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.
Jack Dart (left), Catherine Orford (centre) and Debra Khor (right, above) have all been appointed to new roles. Meanwhile, Reg Weine (right, below) will not stand for re-election at Maggie Beer Holdings.
Taking the top seat
Former Liberal state MP Peter Treloar has been appointed chair of the Rural Business Support (RBS) Board of Directors.
Treloar served as the Member for Flinders from 2010 to 2022, during which he held positions as Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees, Opposition Whip, and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services and Veteran Affairs.
He served on committees including the Natural Resources Standing Committee, the Economic and Finance Standing Committee, the Regional Affairs Committee and the Select Committee into Land Access.
He studied grain industry structures at Nuffield Australia and is a member of the Nuffield Farming Scholars Association of Australia National Board of Management and has formerly served as Chair of the Nuffield South Australia Committee.
In addition to his political career, Treloar has served several community organisations, including the Landscapes SA Eyre Peninsula Board, SANFL Eyre Peninsula Community Football Board and the South Australian Farmers Federation Grains Council.
Stepping away from Maggie Beer Holdings
Non-executive director of Maggie Beer Holdings, Reg Weine, has announced he will not stand for re-election to the board.
Weine was recently appointed chief executive officer of Bubs Australia Limited, stepping down as chair of Maggie Beer Holdings to take on the role.
He is the former chief executive officer of Bulla Dairy Foods and was managing director of SPC Ardmona – the company that makes SPC Baked Beans and Vegemite.
Weine currently serves as chairman of the boards of Otway Pork, and Apple and Pear Australia Limited.
On board for RAA
Sharon Starick and Stephen Holmes have been re-appointed to the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) Board for three-year terms starting on November 27, 2023.
Starick is owner of Kongolia Farms – a family enterprise producing premium grains and pork.
She has served on the board of the RAA for the past 14 years and is also a long-term board member of Animal Health Australia. Her other directorships include the Grains Research and Development Corporation and Regional Investment Corporation.
Holmes, a rural doctor specialising in emergency and obstetrics, joined the RAA board in 2021.
He is a Member of the AMA (SA) Road Safety Committee and is the South Australian state councilor of the Australian College for Rural Remote Medicine.
Holmes is also the chief obstetric advisor for the South Australia Rural Support Service.
Caring for Centennial Park
Kathryn Eaton has been appointed executive manager of customer experience for Centennial Park.
She is the former head of brand and customer experience for AnglicareSA (2017 to 2023) and was manager of marketing and communications for Southern Cross Care from 2014 to 2017.
She has an extensive career history in marketing and communications, working for companies including ACH Group, Greening Australia and Tech Data Canada Corporation.
Eaton currently serves on the boards of the Community Business Bureau and the Northern Community Health Research Foundation.
Corporate Position: the latest executive employment opportunities
People and Culture Advisor to provide key support across the HR generalist spectrum for peak industry body Motor Trade Association SA/NT.
Development Manager for Villawood Properties, managing and developing property assets for Australia’s leading residential land developer.
Recruiting a CEO
Australian healthcare recruitment agency Talent Quarter Group has appointed David Swan as chair.
Swan has more than three decades of experience in senior roles at hospitals, most recently as chief executive officer of St Vincent’s Private Hospitals – a private healthcare company spanning Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
He is the former chief executive of SA Health and was the executive director of operations for the South Australian Department of Health from 2006 to 2010.
New director for DW Fox Tucker
DW Fox Tucker Lawyers has appointed Debra Khor as a director and workers’ compensation and self insurance team member.
Khor joins the law firm from Wallmans Lawyers where she was special counsel and partner.
She served as special counsel for Paul Alvaro Lawyers from 2010 to 2018.
Before her career in law, Khor was a physiotherapist and worked for Stawell Regional Health, Northcare Physio, Smart Health Training and Services and The Weekend Physio.
Associating with Lynch Meyer
Jack Dart has joined the firm Lynch Meyer Lawyers as a senior associate and member of the construction, infrastructure and engineering team.
Dart joins the law firm from Griffins Lawyers where he started as a law clerk in 2017 before being appointed solicitor in 2018 and senior associate in 2023.
He is a graduate of the College of Law.
Planning for Ekistics
South Australian planning and development consultancy Ekistics Planning and Design has promoted Catherine Orford and Ryan Moyle to senior associates.
Orford joined the consultancy as an associate in 2022 after holding senior planning roles at Planning Focus in Auckland, New Zealand.
She is the former project manager of Flight Centre Travel Group New Zealand and Lumino The Dentists.
She currently serves on the Innovation in Development, Sustainability and the Environment Committee of the Urban Development Institute of South Australia.
Moyle joined the firm in 2021 as an associate, relocating from Melbourne where he was an associate and team leader of Urban Planning at Mesh Planning.
He is the former associate director of urban and regional planning solutions and was senior planning consultant for the construction engineering company Ventia Pty Ltd.
He currently serves on the Urban Renewal and Liveability Committee of the Urban Development Institute of South Australia.
Orford and Moyle are Accredited Planning Professionals with IAP2 (Certificate in Engagement) Accreditations.
New managers at Bailey Abbott
Digital transformation consultancy Bailey Abbott has made two appointments to its management team.
Mark Ochota has been appointed managing director, joining the consultancy from his role as director and state lead at the business management consultancy Accenture.
Ochota has formerly held roles as account executive of Dialog Information Technology and regional manager of South Australia for Empired Ltd.
Chief executive officer of Adelaide-based data company Frisk, Nick Kervin, has joined Bailey Abbott as consulting manager.
Kervin is the former national digital and technology advisory leader of BDO.
He is a South Australian Council Member of the Australian Information Industry Association.
