Arena REIT names Adam Tindall as Chair Elect as David Ross prepares to retire

Arena REIT Chair David Ross will retire from the board following the company’s Annual General Meeting on 20 November 2026, ending a tenure that began when the property group listed on the ASX in 2013. Independent non-executive director Adam Tindall has been appointed Chair Elect as part of a planned succession.

The change in board leadership is relevant to the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector because Arena is a significant owner and developer of early learning properties across Australia. Its role is in providing the buildings used by services: its tenant partners retain operational control.

In its ASX announcement on 17 September, Arena said that, during Mr Ross’s time as Chair, it had built a $2 billion portfolio of social infrastructure properties and delivered compound annual growth in distributions to investors of seven per cent.

Mr Ross has chaired Arena since its ASX listing in June 2013. Reflecting on his tenure, he thanked the directors, executives and employees who had helped shape the organisation and expressed confidence in Mr Tindall’s ability to guide the board through its next phase.

“It has been a privilege to be a part of Arena’s journey,” Mr Ross said.

Arena develops, owns and manages properties used to deliver community services, principally in early learning and healthcare. Its portfolio page lists 302 properties across Australia: 274 early learning centres, 10 healthcare properties and 18 early learning development sites.

Those figures help explain why a board appointment at a listed property group has an ECEC connection. Arena is involved in decisions about where to acquire and develop early learning properties, how to manage its portfolio and how to work with the providers that lease its buildings.

Its early learning holdings extend across metropolitan and regional areas. The company lists centres in every state, as well as the Northern Territory. Queensland and Victoria account for substantial numbers of the existing early learning properties shown on its portfolio page.

Arena says it works with tenant partners to provide accommodation that is efficient, flexible and well located, with the aim of allowing those organisations to focus on delivering services. The company also says its preference for long-term leases supports predictable returns for investors.

There is an important distinction for families and educators: Arena owns and develops properties; its tenants operate the services within them. Arena states that tenant partners maintain operational control of its properties under its leasing arrangements. The chair succession announcement does not identify any change to those arrangements or to the operation of individual early learning services.

Mr Tindall has been an independent non-executive director of Arena since November 2024. According to the company’s announcement, he brings more than 35 years of experience across investment management and real estate.

His career includes serving as CEO of AMP Capital and holding senior executive roles at Macquarie Capital and Lend Lease. He is currently an independent non-executive director of Stockland Group and a member of the Future Fund Board of Guardians.

His appointment as Chair Elect gives the board a transition period before Mr Ross’s departure following the November AGM. Arena has described the appointment as part of its board succession plan.

Mr Tindall thanked Mr Ross for his leadership since Arena listed, saying his focus on investment discipline and prudent capital management had provided a foundation for the company’s future.

“As incoming Chair I look forward to working with the board and management team to continue to execute on Arena’s strategy,” he said.

The announcement confirms a change in who will lead Arena’s board. It does not announce a new investment strategy, an acquisition, a change to tenant agreements or a shift in the management of early learning properties.

That distinction matters when considering its significance for the ECEC sector. A Chair helps lead board oversight of a company’s strategy and governance, while decisions about the daily delivery of education and care remain with the providers operating the services.

The succession nevertheless puts attention on the role of property ownership in the sector. An early learning service needs more than an approved provider and an educator workforce; it also needs a suitable building, a location accessible to families and an arrangement that allows the operator to plan over time. Property owners and developers are therefore part of the wider environment in which services are established and maintained.

Arena’s portfolio illustrates that relationship at scale. Alongside its 274 existing early learning centres, its website lists 18 development sites. Those sites are distinct from operating centres, and the board announcement provides no new timetable or commitment concerning them.

For now, the message from Arena is one of planned board succession. Mr Ross is expected to remain Chair until the conclusion of the AGM on 20 November, when his retirement from the board will take effect. Mr Tindall, already an independent director, has been named to take on the chairmanship.

For ECEC readers, the leadership change is a development at one of the sector’s property owners. Its practical implications, if any, will depend on the decisions Arena makes after the transition; none have been announced as part of this update.

Read the full ASX announcement here.