Corporate Ladder: your weekly guide to executive appointments in South Australia
South Australia’s premier executive appointments column tracking the movements of those driving the state’s public and private sectors. Plus the latest executive recruitment opportunities.
Emma Schwartz (top left), Raymond Spencer (bottom left), Andy Kay (centre), Mary Patetsos (top right, right) and Luke Bowden (bottom right) have all been appointed to new positions. Meanwhile, Peta St Clair (top right, left) has resigned as General Manager of Operations at Committee for Adelaide.
New CEO powering SA
SA Power Networks has appointed Andrew Bills as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Bills has most recently been employed as Chief Executive of CS Energy in Queensland.
He has previously held executive roles at energy companies Origin Energy, Babcock and Brown Power, and Stanwell Corporation.
Bills is currently a Director of the Australian Energy Council.
He will be replacing Rob Stobbe who is retiring as CEO after 13 years in the role.
Throughout his extensive career, Stobbe held positions at ETSA Utilities (Chief Financial Officer), CitiPower and Powercor (Chief Financial Officer), Northern Gas Networks (Head and Finance Director), Spark Infrastructure (Chief Executive Officer) and Transadelaide (Chief Executive Officer).
Movements at the Committee for Adelaide
Raymond Spencer has been appointed the Committee for Adelaide’s new Chair.
Spencer is the current Chair and Co-Owner of Hentley Farm Wines, as well as Chair of ZEN Energy and Director of cleaning product company Zero Co Australia.
He takes the role from Vice Chancellor of the University of South Australia, David Lloyd.
Lloyd, who remains Deputy Chair of Universities Australia and a member of the Board of Advisors for the Australian Research Council, said he “will conduct a formal handover to Spencer at the March Board meeting and [Spencer will] take the reins from April of this year.”
He also said the appointment of the Committee for Adelaide’s new Chief Executive Officer is being finalised and should be announced before he steps down from his tenure.
The appointments come in the same week that Peta St Clair announced on LinkedIn that she resigned from her role as General Manager of the Committee for Adelaide, a position she has held since October 2022.
Andy Kay announces retirement
General Manager of Seven Network Adelaide, Andy Kay has announced his retirement and will be stepping down from the role after almost four decades with the company.
Kay began his career as a Junior Producer for the radio station 5DN where he worked until 1984 when he moved to Channel Seven.
During his career, Kay oversaw production of 10 Olympic Games, the AFL, the Australian Open, the Melbourne Cup and three Commonwealth Games.
He will be replaced by Vikki Friscic who is joining Channel Seven Adelaide as Managing Director in April of 2023.
Friscic has previously held positions in media agencies as Managing Director of Carat Australia and General Manager of EssenceMediaCom (previously MediaCom).
Cattle Australia appoints first CEO
Australia’s new peak body for cattle producers, Cattle Australia has appointed Luke Bowen as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer.
Bowen was most recently employed as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Agriculture, Fisheries and Biosecurity for the Northern Territory Government.
He previously worked as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Territory Cattleman’s Association.
Cattle Australia was formed last year to replace the previous organisation, Cattle Council of Australia.
Bowen will commence his new role on April 17 of 2023.
St John Ambulance’s new Board members
The Board of St John Ambulance SA has appointed Mary Patetsos and Rebecca Wilson as members of its Board.
Patetsos has been appointed the Board’s new Chair and will commence on 1 March.
She has over two decades of experience working as Board Chair for SA Local Government Grants Commission and previously the South Australian Housing Trust.
Patetsos currently serves on National and South Australian Boards including Chair of ACH Group, Director of Northern Adelaide Local Health Network and Council Member at the University of South Australia.
Wilson is joining the charity as Board Director.
She has most recently been employed as Chief Executive Officer of Scouts SA and has previous experience working at RAA and the City of Unley.
Wilson is currently an Advisor on the Flinders Law Board and an Audit Risk Committee Member at the Adelaide Hills Region Waste Management Authority.
The appointments come following the retirement of long-term Board Chair Karen Limb who served the Board for nine years, five of those as Chair.
Limb will continue her voluntary service at the organisation, commencing as Director of the national St John Ambulance Australia Board in March of 2023.
