Fletcher Building is pleased to announce the appointment of Sacha Leagh-Murray to the role of General Manager, Laminex.

Leagh-Murray boasts an impressive career spanning three decades, characterised by expertise in Sales, Marketing, Digital, Retail and cross-functional leadership within the realm of multi-site manufacturing businesses. With over six years at Laminex, Leagh-Murray has demonstrated her exceptional leadership capabilities by overseeing a number of functions during that time, including Sales, Marketing, Category Management, Digital and Innovation.

During her tenure, Leagh-Murray has repositioned Laminex as a design leader and industry trailblazer. Driving a culture of innovation, she spearheaded the brand’s resurgence from dated to design-led and customer-focused. Under her guidance, Laminex has delivered a continuous cadence of successful new product launches year on year since 2018 – a result of shifting the brand’s messaging and offering to adapt to and lead consumer and architectural trends throughout the years.

Leagh-Murray played an integral role in a range of initiatives that are core to the business’ success, including the relaunch of the Laminex Colour Collection in 2019 and the introduction of their celebrated designer collaborations with esteemed industry leaders including Kennedy Nolan and Yasmine Ghoniem of YSG. She also launched Laminex into the wall linings segment with Surround by Laminex in 2021.

Moving forward, Leagh-Murray brings an unwavering passion for the growth of the Laminex portfolio and a focus on improving the customer experience. With sights set on growth beyond the current market, Leagh-Murray continues in her stride to position Laminex as a design leader and household brand with Australian designers and consumers.

Leagh-Murray emphasises, “The introduction of our wall panels signifies Laminex's expansion beyond laminates. For the emerging generation of homeowners unaccustomed to traditional laminate benchtops, Laminex is seen as a modern, design-led brand that enables personal expression via colour and texture. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for us to venture into new product categories and engage a new generation of customers.”

Chief Executive of Fletcher Building Australia Gareth O’Reilly joined the company in February after his tenure as Pacific President at Schneider Electric. On Leagh-Murray’s appointment, O’Reilly notes, “Sacha has been an integral part of the Laminex Senior Leadership Team for the last six years and is a well-respected, results driven leader with a deep background in product innovation, category management, marketing and sales leadership.”

“With over 20 years’ experience across Building Products, FMCG and Consumer Goods prior to joining Laminex in 2017, Sacha is well-equipped to steer Laminex towards continued success and lead out our growth strategies into this next chapter. Her track record speaks volumes demonstrating a remarkable ability to drive sales and market share growth, inspiring transformational change and foster innovation-led strategies by leading high-performing teams.”

This appointment symbolises a shift into a new era for the 90-year old brand, and Leagh-Murray is committed to leading the building industry into a new era. Over the last few years, Laminex has made strong commitments to sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and Leagh-Murray is vowing to strengthen how the company responds to each of these areas.

“Throughout the company’s 90 years in business, Laminex has continually adapted with a focus on employee safety and engagement, customer service and highest quality products. The success of Laminex products can be attributed to an ongoing focus on product and manufacturing innovation, and a pursuit of continuous improvement, elevating performance across its entire spectrum of operations.

“I am dedicated to continuing this pursuit, with our focus on improving customer experience for consumers, specifiers and trade customers and continuing to provide a safe and rewarding place to work for our people.”