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.
Melissa de Zwart (left, above), Mark Roderick (left, below), Angelo Catinari (centre, above), Beth Davidson-Park (centre, below) and Penny Griggs (right) have all been appointed to new roles.
Stepping down from SASI
Long-time Director of the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) Wes Battams has announced his retirement after 26 years.
Significant milestones during Battams’ time as Director include the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2000, the establishment of the Centre of Excellence partnerships with National Sporting Organisations, and the securing of funding for the new SASI headquarters.
He also guided SASI through the challenges of the major restructuring under the 2011 National Winning Edge Policy initiative and the postponed Tokyo Games due to the global pandemic.
Battams will step down in early December 2023 and the recruitment process for a new Director commences in the coming weeks.
New Babcock CFO
Defence, aviation and critical services company Babcock Australasia has appointed Jamie Hollamby as Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director of the Marine branch.
Hollamby joins Babcock from Sydney Water where he was General Manager of Finance and Business Performance.
He is the former General Manager of Business Services for SA Water and worked for BAE Systems from 2006 to 2013.
He serves as Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee for Water Research Australia and is the former Chair of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee for St John’s Grammar School.
Hollamby is a Member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
On board for the arts
Penny Griggs, the Chief Executive Officer of Adelaide Central School of Art, has been appointed to the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust Board.
Griggs was Chief Executive Officer of the South Australian Living Artist (SALA) Festival from 2012 to 2018 and previously worked as the Marketing and Corporate Relations Executive for the Adelaide Festival Centre from 2006 to 2012.
She has held roles with Melbourne Theatre Company and Carclew Youth Arts Centre.
Griggs currently serves as Chairperson for the Board of Slingsby Theatre Company and as a Member of the Lot Fourteen Arts and Culture Advisory Group.
She is a past Board Member of Festivals Adelaide, Cirkidz and the Gouger Street Traders Association.
She is also a past Committee Member of the Arts Industry Council of South Australia Committee and the Churchill Fellows Association of South Australia Committee.
AGSA appoints three
The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) has appointed three new Members to its Board.
Mark Roderick is Executive Chairman of the Perks Group – one of Australia’s largest independently-owned accounting and wealth advisory firms.
Roderick is the Chairman of the Board of Governors for Helpmann Academy and is the former Deputy Chair of Adelaide Festival Corporation.
He is Chairman of The Lang Foundation, a Non-Executive Director of Cavpower and a Board Member for LEA Global.
Deputy Managing Director of Islamic superannuation consultancy Crescent Wealth, Miriam Silva is a Patron of the International Women’s Day Committee in South Australia and the Multicultural Patron of The South Australian Police Training Academy.
In 2012, Silva was named one of Australia’s inaugural 100 Women of Influence in the Westpac and AFR Awards and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2022.
She serves as Chair for Contemporary Arts Precincts and inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, and is a Board Member for AMES Australia – an organisation supporting migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to settle in Australia.
Michaela Webster is a Non-Executive Board Member for Southern Cross Care and Helpmann Academy.
She is the Commissioner for Tourism Northern Territory and serves as a Committee Member of the Bedford Group.
Webster is the former National Marketing Manager for Westfield UK and worked as Chief Operating Officer of On The Run from 2010 to 2016.
Time for festivities
Council Member for the National Museum of Australia Tracey Whiting has been appointed Chair of the Adelaide Festival Corporation Board.
Since 2006, Whiting has served on the Board of Directors for Solstice Media – the parent company of InDaily, CityMag and SALIFE Magazine.
She is the former Chair of the Art Gallery of South Australia and served on its Board from 2008 to 2020.
She is also a former Member of the Board of Directors for the South Australian Museum.
Whiting is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
Corporate Position: the latest executive employment opportunities
Principal for independent and highly-regarded co-educational school St Columba College, located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide.
Director of People and Performance for the SACE Board of South Australia, a key role that assumes responsibilities as both Chief Financial Officer and Chief People Officer.
Ranger Coordinator and Field Officer for Oak Valley (Maralinga) Council located in the South Australian Great Victoria Desert.
Business Manager for ELC to 12 education institution Good News Lutheran College located in Tarneit approximately 30km south west of the Melbourne CBD.
Star appointment for University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide has appointed Melissa de Zwart as a Professor based in the University’s Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources.
The University head-hunted de Zwart due to her “internationally recognised leadership in the field of space law” which will bring “critical expertise to [the University’s] efforts in realising a dynamic and exciting future for humanity in space.”
The current Deputy Director of ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, de Zwart is also the former Deputy Chair for the Space Industry Association of Australia and a former Board Member of the Australian Academy of Law.
She joins the university from Flinders University and has previous experience with Monash University and the CSIRO.
Taking the council reins
Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the City of West Torrens, Angelo Catinari, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer to succeed Terry Buss when he retires in December 2023 after 15 years in the role.
Catinari joined the council in 1999 and held roles as Manager of City Assets and General Manager of Urban Services before becoming Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
Catinari will commence in the role on 1 January 2024.
Farewell Mighty Kingdom CEO
South Australian gaming company Mighty Kingdom’s Chief Executive Officer Shane Yeend has tendered his resignation after four months with the company.
Yeend is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gamestar+ Interactive Inc which he founded in early 2015.
He is also the Chief Executive Officer of Imagination Gaming Inc. and Imagination Entertainment Limited – a United States-based gaming and entertainment company that Yeend has been a part of since its inception in 1984.
Yeend will continue to serve the company as Chair of the Board and his responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer will be absorbed in the short term by the company’s executive team.
Good for grain
Northern Mallee grain producer John Gladigau has been appointed Chair of Grain Producers SA (GPSA).
Gladigau is the Executive Director of Bulla Burra Operations – a farm in the Alawoona/Loxton region.
He takes the reins from Hamley Bridge grain producer Adrian McCabe who was Chair for three years and a Board Director for more than half a decade.
Eyre Peninsula grain producer Peta Willmott has been appointed Vice-Chair of the Board.
She is the Treasurer for the Buckleboo Farm Improvement Group and a Councillor with the District Council of Kimba.
Also joining the Board as Members are Deanna Paech and Dave McKeon.
Paech is a grain producer in the Murraylands region and the Managing Director of AgCommunicators – a consultancy coordinating communication, marketing and event projects for rural and regional Australia.
McKeon is the Head of Thomas Elder Sustainable Agriculture for Elders and the former Chief Executive Officer of Grain Growers Limited.
Connecting community
The not-for-profit organisation connecting older South Australians and those living with a disability to support services, Catalyst Foundation, has appointed Beth Davidson-Park as Board Chair.
Davidson-Park is the General Manager of Alwyndor Aged Care and serves as Chair of The Paraplegic & Quadriplegic Association of South Australia.
She has previously held roles as Director of Operations for the City of Adelaide, General Manager of Community and Housing for AnglicareSA and Director of Strategy for Southern Cross Care.
Davidson-Park is a former Board Member of PowerHousing Australia and former Deputy Chair for the Board of the Child and Family Welfare Association SA.
