AGSA boss to leave

Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) Director Rhana Devenport will leave after six years in the position, with her tenure ending on July 7.

Rhana Devenport

Devenport became Director of AGSA in October 2018 and prior to this, she was director at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

She has also been Director of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth, New Zealand and Senior Project Officer, Asia Pacific Triennial at QAGOMA: Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane.

MFS gets new chief

Jeff Swann has been appointed as Chief Officer of the SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) by the state government.

Jeff Swann

Swann has more than two decades of experience in the MFS and has been serving as Acting Chief Officer since December 2023.

Swann joined the MFS as a recruit firefighter in 2000. He was promoted to Commander in 2017, Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2021 and Deputy Chief Officer in 2023.

Swann will start his five-year term effective immediately.

Key appointments to AmCham Australia

The American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AmCham) has appointed two new Non-Executive Directors to its board.

The new directors are Maria Fernandez, who is President of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, and Richard Alcock AO, who is Vice Chairman of Banking and Markets at the Bank of America.

AmCham bills itself as “the voice of international business interests, throughout Australia and in the US in particular”.

Experienced defence director joins Codan

Matthew Jones has joined Codan Communications | DTC (Codan) as Vice President of Asia Pacific and will be based in the company’s Adelaide office.

Matthew Jones

Before joining Codan, Jones was director of Acteon Pty Ltd. CEO of EOS Defence Systems (Australia) at EOS Defence Systems and General Manager of Land C4I at Electro Optic Systems Pty Limited, among other roles.

In his new role, Jones will lead the company’s marketing strategy in the Asia Pacific region, with a focus on military and uncrewed markets.

Codan is a provider of Wireless MESH IP technology and HF Radio Solutions.

Former Shell exec appointed as a non-executive director

Sally Martin has been appointed as an independent non-executive director at Beach Energy Ltd.

Sally Martin

Before finishing her role in 2021, Martin had been at Shell for 33 years. Her most recent positions were General Manager of Supply & Trading Operations, Europe and Africa, Vice President of Downstream HSSE and Vice President of Commercial Services, Shell Projects and Technology in London and the Hague.

Martin is an independent non-executive director at copper mining company Sandfire Resources and is the senior independent non-executive director of Porvair Plc., which is a specialist filtration and environmental technology company.

Red, red wine

Dr Mardi Longbottom has accepted the role of General Manager of the Australian Wine Research Institute’s (AWRI) Industry Development and Support team.

Mardi Longbottom

Longbottom has been at AWRI for almost 13 years as Manager of Sustainability & Viticulture and as a Senior Viticulturist.

Longbottom was the Director of the Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology for eight years, the Director of Australian Grape and Wine and the Director of the Wine Grape Council of Australia.

She has also been a Viticulture Research and Extension Specialist at Virginia Tech and a lecturer in viticulture at the University of Adelaide, among other roles.

AWRI is a research institute based in Adelaide.

A new position at Harrison McMillan

Kate Burne

South Australian agency Harrison McMillan has appointed Kate Burne to the newly created role of Director of Recruitment Services.

Before joining Harrison McMillan, Burne worked at job recruiter Hays for 20 years, including most recently as senior manager for client engagement in the technology business.

In her new role, Burne leads a team of 10, recruiting in the tech, business support and corporate service industries. She will also be responsible for expanding the company’s contracting and permanent divisions

Experienced beef industry manager joins Thomas Foods International

James Sage has joined Thomas Foods International as General Manager at the Tintinara-based Southern Cross Feedlot.

James Sage

Before joining Thomas Foods International, Sage was the Conargo Feedlot Manager at Australian Food and Agriculture in the Riverina region of New South Wales.

In his 30-year career, Sage has also been Production Manager and Beef Consultant Southeast Asia for Associated Grain, Asia Pacific Beef Manager at Alltech Asia Pacific and Feedlot Manager with Gibson Partnership in Dalby, Queensland.

Sage will manage a workforce of more than 40 people, and up to 27,000 head of cattle.