Bendigo’s most powerful and influential people ranked – part 1: Numbers 50 to 26 revealed
From industry leaders to community stalwarts, we’ve ranked Bendigo’s most powerful people. Today we reveal the first half of who made the top 50.
From industry leaders and entrepreneurs to politicians and community stalwarts, we’ve compiled a list of the top 50 most powerful people in Bendigo.
Many go quietly unnoticed, while others play a prominent role in our city.
Here’s our list of Bendigo’s movers and shakers from 50-26.
Stay tuned for part two when we reveal who made number one.
No. 50 Ivar Hunt
Ivar Hunt is known by locals as the “Mayor of the Square” because he owns a vast swath of the commercial real estate in Golden Square’s central business district.
Hunt wields a lot of influence in Golden Square’s business scene because he owns most of the shop fronts in the Golden Village on High St and the freehold for the UK Hotel next door.
The vast majority of the shop fronts in the Golden Village remain vacant, leading many local business owners on the strip to question Golden Square’s mayor’s stewardship – however, none of them deny the influence he wields.
Hunt also owns and has owned a number of other commercial properties around Bendigo.
No. 49 Andrea Metcalf
Andrea Metcalf is a lifelong Bendigonian and current mayor serving her third term.
Metcalf is ranked low on this list because the position of mayor is mostly ceremonial.
Most of the influence wielded by a mayor is “soft power”.
Metcalf’s role is to create consensus between councillors and between interest groups in the community.
The real power lies with the chief executive.
Metcalf presides over council meetings, where she has a casting vote that can be the difference in a policy being killed or getting over the line.
As mayor, Metcalf also does a lot of lobbying with the state and federal governments for funding and investment in the Bendigo community.
Metcalf sits on the board of Bendigo Heritage Attractions and is chair of the Eaglehawk Table Tennis and Badminton Association, a member of the Epsom Ascot Huntly Flood Mitigation Committee and a member of Empowering Eaglehawk.
Before council she had a 37 year career with Centrelink where she held various leadership roles.
No. 48 Glenn Ludeman
Bendigo RSL president Warrant Officer Glenn Ludeman is a 34-year army veteran, high school teacher and business owner.
Ludeman has served in the Army since 1991, seeing deployments in Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Timor Leste and Afghanistan.
He also served domestically during several natural disasters and crises, including Operation Bush Fires Assist in 2020, Operation COVID 19 Assist in 2020 and 2022, and Operation Flood Assist in 2022.
Ludeman has been awarded a Commanding Officer Commendation, a Soldiers Medallion for Exemplary Service, an Australia Day Medallion, and multiple commendations for his Australian Defence Force service.
He taught at Bendigo South East College from 2011 until 2025 when he started teaching at Bendigo Senior Secondary College and runs his own mechanics business in Golden Square, EFI Extra.
Ludeman has also been a Rotarian for 30 years where he has served as a president and named a Paul Harris Fellow for his contributions.
No. 47. Dallas Widdicombe
Dallas Widdicombe serves as chief executive of the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co‑operative (BDAC) providing community services to First Nations people across Greater Bendigo offering a wide range of programs and services focused on health, wellbeing, education, justice, early childhood and kindergarten, and family.
Widdicombe has extensive experience working in both urban and remote contexts, spending more than seven years in remote Western Australia, where he served as chief executive of the Wirrimanu Aboriginal community organisation in Balgo.
Widdicombe is a recognised voice in Aboriginal health, with his work published in respected journals, including the Australian Journal of General Practice.
He currently sits on the Board of the Victorian Aboriginal community Controlled Health Organisation and the National Aboriginal community Controlled Health Organisation, helping to shape strategic policy and governance at both state and national levels.
He is also chairman of the Loddon Mallee Aboriginal Reference Group.
No. 46 Jessica Bridgfoot
Jessica Bridgfoot is director of the Bendigo Art Gallery, curating the exhibitions and art displayed in one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions.
Under Bridgfoot’s directorship, the gallery has presented exhibitions of international artists like Frida Kahlo that have brought millions of dollars worth of tourism to the region.
To secure the gallery’s future, Bridgfoot has developed plans for a $50m redevelopment over the last four years, including a second level dedicated exhibition space.
However, that same redevelopment will see the gallery closed in November until sometime in 2028, which significantly reduces her influence in town – until the gallery rises again with another impressive exhibition.
Bridgfoot is also the chair of the International Council of Museums and a member of the La Trobe University Regional Advisory Board.
