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.
Danielle Gordon (left, below left), Amanda Pepe (left, below right), Rebecca Duff (centre, above), Craig Gibbons (centre, below) and Emma McCarthy (right) have all been appointed to new roles. Meanwhile, Glenn Davis (left, above) has announced his retirement.
Beach Energy retirement
Glenn Davis, the Chair of Beach Energy – an ASX listed, oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Adelaide – has announced his retirement commencing 14 November 2023.
Davis has served as Director of Beach Energy since 2007 and Chair since 2012.
He has over three decades of experience as a solicitor in corporate and risk and more than 25 years of experience as an advisor and director in the oil and gas industry.
Managing Director of Seven Group Holdings, Ryan Stokes, has been appointed Interim Chair until a preferred candidate takes on the role.
Blasting off at Arnhem Space Centre
Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA), the Lot Fourteen-based owner and operator of Arnhem Space Centre (ASC), appointed Craig Gibbons as General Manager of Arnhem Space Centre.
Gibbons joins the space launch company from the not-for-profit helicopter rescue service Northern Rescue Helicopter Ltd where he was Chief Executive Officer.
He is the former General Manager of Operations for CareFlight – an emergency response aeromedical charity where he worked from 2016 to 2020.
Gibbons spent 16 years consulting for his business Corporatejet Pty Ltd where he provided contract-based services for clients including Team Australia, The Brumbies Rugby and International SOS.
He is an army veteran who spent almost a decade with the Australian Army as an Australian Defence Force Rotary Wing Pilot.
On board for the arts
South Australian arts organisation Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (ACE) appointed Amanda Pepe as Board Chair.
Pepe is the former Chief Executive Officer of Light ADL – a not-for-profit hub for performing arts and hospitality in Light Square.
She is the former Publisher of Solstice Media, the parent company of InDaily, CityMag and SALIFE Magazine.
Pepe was the Chief Executive Officer of The Helpmann Academy from 2012 to 2014 and served on the Helpmann Academy Foundation Board from 2013 to 2017.
She serves as Chair of Kindred Australia, Director of UNESCO Adelaide City of Music and as a Member of the Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee for the City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters.
Pepe has formerly served as Director of CanDo4Kids, Chairperson of The Mill Adelaide and Deputy Chair of Music SA.
Woman of the year takes executive role
Melissa Ekberg has been appointed Executive Director for South Australia and Western Australia for the Australian Flexible Pavements Association (AfPA).
Joining AfPA from her role as Director of Industry Engagement for the Civil Contractors Federation South Australia, Ekberg is the first South Australian appointed to the AfPA role in more than 50 years.
She currently serves as President of The South Australian Local Government Officers’ Association’s Southern Hills Branch and as Secretary of the Mount Barker Football Club.
In 2022, Ekberg was voted South Australian Woman of the Year for The Shine Award – an awards campaign recognising successful rural Australian women.
Corporate Position: the latest executive employment opportunities
Sheriff for the Courts Administration Authority, an excellent opportunity to directly support the delivery of justice in South Australia.
Business Manager to lead operations for Oromax Clinic & Day Surgery and work with a team of highly-specialised Oral Maxillofacial surgeons.
Dean to oversee the pastoral care and the academic success of the university students at St Ann’s College in North Adelaide.
Development and Environmental Approvals Manager for Australian Naval Infrastructure, the owner, developer and manager of ship and submarine building infrastructure.
Moving on up at HLB Mann Judd
Accounting firm HLB Mann Judd has promoted two of its staff to Directors.
Emma McCarthy started with the firm in 2009 as a Graduate Accountant and has progressed within the company to hold Senior Manager roles focusing on wine, agriculture, hospitality, professional services and manufacturing industries.
Craig Askins joined HLB Mann Judd as an Associate Director in 2022.
Prior to joining the firm, Askins spent almost a decade as a Self Managed Superannuation Fund Specialist for the accounting and financial solutions firm Rawson Verco Need.
He has previously worked for the Australian Executor Trustees, BDO and MGI Adelaide.
Both McCarthy and Askins are Graduates of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Consulting corporate conversations
South Australian public relations firm Corporate Conversation appointed Danielle Gordon as Senior Consultant.
Gordon joins the company following two decades of experience in public relations, most recently as Executive Manager of Marketing and Communications for Junction Australia – a national community housing provider.
Gordon is the former National Manager of Media and Advocacy of Housing Choices Australia and before that served as a Speechwriter and Advisor to the Office of Jennifer Rankine alongside other communications roles in government.
Special appointment for family law
Clelands Lawyers has appointed Jane Fox as Special Counsel of the family law team.
Fox is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law which she has practised exclusively since her admission in 2003.
Fox joins the law firm following two years as a Judicial Registrar at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
She is a Member of the Law Council of Australia’s Family Law Section and formerly served as Chair of the Family Law Committee – the body representing Family Lawyers in South Australia.
Promotions at Mellor Olsson
South Australian law firm Mellor Olsson Lawyers has promoted three staff members.
Callen Bubner and Michael Stannard have been made Partners with the firm.
Bubner started with Mellor Olsson Lawyers in 2014 as a Lawyer, joining the firm from Tindall Gask Bentley Lawyers where he was an Associate.
He currently serves as a Committee Member of the Mintaro Manoora Football Club.
Stannard joined the firm in 2020 as a Senior Associate and currently serves on the Property Law Committee of the Law Society of South Australia and on the Urban Renewal and Liveability Committee of the Urban Development Institute of South Australia.
Rebecca Duff has been promoted to Senior Associate of Commercial.
She joined the firm in 2022 and has previously held roles as an Associate with DMAW Lawyers and Rundall & Rundall Lawyers.
She has previously served as an Account Manager for JBWere and Macquarie Group, and as a Lawyer for Georgiadis Lawyers & Solicitors Adelaide.
