Guardian broadens leadership team with new key senior executive appointments

Guardian Childcare and Education has confirmed the appointment of five new senior leaders who have joined the executive leadership team as part of a broader strategy to position the organisation at the forefront of early education and care in Australia. 

The announcement comes around 12 months after CEO Warren Bright joined the Group from Goodstart Early Learning and signals Guardian’s intentional focus on attracting experienced and proven professionals to lay the foundation for future innovation and growth. 

The new appointments are:

Sharon Whiteman, Chief Network Officer

Sharon has spent the last 13 years in senior executive roles in the childcare sector, most recently as Head of Strategic Delivery at Goodstart. Sharon’s role at Guardian is about uniting and aligning those centres under the one mission to provide the highest quality care and education outcomes for children.

Elizabeth Brooks, General Manager Operations

Elizabeth has more than 20 years experience in the early learning sector. She was the Business Process Improvement Manager at C&K and has held other senior positions in the sector. Elizabeth will be tasked with managing and optimising the systems that support educators in the daily delivery of Guardian’s curriculum and high-quality care.

Deon Hemberg, General Manager, Network Transform Group

Deon has around 10 years experience in the sector in a range of different roles including performance improvement and operations. Deon will be focussing on mentoring teams on the path to high performance by working with centres to leverage their unique attributes to deliver the best childcare experience possible.

Julia Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer

Julia was most recently the General Manager of Marketing and Growth at experience gifting pioneer the Big Red Group where she was responsible for amongst other things developing and implementing the strategy for growth and partnerships. At Guardian her role will focus on centres engaging with and supporting their local communities and the families who live there.

Guardian has also confirmed that Jenni Gaffney, previously the Group’s General Manager NSW/ACT/QLD has been appointed to a new position called General Manager Greenfields which will focus on identifying opportunities to expand Guardian’s footprint into new communities. 

Commenting CEO Mr Bright said “At Guardian we are all about enabling our children and our people to thrive and grow. So we have assembled a team with an enormous amount of experience and talent who are passionate about having a positive impact on the educational journey of our children and the lives of Australian families.”

To learn more about opportunities at Guardian Childcare and Education please click here.