Leadership change at PlasmaShield

PlasmaShield Ltd has announced the appointment of Ben Gill as its CEO, taking over from Dr Chris McGowen, who has led the business for the past 12 months.

Ben Gill

PlasmaShield said McGowen has led the business through its most recent capital raise and market repositioning and will continue as an advisor, drawing from his experience in the government and hospital sectors.

Gill joined PlasmaShield in February 2024 in the role of commercial director and led the commercial division.

PlasmaShield said he was able to leverage his previous scale-up experience gained at Canadian AI business BranBox AI Inc, where he was head of Asia Pacific, among other roles.

Gill has been involved in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry for the past five years and before this he held senior roles with ASX Top 50 real estate companies The GPT Group and Land Lease.

PlasmaShield is headquartered in Keswick and specialises in advanced air filtration technology.

Going for gold

Barton Gold Holdings Limited has appointed Kim Russell as general manager of development, where he will lead its Tunkillia Gold Project.

Kim Russell

Russell is a mining engineer with close to 30 years of experience in the development and operation of large-scale open-pit gold, iron ore, base and speciality metals projects, project finance, mergers and acquisitions.

He was most recently head of mining and operations at Rex Minerals’ South Australian greenfields Cu-AU Hillside Project.

Before this, he was a manager of technical services at Harmony Gold and Pilbara Minerals, as well as associate director of PCF Capital (Argonaut).

New Adelaide partners at Grant Thornton

Ioly Kisin

Grant Thornton Australia has announced four new partners, including Ioly Kisin and Paul Carbon, who are based in Adelaide.

Kisin began her career at 2IC Management Pty Ltd and started as an associate at Grant Thronton in 2008, moving through the ranks to supervisor, manager, senior manager and director.

Paul Carbone

Carbone started at Grant Thornton as an senior accountant in 2011, being promoted to manager and then senior manager.

Grant Thornton said it “is one of the world’s leading organisations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms”.

Chief Financial Officer for leading grower, packer and distributor of fresh fruit and vegetables, Comfresh.  This privately owned success story has experienced rapid growth in recent years with multiple sites in SA, Vic and Qld and recently constructed state-of-the-art growing facility in Virginia.

Highly respected leader in the rapidly growing aged and community services sector in SA, Resthaven Incorporated is recruiting two newly created leadership roles:

Community Wellness Manager, reporting directly to the Executive Manager Community Services and Retirement Living (Mel Ottaway) and as a key member of the leadership team, this role is responsible for leading and enhancing clinical and well-being programs for older people in the community. 

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning Manager, reporting directly to the Executive Manager People and Culture (Sylvia Powell) and managing the talent acquisition team, this role is responsible for leading the development and execution of market-leading attraction, recruitment and workforce planning initiatives that address operational and strategic priorities for the organisation.

Coming on board at Australian Vintage

Australian Vintage Limited has appointed Margaret Zabel as a non-executive director on its board, following the resignation of Naseema Sparks and John Davies.

Margaret Zabel

The winemaker said Zabel is a specialist in customer-centred business transformation, brand strategy, innovation, digital communications, customer experience and change leadership.

She has 20 years of executive experience working for multinationals, ASX 100 companies and not-for-profits in fast-moving consumer goods, food, technology and communications industries, including as marketing director for Lion.

She is currently an independent non-executive director of Select Harvests Ltd, The Reject Shop, G8 Education Ltd, Collective Wellness Group and Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand.

Australian Vintage’s brands include Nepenthe, Tempus Two and the Barossa Valley Wine Company.

Former hockey champion joins Sport SA

Juliet Haslam OAM has joined Sport SA as senior leader of strategy and growth.

Juliet Haslam OAM

Haslam is a director at J5 Consulting and was previously head of AFLW at the Port Adelaide Football Club.

The former professional hockey player has also been director of Hockey South Australia and of Hockey Australia.

Sport SA said that Haslam will be responsible for the growth and alignment of the Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Centre for Women’s Sport, which was established in 2023 to “position South Australia as a leader in women’s sport”.

C.A.S Hawker Scholarship appoints secretary

Marc Allgrove has been appointed as secretary to the trustees of the Charles Allan Seymour Hawker Memorial Scholarship Trust Fund, taking over from Cesare Silvestri.