No. 45 Kevin Dole
Kevin Dole is managing Director of Bendigo Telco, an NSX listed B2B communications company established by Bendigo businesses to get better telecommunications technology for local communities in the region.
Dole’s career has spanned over 35 years in technical and leadership roles, including with Bendigo Bank.
He is also a non-executive director of the Bendigo Stadium.
No. 44 Michael Van Haandel
The scion of a hospitality empire that started in Bendigo, Michael Van Haandel, has returned to Bendigo to open the next big thing in the city of gastronomy’s fine dining scene.
The heavy weight hospitality family sold their iconic restaurant Clogs on Pall Mall in 2024 after manning the stoves for 50 years.
After humble beginnings as a pizza shop, Clogs grew into a famous 180-seat restaurant where Van Haandel was restaurant manager and managing director for a decade.
The family then grew their hospitality group over the years to include successful venues like the famous Byron Bay Hotel and beachside restaurant and bar Stokehouse in St Kilda.
Now Michael Van Haandel, alongside executive chef Paul Pitcher, are opening Le Foyer Brasserie.
The French fine dining restaurant has moved into what was the former hatted restaurant Masons of Bendigo after owners Nick and Sonia Anthony sold up in early 2025 – leaving big clogs to fill.
No. 43 Todd and Kate Newman
Todd Newman, and wife Kate, are the owners of Bendigo construction and building company Todd Newman Builders.
TBN is trusted locally for being reliable tradies, and the power couple are well-known and influential in the industry which they have continued to thrive for almost 20 years.
Newman has also trained 22 apprentices, helping to supply the trades with more workers amid a skilled labour shortage that is contributing to the housing crisis.
TBN has won several industry awards over the years in recognition of the high standard of their work.
In 2025 TBN won the best commercial building award at the 2025 Regional Building Awards for their build of the Fabriq showroom in East Bendigo and Todd Newman was a finalist in the Leader of the Year award at the 2025 Bendigo Business Excellence Awards.
No. 42 Michelle Murphy
Michelle Murphy is chief executive of Bendigo Foodshare, the biggest food charity in the region that provides thousands of kilograms of food every year to those in need.
Murphy is a Bendigonian with more than 25 years experience leading in the not-for-profit sector across women’s health and family violence services.
She holds an MBA and is an accomplished organisational leader.
No. 41 Rhianwen Seiter
Rhianwen Seiter is deputy chair of Bendigo Tourism and the owner and general manager of MacKenzie Quarters, a speak-easy and restaurant in the arts precinct of Bendigo’s CBD.
She won the Regional Women’s Business Award at the 2025 Bendigo Business Excellence Awards for her work developing one of the city’s leading hospitality venues.
In a million dollar project, Seiter redeveloped the 145-year-old former All Saints School, built in 1877, into a “premier entertainment complex”.
MacKenzie Quarters incorporates lounge bar and restaurant Ms Batterhams, boutique accommodation The Residence, wedding and function space MacKenzie Hall, and event hall The Courtyard.
No. 40 Damien Tangey
Damien Tangey is a property developer with more than 30 years of industry experience.
The developer is behind current projects Discover Marong, Hidden Valley Kennington and Bartel’s Run Jackass Flat and is a major player in Bendigo’s urban growth.
Tangey founded Bendigo based property development firm Birchgrove in 2003 and holds several influential leadership positions across the industry.
Tangey is a board member of Housing Australia, a board member and past president of the Victorian branch of the Urban Development Institute of Australia, a board member of the Bendigo Business Council, an executive member of the Smarter Bendigo Alliance, a board member of the Loddon Mallee Regional Development Australia Committee and chair of Haven Home Safe.
He is also involved in several kindergartens, schools, sporting clubs and community groups through philanthropy and board positions.
No. 39 Simon Rosa
Local footy legend and fair dinkum tradie, Simon Rosa is a major player in both the Bendigo business and sports scenes.
Rosa runs a successful landscaping business, Simon Rosa Landscaping, winning the Small and Succeeding award at the 2021 Bendigo Business Excellence Awards before returning to sponsor the category at the 2025 awards.
Rosa is also the returning senior coach of the Bendigo Football Netball League interleague program where he mentors the next generation of athletes after a stellar footy career.
A local footy legend, Rosa played both locally and in elite leagues, being recruited from the Bendigo pioneers in 2002 to play in the Carton reserve and was captain of the Bendigo Bombers in the 2003 season.
