Corporate Ladder: your weekly guide to executive appointments
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.
Leyton Funds Managing Director Warwick Mittiga (centre) with new Finance Manager Kelly Menzies (left) and Eamonn Ansell (right). (Image: supplied)
EPA promotes new Operations Director
The South Australian Environmental Protection Agency has promoted long-time employee Andrew Pruszinski to Director of Operations.
Pruszinski has been with the EPA since 2004 when he joined as a specialist adviser on site contamination and contaminated land.
The senior environmental regulator started his career in 1984 as a Cadet Analytical Chemist with North Broken Hill Limited before moving on to senior project management roles with industrial company CSR and former engineering firm Sinclair Knight Merz.
Pruszinski’s time with the EPA has come alongside stints as a Senior Lecturer and PhD supervisor with UniSA. He also currently sits on the board of the South Australian Public Health Council.
In June, the EPA promoted Pruszinski to Acting Director of Regulation after 10 years as the agency’s Manager of Site Contamination.
The EPA says Pruszinski has delivered key regulatory reforms during his time in the public sector.
“I congratulate Andrew on his appointment and we’re looking forward to working with him in supporting our significant ongoing regulatory efforts and leading future best practice regulatory reforms,” EPA CEO Tony Circelli said.
The latest promotion puts Pruszinski in charge of numerous key operations of the EPA, including compliance and regulatory practice, circular economy and waste, breaches of the EPA Act and incident management.
Business leader, senior lawyer head up new international council
The newly established South Australian-Vietnam Business Council has appointed Francis Wong OAM and Marcus Le Vincente as its inaugural President and Vice President.
The duo took the helm of the SAVBC at its official launch on November 27 with the stated goal of promoting SA-Vietnam relations in trade and investment.
Wong is a former Adelaide City Councillor and a long-time prominent non-executive director in South Australia.
He has held board roles with the Australian Tourism Export Council, Tourism Australia, the Adelaide 500, Adelaide United, the Football Federation of South Australia, the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Council for International Trade & Commerce SA and the Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation.
The international business veteran currently works for Vietnamese corporation Becamex IDC as their Chief Representative in Australia and New Zealand, alongside a senior advisory role with international law firm Minter Ellison.
He is also Managing Director of South Australian tour group Encounter Australia, which he established in 1988.
Wong’s deputy at the SAVBC, Vincente, also works for Minter Ellison as a Senior Legal Adviser.
The experienced corporate and commercial lawyer has been with Minter Ellison’s Adelaide office since 2003, after spending 10 years as a Partner with Phillips Fox Lawyers.
Upon launching the SAVBC last week, the council says it now has nearly 70 business members in the trade and services industry, and aims to have 200 members within the next 18 months.
Hotel leaders added to events industry board
The Adelaide Convention Bureau has appointed hoteliers Llewellyn Wyeth and Chantal Ward to its board.
Wyeth is the General Manager of the Pullman Adelaide, which he has led since October 2017 after moving over from the Pullman Albert Park in Victoria.
Prior to managing Pullman Hotels, he was General Manager of the Novotel Hotel in Melbourne and President of the St Kilda Tourism Association. He is also a former General Manager of Novotel’s Barossa Valley Resort.
He joins the Convention Bureau along with Ward, who is currently Director of Sales and Marketing at the new Crowne Plaza Adelaide.
Her 20-year career in hospitality has seen her take on roles in Adelaide, Sydney and London, with stints at the Stamford Hotel, Accor, the InterContinental Hotels Group and the Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
Both Ward and Wyeth have been appointed to two-year terms on the Convention Bureau board.
The association has around 180 members in the conventions, events and tourism industry, and is chaired by Adelaide Airport Strategic Adviser and Homestart Finance Chair Jim Kouts.
Business duo to lead new consultancy
Business SA has appointed David Walker and Simon Romaniuk to head up their new Business Growth Consulting service.
The chamber of commerce launched the service last week to offer mentoring, business planning, project management and staff development services to young businesses.
Walker has joined Business SA in the advisory role after a year as National Sales Manager with workplace health services provider AusHealth.
He is a former Senior Medical Representative with AstraZeneca in Australia and has also held senior roles with private health companies Device Technologies, Zimmer Biomet and ACTA Non Verba.
His counterpart Romaniuk has spent more than 30 years in senior roles with companies including Unilever, Lion, Pernod Ricard and the Campbell Soup Company.
He joins Business SA after 15 years as Owner of sponsorship consultants Responsorship.
The chamber of commerce touted the duo’s more than 55 years of collective experience and said the two are well-positioned to help businesses within the new consulting service to accelerate their growth.
