ARDENT LEISURE GROUP LIMITED - Key Persons


Chris Todd - Chief Legal Officer, Secretary

Job Titles:
  • Company Secretary
  • Group General Counsel
Chris was appointed to the position of Company Secretary on 20 January 2021. He has acted as Group General Counsel for the Ardent Leisure Group since March 2014. Chris holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and has over 20 years' experience as a practising lawyer, both in private practice and in-house roles.

Dr Gary H. Weiss - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Non - Executive Chairman
  • Executive Director of Ariadne Australia Limited
Dr Weiss was appointed a Director on 3 September 2017 and Chairman on 29 September 2017. Dr Weiss is currently the Executive Director of Ariadne Australia Limited. He is Chairman of Estia Health Ltd and Cromwell Property Group, and is a Non-Executive Director of Thorney Opportunities Ltd. Dr Weiss was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in 2019 and is also a Commissioner of the Australian Rugby League Commission. Dr Weiss was formerly Chairman of Ridley Corporation Ltd, Clearview Wealth Limited and Coats Plc, is a former Non-Executive Director of Premier Investments Ltd, Pro-Pac Packaging Limited, The Straits Trading Company Limited, a former Executive Director of Whitlam, Turnbull & Co and Guinness Peat Group plc and sat on the board of Westfield Holdings Limited and a number of other public companies. Dr Weiss has also been involved in managing large businesses with operations in many regions including Europe, China and India and is familiar with investments across a wide range of industries, corporate finance and private equity type deals. Dr Weiss holds an LLB (Hons) and LLM from Victoria University of Wellington and a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD) from Cornell University. He was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Dr Weiss is Chair of the Safety & Risk Review Committee and member of the Audit & Risk Committee and Remuneration & Nomination Committee.

Erin Wallace

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Director and Chair of the Governance Committee at FirstService
Erin Wallace was appointed as a Director on 1 January 2022 and brings to the Board extensive experience as a senior executive in operations management, the hospitality and theme park industries and business process improvement. Erin is the former Chief Operating Officer at Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., a role she held from 2016 through 2019. In this role she was responsible for leading more than 9,000 employees at 18 lodges throughout the United States. Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. is America's largest family of indoor water park resorts and has over seven million guests a year. Before joining Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., Erin was the Chief Operating Office of Learning Care Group, Inc. from February 2015 to August 2016, where she led more than 16,000 employees in delivering operational excellence to the families served at more than 900 schools throughout its umbrella of five brands. Prior to that, Erin's 30 year career at the Walt Disney Company spanned many roles in Theme Parks and Resorts concluding with Executive Vice President of Operations Strategy, Planning, Revenue Management and Decision Sciences, encompassing all of Disney Parks' domestic and international sites. After joining Disney as an industrial engineer in 1985, Erin's roles included Senior vice President of Walt Disney World Operations where she oversaw the largest and most popular resort destination in the world, Vice President of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and General Manager for Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney's All-Star Resort. Ms. Wallace is a Distinguished Alumni at the University of Florida where she graduated with honors and a BSIE, and an MBA from The Crummer School of Business at Rollins College. Ms. Wallace is a current Director and Chair of the Governance Committee at FirstService (FSV) and is a Trustee of Rollins College.

Greg Yong

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer of the Theme Parks
  • Chief Executive Officer of Theme Parks
Greg was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Theme Parks division in April 2021 and has over 15 years' experience in the theme parks industry in Australia and overseas. He has held direct responsibility for the management of theme parks and water parks including all aspects of operations, safety, engineering, entertainment, food and beverage and retail, animal displays and presentations along with ancillary commercial services. At Village Roadshow, Greg held executive responsibilities for all Village Australian parks including, Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet n Wild Gold Coast and Sydney, as well as leading the development and opening programme for Topgolf. Greg was also Chief Operating Officer for Village's international theme park development programme including the operation of existing properties and running opening programmes for new properties. Greg is currently on the Board of AALARA, which is the peak industry body, and has held this position since 2018. Greg's qualifications include an MBA from Southern Cross University, a post graduate qualification in Professional Accounting from the University of New England and he has completed the Executive Leadership Programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

José de Sacadura

Job Titles:
  • Group Chief Financial Officer
José was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer on 25 August 2022. He is an experienced professional with over 20 years' experience in senior finance management roles encompassing property, funds management and leisure & entertainment. Since joining the Group in 2011, he has led the Group finance team as Group General Manager Finance, having previously held senior finance leadership roles with other listed entities, including Charter Hall Group and Macquarie Bank. José has extensive public company experience and has been instrumental in facilitating many of Ardent's corporate transactions over the years. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Management Sciences from the University of Warwick (UK) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Mr Brad Richmond

Job Titles:
  • Certified Public Accountant
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Chairman of the Audit
Brad Richmond was appointed a Director on 3 September 2017. Brad is a Certified Public Accountant with 36 years' experience in finance, operations and strategic planning in the full service restaurant industry in North America. Brad recently held the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Darden Restaurants Inc., the world's largest full-service restaurant company operating multiple brands including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Season's 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V's, Yard House and Bahama Breeze. Prior to this position, Brad held a number of other roles at Darden including Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller and Senior Vice President, Brand Financial Leader at various Darden brands. Before joining Darden, Brad was a senior auditor with Price Waterhouse & Co. Brad holds a Bachelor of Sciences/Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri. Brad is Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and a member of the Remuneration & Nomination Committee.

Mr David Haslingden

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Chairman of the Remuneration
David Haslingden was appointed a Director on 6 July 2015 and brings to the Board considerable international business experience, particularly in the US and Australia. David is a director and major shareholder of Blue Ant Media Inc, a Canadian company that owns and operates production companies and cable networks in Canada and around the world. He is also Chairman of the Australian Geographic Society. Previously, David was Chairman and a non-executive director of Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited, President and Chief Operating Officer of Fox Networks Group and Chief Executive of Fox International Channels. David holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from The University of Sydney and a Master of Law from the University of Cambridge. David is Chair of the Remuneration & Nomination Committee and a member of the Safety & Risk Review Committee. David is also Chair of the Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation. David was appointed Lead Independent Director in May 2018.

Mr Randy A. Garfield

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
Randy Garfield was appointed a Director on 14 August 2017. During his 43 year travel industry career Mr Garfield spent over 30 years working in senior executive roles specialising in global marketing and sales, sponsorship development and sales operations. As Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales & Travel Operations at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, he led the worldwide sales, convention services, resort contact centres and distribution marketing efforts for the Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Shanghai Disney Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Aulani-a Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii and Golden Oak. Throughout his 20+ year Disney career he also served as President of Walt Disney Travel Company, one of the largest tour operators in the USA. Prior to joining Disney Randy also served as Vice President of Sales for Universal Studios Hollywood starting in 1986 where he helped generate record attendance and trail blazed the launch of Universal Studios Florida by crafting their pre-opening sales plan. He moved to Orlando in summer 1989 as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales/Chief Marketing Officer and led the business through its preopening and launch, and also served in a leadership role on the team which formulated the expansion plan including a second theme park as well as hotels and a massive retail, dining and entertainment complex. Randy's current directorships include Deep Blue Communications, Rocky Mountaineer, US Travel Association and Destination Canada. Previous Board roles include the US Travel Association (Chairman) and Brand USA. Randy is an inductee into the US Travel Hall of Leaders, and has been recognised three times as one of the most extraordinary sales and marketing minds by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International. Randy is a member of the Safety & Risk Review Committee and Audit & Risk Committee.