ARA Leadership Team
Paul Zahra (he/him)
Chief Executive Officer
Paul Zahra is a CEO, Non-Executive Director, Board and Company Advisor and one of Australia’s most influential diversity advocates. A leading force in the Australian Retail Industry for over 40 years, Paul’s corporate roles have included Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of former ASX listed department store, David Jones Limited as well as senior leadership roles at Target Australia and Officeworks Superstores.
Paul has been previously credited for leading the digital transformation of one of the oldest department stores in the world, achieving market-leading momentum, resulting in financial stability for the business during the worst retail conditions in 25 years and leading to its successful sale at a premium in 2014.
Paul is currently CEO of the Australian Retailers Association, a not for profit that is the country’s oldest, largest, and most diverse retail body, representing a $400bn sector which employs 1.3m Australians. The ARA has gone through a significant transformation during his leadership, welcoming the recruitment of well-known large and major retail brands since his appointment, whilst successfully retaining 95 per cent of members that are small to medium size businesses.
Starting his working career in a family small business, he has been a strong advocate for small to medium size retailers, celebrating their contribution to the intellect and diversity of the retail community.
A powerful champion for diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Paul has led numerous high profile LGBTI campaigns and initiatives. He is the former Chair of PwC Diversity and Inclusion Board, Former Chair of the Pinnacle Foundation, Former Chair of Australian Institute of Music and currently an ambassador for the 30% Club Australia. He has held non-executive director roles in ASX listed companies, private equity, start-ups and not-for-profits in the education, retail and FMCG sector.
Paul is an alumnus of Stanford University, USA, and a Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Fleur Brown (she/her)
Chief Industry Affairs Officer
Fleur leads the Industry Affairs portfolio for the ARA which encompasses policy and advocacy, media, marketing, events and partnerships. Fleur has worked as an executive leader in government, media, marketing industries and prior to joining the ARA ran the award-winning Launch Group agency which was responsible government and investor relations, advocacy and media management for many leading Australian brands and public entities.
With a rich background in technology and innovation, she is a former Director of TechSydney, a founding team member of StartupAUS (now Tech Council Australia) a founding director of TEDxSydney and founder and producer the Nine Network’s Entrepreneurs TV show. Fleur is author of the business book The Business of Being You.
Nathalie Rosette-Barber (she/her)
Chief Operating Officer
An experienced retail professional, Nathalie has strong operations and management expertise and deep experience as a change agent within retail environments. She is a highly collaborative and results orientated leader with a finance, compliance and commercial background and strong strategic skills. Her previous roles have included more than 14 years with David Jones in roles including: Head of Strategy Delivery, General Manager Change Management, and Project Delivery; General Manager – Stores Planning; Administration where she has focused on operations performance and planning and working on large scale transformation programs.
Veronica Grossman (she/her)
Director – Marketing
A commercially-focussed business development, innovation, marketing and communications professional, Veronica’s expertise includes leading corporate strategy, business development, insights-driven digital marketing, innovation projects, brand management and communications for large national and global companies across diverse industries.
Alethea Eckersley (she/her)
Director – Member Relations
Alethea leads the Membership team at the ARA and has a strong retail background. With 15 years’ experience across Partnerships and Corporate Services, she is skilled in relationship management and customer service, with a focus on delivering meaningful and exceptional experiences for customers and members. She has a proven track record of delivering program retention and growth, strategic projects, and business objectives, through operational efficiencies and data led, customer centric decisions.
Jason Robertson (he/him)
Director – Policy, Sustainability and Impact
Jason leads the policy and sustainability team at the ARA, working with members and key stakeholders to progress the policy priorities that are important for Australian retailers, now and into the future. With more than 30 years working in the retail and hospitality sectors, Jason has worked for small business owners, franchise operators and large national brands in a range of roles across operations, business improvement, strategic planning, program management, risk management, sustainability and public policy.
Mike Ejigu (he/him)
Director – Finance and Risk
Mike is a highly motivated and results driven Finance professional who has more than 20 years of invaluable experience in leading and developing a successful finance team. He has broad experience in finance and operations gained across several industries including hospitality, construction, and banking as well as in semi-government instrumentalities. A member of the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) and a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) of UK, he has a demonstrated history of contributing to the strategic direction and critical business decisions leading to sustained growth and profitability through his finance capability.