Rosa headed to WA in 2008 to play with WAFL club Peel Thunder for two seasons and was runner-up in their best and fairest in 2009.
In Bendigo Rosa was a multi-premiership player for Golden Square and was named best and fairest win in 2011.
No. 38 Anna Hill
Anna Hill, is a powerful business leader and powerbroker with powerful friends all over the country, and the world.
Hill is director of marketing and business development at St John of God Hospital and was named Leader of the Year at the 2025 Bendigo Business Excellence Awards for her contribution to healthcare in Bendigo, and to the arts.
She led the charge in bringing the Da Vinci XI surgical robot to St John of God Bendigo Hospital in 2024, which allows patients to receive more advanced, minimally invasive surgeries without having to travel to Melbourne.
Hill’s connection to St John of God Bendigo Hospital is deep and generational.
Her grandfather, Frank Hill, a Bendigo businessman served on the hospital’s board, her grandmother was the first president of the Ladies Auxiliary and her mother a special minister volunteer for 15 years.
Anna and her two older brothers were born at St John of God Bendigo Hospital.
A Harvard Business School graduate, Hill has more than 20 years’ experience at the highest levels of industry, delivering major projects in Australia and internationally.
She also runs her own firm that helps senior executives get into top jobs at global corporations like DIOR, OMEGA, J.P. Morgan, Chandon Australia, Cloudy Bay NZ and R.M.Williams – “successfully guiding and shaping the careers of some of Australia’s most well-known business leaders”.
She is also the volunteer Partnerships Director of the Bendigo Symphony Orchestra.
Before St John of God she was executive director of the Victorian Liberal Party’s Enterprise Victoria – basically the party’s networking arm for lobbyists and top job professionals.
No. 37 Maree Edwards
Maree Edwards has been the Member for Bendigo West since November 2010 and was re-elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Edwards serves as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, which she has held since August 2022, making her the fourth ever woman to hold the title.
During her political career she has successfully secured hundreds of millions in funding for education and infrastructure across Greater Bendigo.
No. 36 Kate Mannix
AFS Chartered Accountants Bendigo chief executive, Kate Mannix manages a team with more than 5000 clients across the nation.
The accounting and business advisory firm, based out of Bendigo, is one of the largest in Central Victoria.
Mannix is the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry regional chair, and non-executive board member, and a board member of the Bendigo Health Foundation.
She also works with the Australian Institute of Company Directors Regional Advisory Group and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Outside of work, Mannix supports her three children and volunteers as secretary at the Lockwood Tennis Club.
She’s also involved in the Marong Football Netball Club.
No. 35 Carol Cathcart
Carol Cathcart is president and director of coaching for the Victorian Netball League, overseeing the coaching of elite championship netball team the Bendigo Strikers.
Cathcart is one of the most experienced coaches in the nation, previously coaching the Australian 21/U team, the Melbourne Vixens and Victorian Fury.
She was also regional manager of AFL Central Victoria until 2022.
No. 34 Lisa Chesters
Lisa Chesters has been the federal Member for Bendigo for more than 11 years and was just elected to her fifth term at the 2024 elections.
Amid Labor’s devastating defeat of the Coalition at the federal election, Chesters saw the largest swing against Labor than in any other seat in the country – 9.8 per cent.
The massive swing saw the formerly safe seat become marginal when previously Chesters held it at a margin of 11.2 per cent.
Chesters speaks on the same floor as the Prime Minister, bringing Bendigo’s issues to the fore in parliament and advocating for her community at a national level.
She exerts her influence through lobbying for issues like education reform and better health care in her community, and has recently been fighting to secure funding for things like childcare to help support her constituents.
However, her influence is not felt day-to-day by Bendigo residents as keenly as politics in the lower levels of government – federal politics rarely affects one’s rates or bin collections – and so her power ranking comes in at the lower end.
Chesters is a Bendigo local with two kids and a dog named Flash.
No. 33 David Elliot
David Elliot is the boss of the Bendigo Stadium, formerly known as the Red Energy Arena, the region’s premier sporting and entertainment venue.
Elliot took over in December last year as chief executive from his predecessor Dennis Bice, whom he has replaced on this list.
Elliot spent more than two decades in executive jobs at various sporting institutions around the country including 11 years with the West Coast Eagles and 13 years as head of commercial operations within the AFL.
Basketball, netball and volleyball matches in national and international competitions are regularly held at Bendigo Stadium.
