Board & Management

Michael Butler

Brett Chenoweth

Independent Chairman
Non-Executive Director

Brett was appointed Independent Chairman in November 2020 and brings a wealth of major international experience across media, technology, entertainment, investment and telecommunications. He is currently Chairman of Madman Entertainment, Canberra Data Centres and The Advisory Board of HRL Morrison & Co. He is also a non-executive Board director of Vodafone New Zealand, NSW Land Registry Services and Janison Education Group. Previously Brett was the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of APN News and Media, and Head of Group Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions at Telecom New Zealand. He has also held senior executive roles at the venture capital firm Silverfern Group, ecorp, Ninemsn and Village Roadshow.

Brett has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland, and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia.

Trent Peterson

Trent Peterson

Independent Non-Executive Director

Trent has over 20 years investment and private equity experience, focused primarily on businesses operating in consumer, retail and media sectors. Trent is Managing Director of Catalyst Investment Managers and the founder and Managing Director of both Catalyst Direct Capital Management and IPMB Capital Partners. Trent was non-executive Chairman of Adairs from 2010 until the IPO in 2015, being the period of Catalyst’s majority ownership.

In addition to being a Non-Executive Director of Adairs Limited, Trent is a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of Cirrus Media, and a Non-Executive Director of dusk Retail Holdings Group, The Shaver Shop Group Limited, Australian Pure Health Pty Ltd (trading as Mr Vitamins), Universal Store and the Ascham Foundation.

Trent was qualified as a Chartered Accountant and graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Kate Spargo

Kate Spargo

Independent Non-Executive Director

Kate has been an independent company director for 20 years, covering listed and unlisted companies in a variety of sectors including infrastructure, construction and engineering, energy, financial services, building product manufacture and distribution, and health services. Kate has broad commercial and organisational experience, as well as a focus on risk, audit and governance, supported by her legal background in both government law and private practice.

In addition to being a Non-Executive Director of Adairs Limited, Kate is a Non-Executive Director of CIMIC Group Ltd, CoInvest Ltd, the Future Fuels Cooperative Research Centre, the Geelong Football Club, Sigma Healthcare Ltd and Sonic Healthcare Ltd.

Kate's previous positions included board roles as Chairman at UGL Limited and as a Non-Executive Director of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), Fletcher Building Ltd, Fulton Hogan Ltd, IOOF Holdings Ltd, Pacific Hydro Limited, SMEC Holdings Limited, Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund, and Xenith IP Ltd

Kate graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Law (LLB) with honours and Bachelor of Arts. She is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

David MacLean

David MacLean

Non-Executive Director

David was formerly the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Adairs Limited for 14 years from 2002 to 2016, having previously been General Manger from 1989 to 2002. Prior to this, David held the position of Director of Buying at David Jones Melbourne. The MacLean family were the majority shareholder of Adairs Limited from 1986 until 2007.

In addition to being a Non-Executive Director of Adairs Limited, David is a Non-Executive Director of dusk Retail Holdings Group and Universal Store.

David now runs his family investment office and holds minority interests in a number of private retail businesses.

Kiera Grant

Kiera Grant

Independent Non-Executive Director

Kiera has extensive board and senior management experience, having spent 15 years working in investment banking. She has extensive financial and strategic assessment knowledge combined with mergers and acquisitions, capital market and corporate governance experience.

In addition to being a Non-Executive Director of Adairs Limited, Kiera is on the board of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation as Chairman and Non-Executive Director, and is also a Non-Executive Director of Future Generation Global Investment Company Ltd, Samuel Smith and Sons Pty Ltd (incorporating Yalumba Wine Co and Negociants Fine Wine Distributors), the Sydney Dance Company and the Ascham Foundation.

Kiera is a former Non-Executive Director of Pacific Brands Limited and holds a Bachelor of Economics.

Mark Ronan

Mark Ronan

Managing Director,
CEO and Executive Director

Mark was appointed CEO of Adairs Limited in November 2016. He joined Adairs in 2007 as Finance Manager and went on to hold the roles of Head of Merchandise Planning, GM Retail Operations before being appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2014.

Mark was previously Finance and Operations Manager with the Sovereign Hotel Group, Financial Controller at River Capital and a Manager at Deloitte.

Mark is qualified as a Chartered Accountant and graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Mark Ronan

Mark Ronan

Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer

Mark was appointed CEO of Adairs Limited in November 2016. He joined Adairs in 2007 as Finance Manager and went on to hold the roles of Head of Merchandise Planning, GM Retail Operations before being appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2014.

Mark was previously Finance and Operations Manager with the Sovereign Hotel Group, Financial Controller at River Capital and a Manager at Deloitte.

Mark is qualified as a Chartered Accountant and graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Ashley Gardner

Ashley Gardner

Chief Financial Officer

Ashley (Ash) joined Adairs Limited as Chief Financial Officer in August 2019 with additional responsibility for supply chain and merchandise planning.

Prior to joining Adairs Ash was Chief Financial Officer of both David Jones and Country Road Group (and Regional CFO of their parent company, Woolworths Holdings Limited) from 2016 to 2019.

He was Chief Financial Officer of Just Group from 2006 to 2016.  Before this he was Chief Financial Officer of Country Road Group from 2000 to 2006, during its time as a listed company.

Ash has a Master of Business Administration from the Melbourne Business School and attended the London Business School’s Senior Executive Program in 2014.  He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Melbourne.

Michael Cherubino

Michael Cherubino

Executive Director – Group Property

As Executive Director – Group Property, Michael is responsible for the Group’s retail property portfolio including the store rollout and development strategy. Michael was a Board Director of Adairs Limited from 2010 to 2023 and was Adair’s Chief Financial Officer from 1996 to 2016. Prior to joining Adairs Michael held roles at National Australia Bank and Bankwest.

Michael graduated from Curtin University in Western Australia with a Bachelor of Business.

Jenny Hides

Jenny Hides

General Manager of Product and Design

Jenny was appointed General Manager of Product and Design after joining Adairs in 2011.

Jenny was previously General Manager of Merchandise at the Just Group, where she has also held roles including Womenswear Controller and Women's Jeans Product Manager of Just Jeans. Other prior roles include Merchandise Manager for Westco and Merchandise Manager for Glassons.

Paul Randall

Paul Randall

General Manager of Retail Operations

Paul was appointed General Manager of Retail Operations after joining Adairs in 2014.

Paul has previously held numerous managerial roles with Just Group, including National Sales Manager of Jay Jays, General Manager of Retail with Jacqui E and Commercial Manager of Peter Alexander.

Jamie Adamson

Jamie Adamson

Head of Investor Relations

Jamie was appointed Head of Investor Relations in July 2019. 

Jamie joined Adairs after 27 years at UBS where he worked in the Equity Capital Markets team in Australia with extensive experience across both corporate and government issuers.  At UBS he held overall logistics responsibilities for most of the bank’s Australian equity and hybrid transactions, with direct involvement in over 600 separate equity capital raisings including the IPO of Adairs in 2015.

Jamie graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Fay Hatzis

Fay Hatzis

Financial Controller and
Company Secretary

Fay Hatzis is Financial Controller and was appointed Company Secretary in June 2019.

Fay joined Adairs in July 2012 as Finance Manager and has seen the company through the initial public offering in 2015 following a period of significant company growth.

Prior to joining Adairs Fay was a Senior Manager at Grant Thornton and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.