The role, which is a newly created position at TRA, will see Mulcahy (pictured) work across the company’s Trans-Tasman New Zealand and Australia business leading cultural strategy and foresight initiatives.

Mulcahy will be based in Melbourne and will report to Mark Hobart, managing partner at TRA Melbourne.

Mulcahy’s initial focus will be on TRA’s annual review of cultural currents driving change and their relevance to brands.

Prior to joining TRA, Mulcahy spent nearly a decade at Nike in the US, most recently as research manager across the US, Europe and Asia.

Other roles held by Mulcahy at Nike include senior trend forecaster, which included researching and analysing global trends and lifestyle shifts affecting sport and culture.

Andrew Lewis, co-founder and managing director at TRA, said: “We needed a practitioner with a deep knowledge of cultural foresight, critical thinking and cultural practice to lead Trans-Tasman client work across TRA’s cultural strategy offering and I am confident we have found that person in Laura.

“Her experience working on large-scale Nike projects, driving brand strategy through intelligence and insight gathering; and ultimately translating data into meaningful insights, will help our clients’ brands be at the cutting edge of cultural relevance.”