About Us
Meet our Founder, Chiquita Searle
Chiquita Searle is the founder of Chiquita & Co, a leading Melbourne Public Relations agency she founded in 2015, that works with CEOs, founders and entrepreneurs as their ‘Power Partner’, helping them to build a powerful public presence through our multi-pronged PR strategies.Â
Chiquita is passionate about working with small businesses to help then leverage the power of the media to grow. As a small business owner herself, she understands just how effective being regularly mentioned in the media can be. She still loves the thrill of the chase, crafting a story, pitching it to media and then watching her clients thrive as they reap the rewards of regular media mentions.Â
Chiquita has built robust media networks over the last decade and as a result, her clients have been featured in top-tier media outlets including Sunrise, 7, 9 and 10 News, Studio 10, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, Australian Financial Review, www.news.com.au, Mamamia and many more.Â
In 2022, Chiquita founded FemmeCon, a community and series of events designed to inspire women to step into their full-force feminine power. She is also the host of FemmePod, the podcast encouraging women to give zero f*cks and to walk to the beat of their own drum.
She is also the founder and designer of CHIQUITA, her statement eyewear for women brand, which includes sunglasses and blue light blocking glasses, that are stylish, luxurious and high quality.
The brand has been worn by high-profile celebrities including feminist icon Clementine Ford, radio and TV star Kate Langbroek, media personalities Chrissie Swan, Belinda Russell and Yumi Stynes, NY Times best-selling author Sally Hepworth, Bachelor stars Helena Sauzier, Kiki Morris, Kaitlyn Hoppe and Gemma White.
The eyewear has been featured nationally in news.com.au, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Good Weekend and The Canberra Times.
Chiquita is a TEDx Alumni and is often invited to speak or MC at a number of events by a range of leading brands including Run the World, Australian Women of Medicine, Pause Fest, ANZ, One Path and Empowered Women in Real Estate.
Our Team Members
Laura Ambrose
Marketing, Events & Sponsorship Lead
Laura is a results-driven marketing and events professional with a passion for building relationships. She specialises in collaborative marketing strategy development, streamlining operations for efficiency, and orchestrating end-to-end events to meet strategic goals.
Her expertise includes executing eCommerce campaigns for global beauty brands, working with major retailers like MYER & David Jones, building robust advertising strategies for small businesses, and leading end-to-end event management from small meetups to large-scale conferences. In her spare time, Laura serves as a volunteer Board Member for Cambodian not-for-profit organisation.
Ananya Gaitonde
Publicist
Ananya is a dynamic media professional who is passionate about the power of creativity and crafting compelling narratives. Originally from Mumbai, India, she pursued her interest in media, earning her degree in Journalism, Media, and Communications.
Helena Tan
Publicist
Helena is an enthusiastic and motivated Publicist who enjoys working within the ever changing media landscape. With a background in science, she is passionate about evidence-based approaches to problem solving and conveying complex information in compelling ways to meet strategic outcomes. Driven by meaningful work, she is eager to learn and grow with Chiquita & Co.
Kylie Tempest
Virtual Financial Controller
Kylie Tempest has over 20 years experience in accounting, in Australia and internationally (the UK, India and the US), in both public practice and industry management.
Lulu Balbi-Atkinson
Senior Art Director / Graphic Designer
Lulu is a senior art director and graphic designer based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Starving for a creative outlet and with a degree in Government and International Relations from Sydney University in her pocket, she went back to study design in her mid-20s before landing a position with a design agency on the North Shore.
Now with 8+ years’ experience, her expertise spans ground-up branding, strategic rebranding, web design, digital documentation, EDMs, print media and more – she loves helping people get excited about their brand, find the value in their offering and communicate that effectively to their audience.
