Archives: People

Following a successful 15-year career with a leading global logistics organisation, Boris jointly established in 2001 what was to become one of Australia’s largest privately held recruitment companies – Challenge Recruitment. Following the sale of his business, Boris invested his time and capital into businesses and founders seeking genuine growth capital and direction, including SILK Laser Australia Ltd which grew from a small 4 clinic operation in 2018 to today with over 140 clinics throughout Australia and New Zealand.  Boris as Chair has helped guide SILK though a 5-year pathway of growth from family office capital to PE and ultimately through to a successful ASX listing in 2020. Boris’ other Chair roles include Orthopaedics SA (a group of 25 Orthopaedic surgeons and practices), Kid Sense Child Development (a growing clinic-based group of paediatric allied health specialists) as well as several advisory board positions in sectors ranging from Envirotech, Med-tech, Recruitment and Logistics.

Steve is an experienced senior executive with over 35 years in the ICT Industry. Steve holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Hons) from RMIT. He spent many years in the telecommunication industry implementing the first fibre optic in Australia before joining a start-up, Com Tech Communications, in the late 80’s. In 2001 Steve become CEO of Dimension Data Australia/NTT Australia for approximately 20 years building the Australia business to approximately $2B. He spent six years developing and building the NTT Cloud business globally before returning to run the Australian business prior to retiring in 2020. He was inducted into the ARN IT Hall of Fame for his pioneering work in the ICT industry. Steve sits on several technology company boards with a core focus on IP commercialisation.

Kylie is a finance professional with over 20 years’ experience, with over 15 of these within the funds management industry.  Kylie is the former Financial Controller at Trawalla Group, a private family office, and former Associate Director at Hastings Funds Management.  Kylie holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from Monash University and is a Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia.

Greg is an experienced executive, having spent over 20 years in finance, general management and strategy roles within large FMCG multinationals both in Australia and internationally. Prior to Armitage, Greg was the CEO of Sentral Education, an Armitage portfolio company, providing student information software systems to K-12 schools across Australia and South East Asia.

Arlen has more than 15 years experience in Private Capital and Corporate Finance. Prior to joining Armitage Associates Arlen was an Investment Manager at Odyssey Private Equity, investing in mid-sized growth companies in Australia and New Zealand. Arlen started his career at EY where he spent more than 10 years providing M&A and corporate advisory services. Arlen is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds a Bachelor of Commerce.

Luke has over 20 years’ experience leading business divisions and customer, strategy, product and loyalty functions across the health, management consulting and insurance sectors. Prior to Armitage, Luke was a senior executive at Medibank, responsible for leading the launch of their loyalty business (from concept to over 300,000 customers), and product and portfolio management across the retail and corporate divisions. Prior to this, Luke was a management consultant within Accenture’s strategy practice, working with clients in the retail, FMCG, resources and health sectors.

Divye is an Investment Director at Armitage Associates. Divye started his career as a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in Melbourne. Previously, he was an investor at Atlas Holdings, a US-based mid-market PE firm, and the founder of Next Generation Growth, an Australian-based investment firm. Divye has an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, a MPA from the Kennedy School, Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Melbourne.

Olivia is a senior Human Resources professional with over a decade of experience. Olivia partners with Armitage portfolio companies to drive business goals through strategic people initiatives. Prior to Armitage, Olivia was the People and Culture Manager at Buildcorp. Olivia has a Degree in Psychology and a Masters in HR with experience in the professional services, engineering and construction industries.

Nipuna has over five years’ experience in the financial advisory space, as an investment banker at BAML in their Transport & Infrastructure team and as a Manager at PwC in their Corporate Value Advisory team. In that time, he has worked with clients across a variety of industries, including energy & utilities, technology, transportation and industrials. Nipuna is a Chartered Accountant (CA), with a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Finance) and Finance Honours from the University of Melbourne.

Brett joined Armitage as an Investment Director in 2024. Brett has 20 years of experience investing in various sectors, including education, software and healthcare, across Australia, Europe, and North America. Prior to joining Armitage, Brett worked at Seek Investments, Potentia Capital, and Safanad. Brett holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.

Andrew’s role within Armitage is to work with the executive teams of our portfolio companies in building high performance teams and sustainable business platforms to support long term growth.  Prior to joining Armitage, Andrew was the CEO and co-founder of Nexus Hospitals where he oversaw the development of Nexus over a ten-year period into a national health care group encompassing 28 short stay hospitals around Australia.  Before founding Nexus, Andrew spent over 20 years in investment banking and private equity.  Throughout his career, Andrew has served in both executive and non-executive roles across a wide variety of industries. This has reinforced Andrew’s belief that the fundamentals of success are a great corporate culture, clear strategy, nimble execution, and a relentless focus on the customer.

Michelle has over 7 years’ experience as a private equity investor and investment banker. As an Analyst at Lazard, Michelle advised on a variety of M&A and strategic assignments across a broad range of industries, including the energy, infrastructure and healthcare sectors. Michelle graduated with First Class Honours, Bachelor of Commerce (Finance & Economics) and Finance Honours at the University of Melbourne.

Diana is an Executive Assistant with over 15 years’ experience supporting senior executives across diverse industries and cultures. Diana is responsible for supporting the Armitage CEO and team. Diana has a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and humanities.

Maricar is a research analyst at Armitage. Maricar has over 8 years’ experience as a research analyst in the financial services industry, in addition to experience at Factset and Touch Solutions Inc in various project management and sales roles.  Maricar has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Southern Luzon State University.

Micka is a research analyst at Armitage. Micka has over 5 years’ experience as a research analyst, including experience at Hitachi Asia as a Research Executive.  Micka has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines.

Aljhen is a research analyst at Armitage. Aljhen has over 4 years’ experience as a research analyst at Integreon Managed Solutions servicing MSCI. Aljhen has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Cavite State University.

Carmela is a bookkeeper at Armitage. Carmela has over 6 years of experience as a bookkeeper and accountant in various industries in the Philippines, including property management, construction industries, financial services, education services, and automobile and motorcycle dealerships. Carmela is a Certified Bookkeeper and Registered Cost Accountant with the National Institute of Accounting Technicians and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting Technology from PHINMA – Araullo University.

John spent 20 years at Wesfarmers where he was the CEO of the Bunnings Group from 2004 to 2016, the Chairman of Officeworks from 2008 to 2016 and Managing Director of CSBP from 2002 to 2004.  Prior to Wesfarmers, John was General Manager of Medical Corporation Australia Ltd after starting his career in corporate recovery and corporate finance at KPMG.  John is the Chairman of both CSR Limited and Nufarm Limited.  He is also a board member of the Clontarf Foundation and the Heartwell Foundation.

Mark is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Armitage Associates.  Mark co-founded Armitage Associates in 2016 in partnership with the Schwartz family.  Mark started his career as a consultant with McKinsey & Co in Sydney. In 2009 he founded Longreach Capital in Chicago and returned to Australia in 2011 where he spent over 5 years leading the investment team at M. H. Carnegie & Co as the firm’s Investment Director and Partner.   Mark has an MBA from Harvard Business (graduated Baker Scholar), and a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland.

Alan Schwartz is a capitalist, philanthropist, and social activist. He has always balanced his commercial drive with a deep commitment to personal integrity, family and community.

For 30 years Alan created, acquired, built, managed and sold a number of successful businesses in industries as diverse as publishing, software and professional services.

Today, Alan is the Managing Director of Trawalla Group which manages his family’s investments and philanthropic activities.