Emerging Leaders –Supporting our Future Industry Champions

South Australia's hospitality industry is a cornerstone of local communities and events. That is why it’s so important we continue to develop our future industry leaders!

The AHA|SA’s new initiative, Emerging Leaders, is designed to encourage growth through education, mentoring, and collaboration between those aspiring to bigger careers in hospitality.

The inaugural event was held at Pirate Life in Port Adelaide, facilitated by Asahi Group and Carlton & United Breweries, with Mark Moran, Pirate Life Brewery GM and Emcee.

Panellists on the day shared their leadership experience with a crowd of 100 members and corporate partners. The messaging to kick off the new initiative was perfect – Telling yourself you can make it, embracing diversity, and having the courage to step into the unknown and bringing your people on the journey.

Rebecca O’Mahony - Sales Manager Asahi Lifestyle Beverages SA/NT, kicked off the panel discussion, sharing her management insights and how the brewing industry has a critical role in supporting our front bars.

“The most important thing for me was having passion. I was quite nervous about my career in the first few roles I had. But acquiring all that experience and taking opportunities, even if they seemed daunting at the time, was essential to gaining leadership in this industry for me," Rebecca said.

“Sometimes even leaders think, Am I going to make it?, but having a support network around you and mentors and leaders to lean on who instead tell you, You can make it, is a key to success - Having a network you can rely on. Leaders need to pass on that mindset to others – you can make it”.

Katie van de Merwe – Head of Hospitality Pirate Life, is taking her experience as a leader to inspire the next generation as well.

“Our industry is changing and it’s important that as leaders, we shape what that change looks like.

“I fell in love with the magic of this industry at 21 in Western Australia. I was obsessed with the way people interacted over food and beverages. After a few years in big beer venues, I started working in restaurants. I moved onto London and gained valuable experience learning how hospitality works from a business perspective. I also learned a lot about how I don’t want to run a business from a people and culture perspective and got pretty clear on what aligns with my values.

“In 2019 I was fortunate enough to work with a hospitality coach who taught me to stand up and change the way we can operate businesses. I really embraced diversity and figured out what our people need to succeed.

“A week before this (Emerging Leaders) event, we had a massive weekend here at Pirate Life hosting a 4,500-person party. We really saw the benefits of the systems that we have in place for our people to fall back on. Through this process, we've eliminated a lot of the ‘guess work’ and the crew just got stuck into what needed to be done,” Katie said.

George Georgiadis - Managing Director Never - Never Distilling, took his skills in the finance and banking industry to underpin business models.

“The idea was to do something regional - it was actually between gin and cheese! Especially something in McLaren Vale as it's such a special part of the world. We were stepping into the unknown, with an ambition to leave a mark on the global spirits industry.

“It was a commitment to adventure.

“We are witnessing a generational shift and people are increasingly aware of their entitlements, priorities, and their overall wellbeing. Gone are the days of ruling with an iron fist - It’s becoming more and more critical to explore ways of supporting people inside and outside of work, nurturing culture and focussing on emotional wellbeing. Leaders need to be accountable for this as well as strategic direction,” George said.

We have two more Emerging Leaders networking events in 2025, and we can’t wait to see how this new initiative strengthens our industry.

We thank all our Corporate Partners who have been involved, particularly our Platinum-level brewery partners who helped drive this initiative; Asahi Group, Carlton & United Breweries, Coopers, and Lion.