The stadium is also the city’s main entertainment venue for major events like the Bendigo Business Excellence Awards and the McKean McGregor Gala Ball, a ritzy fundraiser for the Bendigo Health Foundation.
No. 32 Nicole Cox
Nicole Cox is an influential businesswoman in Bendigo’s executive managerial class and has been a director of several companies.
Cox has more than 20 years of board level experience with expertise in the pharmaceuticals, retail and financial consulting industries where she specialises in driving business growth.
Cox is the executive director and chief executive of UFS Pharmacies, a community-owned medical service that plays an important role in helping provide accessible and affordable care to the community.
She is also managing director of Swimz Bendigo, a learn to Swim Facility in Bendigo East that she started and has grown to have hundreds of students.
Cox is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, having held numerous Board positions including Peter Harcourt, St Luke’s Anglicare, St Laurence CRT and Bendigo Basketball Association.
No. 31 Joel Rockes
A Bendigo tech firm has quietly become a nation leading innovator in the agricultural industry.
Joel Rockes in the managing director of the AgriNous team, a Bendigo-based tech firm that transformed livestock management at saleyards and beyond with the industry’s only dedicated cloud-based transactional platform.
The AgriNous system revolutionised and streamlined how livestock is bought and sold across the states’ markets – with millions of animals now processed through their software which is responsible for billions of dollars worth of transactions.
AgriNous won the Technology and Digital category at the 2025 Bendigo Bendigo Business Excellence Awards in recognition of their market dominance as they prepare for an expansion into Queensland.
No. 30 Michael Robertson
Michael Robertson is the director of JL King & Co and Simply Tasty, employing 137 staff and 14 chefs.
The company is nation leading in green technology, taking home Business of the Year alongside climate leader and manufacturing awards at the 2024 Bendigo Business Excellence Awards.
The slew of awards for JL King was in part recognition of the thriving operation’s new cutting-edge, environmentally friendly complex in East Bendigo, and also for its financial success amid challenging financial times.
JL King was not nominated for business awards this year, but instead took the role of a business leader, sponsoring the Manufacturing award category at the 2025 business awards.
The company is dedicated to providing healthy food to the community, using the produce from JL King and Co to cook up healthy ready-made meals through their sister company Simply Tasty.
The company also supplies more than 10,000 students across Greater Bendigo with free fruit in partnership with McKern Steel.
No. 29 Paul Olsen
Paul Olsen is the general manager of Bendigo safety management company ISH24, specialising in confined spaces and working with high risk industries like mining, oil and gas, construction, and manufacturing.
ISH24 was named 2025’s Bendigo business of the year and won the National global footprint award for the second year running in recognition of their specialised safety and rescue training across Australia and internationally.
They’re responsible for keeping workers safe in some of Australia’s most dangerous jobs, providing training in high risk rescue operations in confined spaces, like in a collapsed mine, or at heights.
ISH24 has a rescue training facility in Goornong just outside of Bendigo where they offer training for emergency and rescue teams.
No. 28 Todd Brown
Todd Brown is director and chief executive of major Bendigo real estate firm McKean McGregor, and a well-known influential part of the Central Victorian real estate and agriculture industries.
The 100-year-old company is most known in Bendigo for its glamorous Bendigo Health gala ball fundraiser that raises more than $200,000 annually to provide free allied care to cancer patients.
McKean McGregor operates in real estate, stock and station and auctions, including the weekly sales of livestock at the Bendigo Livestock Exchange for the lamb, sheep, and cattle markets.
Brown and his family are also heavily involved in several local sporting organisations.
No. 27 Dr Ewa Piejko
Dr Ewa Piejko is a General Practitioner at Strathfieldsaye Primary Health in Bendigo and board of directors chairwoman of Bendigo Health.
Dr Piejko has established herself as a leader in Central Victoria’s health sector through her extensive experience in the primary care sector across the Loddon, Mallee and Campaspe region through her work as a GP.
She has served as a Medical Educator, Director of GP Training, and is currently the Clinical Director for St Anthony’s Family Medical Practice, a group of seven practices, where she leads with a focus on quality and safety in patient care.
No. 26 Quinn Petrie and Mark McNamara
Quinn Petrie and Mark McNamara are joint general managers of Keech Australia based in Bendigo, a leading foundry and major exporter of high integrity steel castings for the global mining industry.
Keech is a global leader and innovator in providing unique patented products, designed and developed in its Bendigo facilities. The company employs more than 130 people with a revenue in the tens of millions.
