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.
Amanda Pepe (left, above), Kate Russell (left, below left), Elinor Walker (left, below right), Christian Wickham (centre, above), Rachel Leach (centre, below) and Kolby Day (right) have all been appointed to new roles.
New authority on the Adelaide Park Lands
Elinor Walker has been appointed as a Member of the Board of Management of the Kadaltilla/Adelaide Park Lands Authority.
Walker is the Director of Housing, Infrastructure, Planning and Development for the Department for Trade and Investment.
She has held senior planning roles with The Barossa Council, the City of Salisbury, the Town of Gawler and the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Since 2012, Walker has been Director of ESD Planning & Design.
She was also a Statutory Planner for the City of Whittlesea, Nillumbik Shire Council and Murrindindi Shire Council.
Walker was President of the Planning Institute South Australia Division, the peak body for town planners, from 2019 to 2021.
From 2018 to 2021, she served as a Juror for the Adelaide Prize of the Australian Institute of Architects.
New GM for Adelaide Central Market
Adelaide City Council has announced the promotion of Fabienne Reilly to General Manager of the Adelaide Central Market Authority.
Reilly started with the market in 2020 as a Commercial Manager.
She was previously the Commercial and Leasing Team Leader for the City of Holdfast Bay and was a Board Member for the Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia during this time.
Reilly spent seven years with RSPCA South Australia as a Project Manager, Community Engagement Manager and Commercial Operations Manager.
She was also the Senior Project Coordinator of Community Services for the SA Ambulance Service from 2009 to 2011.
Reilly takes the reins from outgoing General Manager Jodie Kannane who held the role for five years.
Enriching lives through art
The not-for-profit organisation enriching the lives of young people experiencing disadvantage through arts and culture, Kindred Australia, has appointed Amanda Pepe as Board Chair.
Pepe was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Light ADL – a not-for-profit hub for performing arts and hospitality in Light Square.
She is the former Publisher of Solstice Media, the parent company of InDaily, CityMag and SALIFE Magazine.
Pepe was the Chief Executive Officer of The Helpmann Academy from 2012 to 2014 and served on the Helpmann Academy Foundation Board from 2013 to 2017.
She serves as Director of UNESCO Adelaide City of Music and as a Member of the Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee for the City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters.
Pepe has formerly served as Director of CanDo4Kids, Chairperson of The Mill Adelaide and Deputy Chair of Music SA.
On board for arts and culture
Alexandra Dimos has been appointed to the Australia Council Board of Creative Australia.
Dimos has more than three decades of experience as a Hydrogeologist and is currently the Director of Flow Environmental Management.
She founded the Nunn Dimos Foundation in 2017, which supports social and art causes in South Australia, and the South Australian Women’s Fund in 2021.
In 2021, she completed the Governor’s Leadership Foundation Program and the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.
She serves as a Director for Philanthropy Australia, the Australia Council for the Arts and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.
Corporate Position: the latest executive employment opportunities
Business Manager for Rural Business Support, a not-for-profit organisation providing agribusiness and support services across rural, regional and remote SA & NT.
Quality and Systems Coordinator for Indigenous-owned professional services firm Ninti One.
From Utah to Adelaide for biotech
The Adelaide-based biotechnology drug development company BiomeBank has appointed Kolby Day as Chief Operating Officer.
Day joins the company from his role as Senior Vice President of Operations and Corporate General Manager of biotech company PolarityTE in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He also worked as Vice President and General Manager of Isto Biologics and as an Analyst for Myriad Genetics where he analysed the BRCA gene for mutations indicating risk levels of breast cancer in patients.
Female first with L&W
Elisa Caruso has been appointed a Partner with Lieschke & Weatherill Lawyers.
Caruso is the first female and fourth-ever employee promoted to Partner with the legal firm since the original Partners Jay Weatherill and Stephen Lieschke.
She joined the firm in 2015 from Mahoney’s Lawyers where she worked after being admitted to practice in 2012.
Co-Heading ANZ
ANZ has appointed Kate Russell and Rachel Leach as Co-Heads of Institutional in South Australia.
Russell is the Director of Government Strategic Engagement in South Australia managing the state government’s transition to ANZ as their sole banking partner.
She joined ANZ in 2018 from Westpac where she was the Relationship Manager and a Transactional Specialist.
Russell previously worked in the wine industry doing cellar door sales for Treasury Wine Estates, Pertaringa Wines and Geoff Merrill Wines.
Leach is Head of Corporate Finance in South Australia managing ANZ’s Resources, Energy and Infrastructure customers.
She has worked for ANZ for 16 years, starting as a Senior Credit Manager in 2007.
Prior to joining ANZ, Leach was a Credit Manager for NM Rothschild Australia and for Investec Bank Australia.
New Board for Diabetes SA
The not-for-profit organisation Diabetes SA has appointed five new Members to its Board.
Linzi Carr is a Chartered Accountant and a Graduate of the Company Directors Course from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
She is the South Australia and Northern Territory Space Tech and Innovation Leader for the law firm Ernst & Young where she has worked for over two decades.
Christian Wickham has over three decades of experience working in IT, including 25 years in senior leadership roles, and currently serves as Consultant to the Program Manager for Discovery Parks and as Chairman of the Board of the Maltese Aged Care Association SA.
Chief Executive Officer of the charity Easy Care Gardening, Leanne Babic, has previous experience working with Connect Hearing Australia, Impact Care, The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children and Hearing Australia.
Rajanbir Singh is the Financial Controller of disability service provider Cara Inc where he has worked for almost a decade.
He has previously held roles with Telstra and Artweb Designs in addition to owning the digital advertising and marketing business Avenue 8.
With two decades of experience in marketing and communications, Claire Dollard has worked with organisations including the Rosemary Bryant Foundation, The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA Branch, The Don Dunstan Foundation and Asthma Foundation NSW.