Corporate Position: the latest executive employment opportunities
The Office for Autism is looking to appoint to two roles, a Director and a Principal Community Engagement Officer. The Director will be responsible for implementing South Australia’s first Autism Strategy and whole-of-Government Autism Charter, while the Principal Community Engagement Officer is responsible for designing, developing and managing the Government’s engagement and consultation approach with the autistic and autism communities. Applications for both positions are open to autistic persons only.
Not-for-profit organisation, Council of the Ageing SA (COTA SA) is looking to appoint a Chief Executive to lead staff, seek growth opportunities and maintain stakeholder relationships. A strong background in not-for-profit or community sectors is preferable and a connection to the work of COTA SA will be strongly considered.
Elderton Wines are searching for a Financial Controller to oversee the company’s financial aspects in a leadership role based in Nuriootpa. Applications are sought from CA/CPA qualified accounting professionals, preferably with experience in the wine sector or a comparable production/manufacturing-based environment.
Clare-based wine company, Taylors is looking to appoint a new Operations Manager to report to the General Manager and oversee all packaging operations. The position requires an applicant with experience in manufacturing roles, preferably with exposure to a food safety certified environment, and offers potential succession pathways.
Resthaven Incorporated is looking to hire a Senior Manager of Residential Services and a Nurse Practitioner in Palliative and Aged Care. The Senior Manager of Residential Services will be based in Resthaven’s Wayville head office and is responsible for the senior management of allocated residential sites and functional accountabilities across residential service delivery. The Nurse Practitioner in Palliative and Aged Care will report to the Senior Manager of Clinical Services and is responsible for the provision of quality advanced practice nursing to residents and clients in liaison with other members of the broader health care team.
Not-for-profit organisation assisting in VET qualifications for First Nations Australians, Ninti Training Limited (NTL) is looking to appoint a General Manager of Training. The role will report directly to the General Manager of Business Development to oversee business management and growth. To secure the best candidate, there is scope for the role to be based in a number of States.
New committee members for Don Dunstan Foundation
Ian Goodwin-Smith and Megan Moskos have joined the Don Dunstan Foundation as members of the Committee of Management.
Established in 1999, the Don Dunstan Foundation is a South Australian charity that focuses on social justice issues through public events, collaborative projects and research.
Goodwin-Smith is the Matthew Flinders Professor of Social Impact at Flinders University and Director at the Centre for Social Impact Flinders.
Moskos is Co-Director of the Future of Employment and Skills research centre and Associate Dean Research Engagement for the Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics at the University of Adelaide.
The pair began their roles as committee members this month.
Adelaide University finds new Head overseas
The University of Adelaide has appointed Mark Harris as the Head of its School of Humanities.
Harris is currently a Professor of Historical Anthropology at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
He was Head of the School of Philosophical, Anthropological Film Studies at St Andrews from 2017 to 2022.
Harris will begin his new role in Adelaide in May.
Partnering with SEC Newgate
Strategic communications company, SEC Newgate Australia has appointed Emma Schwartz as Associate Partner and Lead Consultant of its Adelaide office.
Schwartz was previously employed as Head of Communications and Public Affairs at The Hospital Research Foundation Group.
She has also worked as Communications Manager for Australian defence and security company, BAE Systems Australia and Director of Communications and Engagement at Wilderness School.
Patron of the wines
Greg Clayfield has been appointed as the newest Patron of the Coonawarra Vigerons Association.
Prior to his retirement in 2017, Clayfield was Chief Winemaker of Zema Estate.
He has previously been Manager of Rouge Homme and Wynns Coonawarra Estate.
Clayfield has held many positions within the Coonawarra Vigerons Association previously, including the role of Chairman.
Delivering data for Frisk
Adelaide-based data intelligence company Frisk has appointed Cathy Daniels as Head of Delivery.
Previously Frisk’s General Manager of Client Delivery, Daniels took on her new executive role in January of 2023.
Her previous positions include Senior Software Engineer at Internode, Project Manager at iiNet and Acting Associate Director of Information Technology and Asset Services for the South Australian Department of Innovation and Skills.
