Mark Liversidge to part ways with CSL

Liversidge will serve as CMO until the end of the month, sources said, after which he is expected to be on a three-month sabbatical travelling and getting a gliding licence in France.

It is also said he will begin his new position at Hilton in September.

He had wanted to get out of the telecommunications industry for some time, according to the sources. A farewell party will be held tonight in Causeway Bay.

His achievements at CSL include delivering a rebranding strategy turning CSL into a corporate identity and seven free-standing brands, and driving brand recall for three mass-market brands from less than 10 per cent in 2009 to market leadership in 2011, with media spend that is lower than the market average.

There is no word yet on a replacement for Liversidge at CSL, which appointed new CEO Phil Mottram in October 2012.

An industry source who preferred to remain anonymous revealed that the telco, being a subsidiary of Telstra, has been "stocked with Australians", but that the company was looking to "go more local" in terms of its management and leadership.

Prior to CSL, Liversidge, a British native, spent three years as general manager of marketing and customer management at Macquarie Telecom in Australia; and head of direct channels at Orange in London before that.