Revolving Doors – August 2026

Across late July and August, nine listed companies in Australia & New Zealand named a new Chief Financial Officer, and several long-serving incumbents signalled their exit. Payday super and mandatory climate reporting for mid-market entities both landed on 1 July, in the same weeks as year-end close, meaning every incoming CFO below inherits a heavier compliance load than their predecessor carried a year ago.

New CFOs on the ASX

Cleanaway Waste Management moved first and fastest. Nigel Simonsz started as CFO on 27 July, only days after the announcement, bringing senior finance experience from United Petroleum, Sigma Healthcare and the Australian Agricultural Company. He succeeds Paul Binfield, who steps back after more than five years and stays into the first half of FY27 to hand over.

Airtasker named Reena Minhas as CFO and company secretary from 3 August. Minhas has spent close to two decades in listed-company finance, most recently at IMEXHS and Konekt Workforce. She takes over from Mahendra Tharmarajah, who remains until the end of September to close out the FY26 accounts.

Mayne Pharma installed Griffin Buchanan as CFO from 1 August. Buchanan joins from Nasdaq-listed Establishment Labs and spent roughly 19 years at Siemens Healthineers before that. His appointment closes a gap created earlier in the year when Aaron Gray moved from the CFO seat into the Chief Executive role, another recent examples of the finance-to-top-job path.

Felix Group named Stephen Hunter as CFO and company secretary from 17 August, succeeding James Frayne, who leaves after more than 12 years having steered the procurement-software company through its IPO and its recent acquisition of Nexvia. Hunter brings more than 15 years across ASX, NYSE and FTSE-listed companies and venture-backed software, and joins from the Ainslie Group, with earlier finance roles at Accruent, RedEye Apps and TechnologyOne.

A resources reshuffle

Two mining CFOs changed hands within weeks, and in both cases the incoming appointee replaced a long server. Sunrise Energy Metals appointed John Mullumby, effective 24 August. Mullumby has 25 years across resources, professional services and corporate advisory, most recently as CFO of Gold Road Resources, with earlier roles at Newcrest Mining and Nyrstar. Outgoing CFO Trevor Eton does not leave the business. He shifts to a non-executive director role.

Arafura Rare Earths named Angela Bigg, who joined the company in mid-July and steps into the CFO role from 31 August. Bigg brings more than 20 years in global mining spanning project delivery and corporate finance. She succeeds Peter Sherrington, who is retiring after nearly 18 years and stays until the end of October to support the transition.

From interim to permanent at BNK

BNK Banking Corporation made its interim leadership permanent on 14 August, confirming Judith Newman as CFO. Newman stepped up from financial controller in April, when the previous CFO, Steve Kinsella, took the interim chief executive role. Both had their interim tags removed on the same day, subject to final regulatory approvals. Kinsella’s own move, from CFO to CEO, is a reminder that the finance chair remains one of the more reliable routes to the top job in Australian banking.

Across the Tasman

Air New Zealand’s Kris Cudmore took up the CFO role on 3 August, succeeding Richard Thomson, who had held it since early 2021. Cudmore arrives as the airline rolls out a new group strategy, and the company has framed his commercial and capital-allocation background as central to that work.

Kiwi Property brought in Sarah Theodore as CFO in late July. Theodore was previously deputy CFO at dual-listed Summerset Group and has held senior roles at Transpower New Zealand and Macquarie Group. Tiniya du Plessis covered the role on an interim basis until Theodore started.

On the way out… and on the hunt

Two departures stand out for length of service. ASX Limited announced the retirement of CFO Andrew Tobin, who joined in 2022 and led finance, treasury, strategy and corporate affairs through a period of heavy change at the exchange. He stays until a successor is named. Baby Bunting’s Darin Hoekman is stepping down after more than 12 years, having been CFO since the retailer listed in 2015. The search is already live, with the role now advertised, and Hoekman stays in the chair until a successor is named.