The AHA said that current SA deputy CEO Anna Moeller would become the first female CEO in the organisation’s 153 year history when she replaces Horne on July 10.

It said Moeller was a qualified lawyer who had spent three years as AHA SA deputy CEO and had held leadership roles with Bendigo Bank, Motor Trade Association and local government, and was also current executive director of industry agency Gaming Care.

“Anna will bring her unique leadership style to the role whilst preserving the values that have made the AHA|SA such a pivotal component of not just the tourism and hospitality sector in South Australia, but the business community in this State,” AHA SA president David Basheer said.

Moeller said that hotels were a “uniquely decentralised employment generator who both reflect and are at the heart of communities across the state”

“I am very proud to be the first woman to head up the Association in over 150 years and with the support of the great team we have at the AHA, I look forward to building on Ian Horne’s remarkable legacy,” she said.