Readers’ choice: South Australia’s next 16 top business people under 40 listed
From violin-playing AI luminaries to global tattoo empire kings, South Australia is home to many talented young entrepreneurs. See who made the readers’ cut.
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They’re the hardworking, smart and creative young South Australians kicking goals in the business space.
Earlier this month, The Advertiser brought you 40 of SA’s top business minds under 40 and asked readers to suggest budding entrepreneurs who deserved recognition.
Readers, along with some of the luminaries featured in the original story, have delivered, proposing business leaders equally impressive to the ones we first picked.
Meet 16 more South Aussie business minds under 40.
Rigby Barnes
Age: 36
Role and company: Founder at Gangurru Seltzer and Gangurru Apparel
Ex-SAFNL player Rigby Barnes’ no-sugar, low-calorie seltzers, showcasing native ingredients, hit the market in 2023 after he completed an MBA at the University of Adelaide.
It is stocked by retailers across SA and NT including Dan Murphy’s.
The names of his businesses, Gangurru Seltzer and clothing brand Gangurru Apparel, were inspired by the word “kangaroo” which originates from the Guggu Yimithirr word “gangurru”.
Mr Barnes said his best advice was “a business needs to able to adapt with changing markets”.
Madeleine Steele
Age: 33
Role and company: Associate director and SA studio leader at Hames Sharley
Madeleine Steele was last year appointed to lead the Adelaide studio for Hames Sharley, a major national architecture, design and planning firm.
The firm’s recent projects have included the $27m Purruna Spencer Newton Centre at Scotch College Adelaide, the Australian Centre for Sports Aerodynamics, Glenside Grace Apartments, and community and affordable housing at Camden Park.
Ms Steele said one of the best pieces of business advice she had received was “don’t underestimate the importance of building a network among your own generation”.
“Like you, they are the leaders of tomorrow – future allies, change-makers, clients and collaborators.”
Billie Justice Thomson
Age: 39
Role and company: Owner at billiejusticethomson.com
Billie Justice Thomson has busted the struggling artist stereotype by building a successful business around her art, having sold tens of thousands of fridge magnets across the world in what she described as an “accidental success”.
Her work will be prominently featured at this year’s Royal Adelaide Show.
Ms Thomson said as an art school student, she was nervous to share her work and a friend asked “are you so nervous you won’t do it?”.
Her immediate response was, “no, of course I’ll do it”, describing the moment as a turning point for her, because she “knew it was absolutely something I had to do”.
Harrison Box
Age: 29
Role and company: Founder at Paladin Space
Bigs chunks of debris flying through space are a menace for satellites, and Harrison Box is Adelaide’s chief space debris buster.
He is the brain behind Titon, a product that captures and stores space debris, developed by his company Paladin Space and scheduled for a maiden space voyage in 2027.
“My best advice for budding entrepreneurs is to find an area that they are passionate about and pursue it without trepidation,” Mr Box told The Advertiser last year.
Tayla Taarnby
Age: 34
Role and company: Director at Taarnby Real Estate
Tayla Taarnby started Taarnby Real Estate, based in North Adelaide, in 2020 after six years in the real estate industry across Neale Realty, Ouwens Casserly and Cedar Woods.
Selling 196 properties in the 2023/2024 financial year, she was ranked as SA’s number two female real estate agent last year by realestate.com.au.
Ms Taarnby was last year named the best small agency in Australia at the Real Estate Institue of Australia National Awards for Excellence.
Ellen and Riley Ahrens
Age: Ellen is 27; Riley is 26
Role and company: Ellen is Ahrens’ brand and culture general manager; Riley is Ahrens’ commercial and investment general manager
Siblings Ellen and Riley Ahrens are the next generation of leaders the fifth-generation national construction, manufacturing, engineering and fabrication company.
Their father Stefan Ahrens is the managing director of the 120-year-old company.
Marketing-minded Ellen lives by one of the Ahren mottos, “our people are our power,” while the fiscally savvy Riley said his best advice was, “cash is king and avoid excess debt”.
Thomas Lambert
Age: 38
Role and company: Founding partner at Knightsbridge Wealth Management
Knightsbridge Wealth Management, co-founded in 2012 by Thomas Lambert, has grown to oversee $600m of assets across professional and wholesale clients.
