to executive general manager of revenue at pay.com.au (Sep 2026).
   Verification	5	B&T (Sep 2026) and the pay.com.au About page confirm his roles.
   Breadth	7	His role unites customer acquisition, activation, account management and strategic partnerships.
   Teaching	1	His public record centres on his roles rather than talks or writing.
   Peer citation	4	B&T covered his promotion within a story on the company's CMO hire.
   Currency	9	B&T reported his promotion at Melbourne-based pay.com.au on 15 Sep 2026.

   Public sources: Melbourne-based fintech company pay.com.au appoints first-ever CMO David Walsh (B&T) · About Us (pay.com.au)

9. 9MR

   Matt Rossi

   Founder, Oodle; former Head of Growth, Eucalyptus · Sydney

   28/60

   Matt Rossi was head of growth at Eucalyptus until April 2024, where Startup Daily reports he helped build the Pilot and Juniper brands as the company grew past 500,000 patients. Mediaweek notes earlier roles as head of brand marketing at Canva and head of creative at Koala. His company bio states, by his own account, that Eucalyptus went from 40M to 140M ARR during his time. He now runs Oodle, a media strategy and buying business whose launch clients included Hnry, Spriggy and Koh.

   Scores and evidence for Matt Rossi

   Outcomes	6	Startup Daily says he helped build Pilot and Juniper while Eucalyptus grew to more than 500,000 patients; ARR and Canva figures are from his own company bio.
   Verification	6	Startup Daily and Mediaweek (both 15 Apr 2024) confirm the Eucalyptus head of growth role.
   Breadth	4	Record centres on brand, creative and media functions at Canva, Eucalyptus and Koala.
   Teaching	2	His public record centres on his roles and Oodle rather than talks or writing.
   Peer citation	5	Two trade outlets covered his departure and the Oodle launch.
   Currency	5	Oodle's About page lists him as founder of the Australian media business.

   Public sources: Eucalyptus head of growth Matt Rossi departs to launch his own marketing startup (Startup Daily) · Matt Rossi leaves Eucalyptus to launch media agency startup Oodle (Mediaweek) · About (Oodle (his own company))

10. 10BF

    Ben Ford

    Head of Enterprise Sales, Tiimely; former Head of Growth, Frollo · Sydney

    22/60

    Ben Ford spoke as Head of Growth at Frollo, the Australian open banking platform, at a FinTech Australia event in Sydney in October 2022. Before Frollo he spent three years at Yodlee, where he established its APAC headquarters in Sydney, and he also worked at illion Open Data Solutions. He judged the Pause Awards each year from 2020 to 2023. The Pause Awards page now lists him as Head of Enterprise Sales at Tiimely.

    Scores and evidence for Ben Ford

    Outcomes	3	Established Yodlee's APAC headquarters in Sydney before leading growth at Frollo.
    Verification	4	FinTech Australia event page and Pause Awards page confirm his titles.
    Breadth	3	Record covers partnerships and enterprise sales rather than consumer growth.
    Teaching	4	Panel speaker at a FinTech Australia event, Sydney, October 2022.
    Peer citation	4	Pause Awards judge in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
    Currency	4	Pause Awards page lists him at Tiimely; the page is undated.

    Public sources: FinTech Australia Series: Mitigating Risk in the Digital Era (Humanitix / FinTech Australia) · Ben Ford, judge (Pause Awards)

Method notes

Candidates were found from Australian startup press, conference speaker pages, podcasts and company pages, then every source was opened and checked to confirm it names the person and supports the facts quoted. Where a person's 2026 role is not publicly listed, they are described by the role they are known for, and the Currency score reflects that.