Business SA new boss is former Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese

Former Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor Martin Haese will return to his entrepreneurial roots, after being tapped for the top role at the state’s leading business organisation.

Martin Haese, who will be the new chief executive of Business SA, with chair Nikki Govan in Victoria Square. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe.

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Former Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor Martin Haese will return to his entrepreneurial roots, after being tapped for the top role at the state’s leading business organisation.

Mr Haese will take the reins at Business SA at a date to be set before the middle of the year, taking over from outgoing chief executive Nigel McBride.

Mr Haese had been mulling a tilt at the seat of Adelaide in the upcoming federal election, following one term as Lord Mayor, but told The Advertiser he believed he could make a genuine contribution representing Business SA’s members.

“This gives me a statewide focus which I will relish,’’ he said. “There are about 150,000 registered businesses in South Australia.

“About two thirds of them are sole traders and the remaining 50,000 employ anywhere from a handful of people to a lot, and they contribute collectively about $34 billion to the state on an annual basis.

“I brought a strong service ethic to being the Lord Mayor of Adelaide and I will bring that to everything I do, with my team at Business SA, to support businesses. I want the state to grow, that’s my motivation.

“I want businesses to grow, I want businesses to prosper and I want them to employ. And working with the board and my team I want to do everything within my remit to achieve that.’’

Mr Haese said his first priority was meeting members and getting a deep understanding of the organisation, and was reluctant to set an agenda at this stage, before he had started in the role.

But his strengths as an advocate, and the skills he had built up as a business owner, running the Rundle Mall Management Authority from 2010 to 2013, and as Lord Mayor, all stood him in good stead to understand the relevant issues and deliver results for his members, he said.

Mr Haese said the Business SA role was more attractive than potentially having a tilt at federal politics because it “keeps my feet firmly on the ground in South Australia, it has a statewide focus, a federal seat was certainly a discussion worth having, which I clearly did.

“I was in business for 15 years-plus, and even as Lord Mayor I brought a fairly businesslike approach to the town hall and this sits I think, extremely comfortably with my skill-set.

“I’m financially literate, I’m technologically literate, I’m a good advocate, I’m well known across all sides of politics locally, nationally and internationally, I know all of the mayors.

“I have good relationships at a state level, so I look forward to working with the Premier, with the ministers, with the opposition, and federally where I can assist businesses here.’’

Mr Haese has a strong business pedigree, founding and running clothing retailer Youthworks, which he owned from 1993-2005 when he sold it, co-founded Entrepreneur’s Organisation (EO) in SA, and has consulted widely.

Business SA chair Nikki Govan said Mr Haese would bring excellent skills to one of the state’s key leadership roles.

“Martin is well known as a tremendous advocate for Adelaide, for the city’s business and employer community and for wider South Australia.’’

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