He said the best business advice he had received was “always do today’s work today” – a philosophy that has kept him on track and he has sought to enforce among his team.
In 2018 Mr Lambert was awarded Investment Manager of the Year at the Young Leaders in Finance Awards held in Sydney.
Elvis Chidi-Ezeama
Age: 36
Role and company: Founder at Biomicrology
Elvis Chidi-Ezeama has entered the building, starting company Biomicrology in 2023 to produce an AI-powered malaria diagnosis device for resource-poor and malaria endemic areas.
A man of many talents, Mr Chidi-Ezeama is also a medical doctor, biomedical engineer and concert violinist, and in 2022 was named South Australia’s International Student of the Year for his work as a biomedical engineering student at Flinders University.
He was previously a co-founder and producer at eiRecords, a Christian music record label based in Nigeria.
Brett Baillie
Age: 36
Role and company: Chief executive at Resvu
Started in 2017, Resvu has built a client base across Australia and the US servicing millions of homeowners with a software suite that streamlines the strata management experience for managers and property owners.
Mr Baillie joined Resvu in 2020 as a business development manager and rose to the rank of commander-in-chief thanks to his calm leadership style.
You may recognise him from his stint as the Southern Yorke Peninsula Football League’s senior football coach from 2018 to 2022.
Lauren Robbins
Age: 39
Role and company: Managing director at Robbins Lawyers and Conveyancers
After getting her law degree from Flinders University in 2011, Lauren Robbins started her own practice in 2017.
She now commands a team of nine people from the Belair office of Robbins Lawyers and Conveyancers.
If Ms Robbins could go back in time, she would tell her 18-year-old self, “always maintain your integrity; this means doing the right thing even when others are not watching you”.
“Be honest with others and yourself, and always strive to be the best possible version of yourself that you can be.”
Pascal Tolley Ward
Age: 34
Role and company: Founder at EasyTatt
The idea for EasyTatt, a multimillion dollar Adelaide-based temporary tattoo business, came after founder Pascal Tolley Ward lost his brother Paris to suicide in 2017.
He wanted a tattoo to commemorate his brother, but did not want to risk getting the wrong one – he wanted a high-quality, temporary custom tattoo with his design, which he could “test” before committing to the permanent tattoo.
Mr Ward’s company offers just that, letting customers upload a design to receive as a temporary tattoo which lasts one to two weeks.
He said the international business netted $3.2m in the past financial year.
Marion Jones
Age: 34
Role and company: General manager at Teakle Wines
In September, Marion Jones became general manager at major Port Lincoln winemaker Teakle Wines, having previously held senior roles at RAA and REDARC Electronics.
She is in good company alongside Teakle Wines owner Ben Teakle, who turned 40 this month – narrowly missing the cut-off age for this list.
“At 18, I thought I needed a perfect plan,” Ms Jones said.
“What I’ve quickly learned is that careers are rarely linear, and the most meaningful growth happens outside your comfort zone.”
Brad and Aaron Sugars
Age: Brad is 38; Aaron is 36
Role and company: Brad is director at Regent Homes; Aaron is general manager
Brothers Brad and Aaron Sugars are the co-directors of Regent Homes, a home builder established by their father, Mike Sugars, in 1991.
They joined the business in 2005 and 2007 and have since taken the reins.
Aaron said his best business advice was: “a business is only ever as strong as its people”.
Gianna Murphy
Age: 37
Role and company: Chief executive at Renew Adelaide
In 2022 Gianna Murphy took the reins at Renew Adelaide, a high-profile not-for-profit that offers emerging businesses rent-free spaces.
She started as the company’s head of property and operations six years earlier and also ran her own microbakery, Motherdough, between 2019 and 2022.
Ms Murphy said her advice to her 18-year-old self was “if you have the means, travel!”
“I have never regretted time spent experiencing other cultures and ways of life, it has entirely changed the course of my own.”
This listing has no association with the 40 Under 40 Awards sponsored by InDaily / CityMag.
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Originally published as Readers’ choice: South Australia’s next 16 top business people under 40 listed
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