Mark Allgrove

Allgrove was a recipient of the inaugural $75,000 C.A.S Scholarship, which has provided over $6,000,000 dollars to 139 undergraduate and postgraduate students since its inception.

Allgrove is currently the director of the Adelaide-based strategy, property, accounting and investment firm Evans + Ayers.

Before this, he spent over 25 years as a senior executive in the Australian wine industry.

The C.A.S Hawker Scholarship said Allgrove has significant experience in strategy development, marketing, sales, management and exports.

The C.A.S Hawker Scholarship is awarded to “capable students of principle and character who are committed to Australia’s future”, with nominations for 2025 to open soon.

Red, red wine

John Ashcroft has been appointed as chairperson of the Wolf Blass Gallery and Museum and the Adelaide Hills Wine Bar, located in Hahndorf.

John Ashcroft

The group said he will draw from his strong ties to the wine and tourism industries in his new role.

Ashcroft is the principal at Beyond Ink and has been a trustee of the Wolf Blass Foundation for the past four years.

He was previously a board member of Regional Development Australia for the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island.

He is also the former chairperson of the Hahndorf Business and Tourism Association.

The Wolf Blass Gallery and Museum is housed in the 1912-built schoolhouse in Hahndorf and showcases Wolf Blass’s personal records and private collections.

AML3D managing director resigns from Mighty Craft board

Mighty Craft executive chair Grant Peck has announced the resignation of Adelaide-based board member Sean Ebert.

Sean Ebert

Peck is managing director of AML3D’s board of directors, a large-scale metal 3D printing service in North Plympton.

He is also on numerous boards including FCT International, MLEI Consulting Engineers and Keystone Healthcare.

Among Might Craft’s brands are Seven Seasons, Better Beer, Mismatch Brewing Co, Kangaroo Island Spirits, Hidden Lake, 78 Degrees Distillery, Foghorn Brewery and Brogan’s Way.

A new role at Bedford

Natalie Brinkworth has been appointed to the newly created role of general counsel at Bedford.

Natalie Brinkworth

In the role, Brinkworth will oversee legal and governance requirements across all Bedford Group entities.

The non-for-profit said Brinkworth is a highly experienced corporate lawyer with extensive intellectual property and commercial contracting experience, employee relations and human resources knowledge

She has over 20 years of legal and HR experience and was most recently commercial lead at BAE Systems Maritime Australia.

Brinkworth has also held roles at ASC, UniSA, DMAW Lawyers and Piper Alderman.

Bedford said it is Australia’s second largest employer of people with disability, providing a range of employment options and support services to 1,500 clients in South Australia.

Promotions at Brentnalls SA

Brentnalls SA Chartered Accountants and Advisors has promoted Wade Crane, Leanne Schuppan, Shannon Sims, Sarah Hall and Matthew Merrett to principals.

Brentnalls SA said the news “reflects the dedication, hard work and outstanding expertise within our teams”.

Brentnalls SA is a chartered accounting, tax and advisory firm based in Hindmarsh.

Keeping SA safe

Alison de Kleuver has been appointed to the Crime Stoppers South Australia board.

Alison de Kleuver

Crime Stoppers SA said de Kleuver has extensive strategic experience, with a background in business transformation and performance improvement.

De Kleuver has over 25 years of experience in client-facing and internal roles across the professional services, health, technology and government sectors.

She is currently a non-executive director for the Kain Foundation and chief operating officer for Kain Lawyers.

She has previously held management and executive leadership roles at Ernst and Young and IBM Australia.

Crime Stoppers SA started in 1996 and said it “has played a critical role in encouraging people to anonymously come forward with information that helps to solve and educate on topics such as property and personal safety, vehicle theft and cyber safety”.

Risings stars at Adelaide law firm

WRP Legal & Advisory has recently promoted Constance Bouras and Zachary Moore from lawyers to associates.

Constance Bouras

Bouras joined WRP Legal & Advisory in August 2022 and has been part of the property team.

The law firm said she is a highly motivated and dedicated solicitor who oversees all aspects of commercial and property transactions for the firm.

Zachary Moore

Moore joined WRP Legal Advisory in November 2021 as a clerk and is part of its litigation team.

WRP Legal Advisory said he is committed to providing the highest level of service to his clients in a broad range of litigation matters.

Created in 2015, WRP Legal Advisory is a full-service commercial law firm that now employs over 50 staff.