Property fund makes two senior appointments
Adelaide property investment firm Leyton Funds has added long-time Rivergum Homes Finance Manager Kelly Menzies and Mirvac Asset Manager Eamonn Ansell to its team.
Ansell – whose career has spanned Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney with LJ Hooker, JLL and most recently Mirvac – has been appointed as Investment Manager and tasked with leading Leyton Funds’ investment management team.
His three years as Asset Manager with Mirvac in Sydney saw him oversee a “significant” portfolio of institutional grade investment assets, according to Leyton Funds.
Ansell’s new employers have more than $175 million in assets under management, with a primary focus on commercial, industrial and retail real estate
“I’ve been watching the company for some time and have been impressed with not only the growth that has been achieved but also the way in which the team has gone about it,” Ansell said.
“I’m excited to be joining and to be able to bring what I’ve learned from a national perspective into this setting.”
Meanwhile, Menzies has been appointed as Leyton Funds’ new Finance Manager, after an eight-year stint with the Rivergum Group in the same position.
She was a corporate accountant with Adelaide construction company BADGE Constructions before moving to Rivergum in 2013.
Leyton Funds Managing Director Warwick Mittiga said the appointments would help the firm deliver on its growth commitments.
“As we further grow our assets under management, we need the best people to continue to deliver our active management approach to real estate investment,” Mittiga said.
“That’s why we are particularly pleased to have been able to secure talented people of the calibre of Eamonn and Kelly.”
Corporate Position: the latest executive employment opportunities
With multiple sites across Adelaide and a loyal and established client base, ADX Depot/Bone Timber is a diversified and successful family owned business supplying materials and solutions to the building industry. With nearly 80 staff, a strong balance sheet and increasing turnover, this buoyant entity is poised for further growth and consolidation. Reporting directly to the Managing Director, the Chief Financial Officer is responsible for proactively contributing to the organisation’s strategic direction as well as developing the corporate services team and overseeing ICT. Applications are encouraged from innovative and driven individuals interested in joining a positive culture centred around customer service and excellence.
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) is a leader in its sector, managing critical gas infrastructure across Australia through its gas businesses that include Australian Gas Networks, Dampier Bunbury Pipeline and Multinet Gas Networks. It is also leading the way in renewable gas, through the development of hydrogen projects. With an asset base of approximately $9 billion and a customer base of over 2 million, AGIG is poised for further growth. Based in Adelaide and reporting to the Financial Controller, the Management Accountant will provide business partner support primarily to the Australian Gas Networks business. Applications are encouraged from CA/CPA qualified candidates with demonstrated experience in a management accounting role within a comparably large business. Previous experience with SAP will be advantageous. This is a full-time, hands-on role, so the ability and willingness to oscillate between operational responsibilities is critical.
It’s easy being Green
South Australian accounting firm Lee Green has elevated Associate Director Ben Spiers to Director – one of three new promotions at the Fullarton Road firm.
Spiers has been with the business advisory and audit firm since 2018 after moving over from Norwood-based Major May & Associates, where he started his career as a Chartered Accountant in 2011.
A former Treasurer of childcare centre Kindergym Unley, Spiers has spent the last three years leading the development of financial reporting models for a range of industry groups, including cooperative research centres.
Meanwhile, Lee Green also last week announced the promotion of managers Melissa Probert and Samantha Hughes to Associate Directors.
Probert has been with Lee Green since 2016 after holding accountant roles with Saab, JSA Accounting and Quantum Accounting Eastwood.
Hughes joined Lee Green a year later after nearly 20 years with Quantum Accounting.
The duo are touted by their current employers as “instrumental” in the growth of Lee Green’s Indigenous business consulting services.
“Ben, Melissa and Samantha have provided exceptional support to our staff and clients during the disruptive period of lockdowns and work from home,” Co-founder and Principal Tom Green said.
“They have proved that they are ready to take the next step and we look forward to seeing them develop further in their new roles.”
Adelaide chef adds some European flavour
Adelaide Institute of Hospitality Manager Ben Sharp has officially commenced in a new board role with international hospitality organisation EURHODIP.
The long-time chef has led the Adelaide culinary school since 2012 and scored the European board appointment earlier this year.
EURHODIP, based in Seville, Spain, is an education support association for hospitality and tourism schools, and represents more than 180 institutions from 35 countries.
Sharp said he was “humbled” by his election to the association earlier in the year and is “truly excited by the possibilities this creates for Australia to be part of global discussions when it comes to the future of hospitality education”.
“We will be sharing knowledge and insights with the world’s leading hospitality and tourism schools,” he said, noting his interest in attracting young talent to the industry.
“There has never been a more important time to work together to shape the future of education and this appointment provides an incredible opportunity.”
