Retail Drinks Australia has today announced the appointment of Michael Waters as Chief Executive Officer.
Waters has been serving in the role in an acting capacity since 1 July this year, after the departure of founding CEO, Julie Ryan. Prior to that, Waters had held the position of Chief Operating Officer since December 2018.
John Carmody, Retail Drinks Chairman, congratulated Waters on the appointment, noting the achievements of the organisation under his lead for the past five months and the strong potential for positive future results. .
“On behalf of the Retail Drinks Board, I am delighted to confirm the appointment of Michael Waters as Retail Drinks CEO on a permanent basis and look forward to his leadership of the organisation in the years to come,” Carmody said.
“Michael has demonstrated a strong aptitude for the role and his long history with the organisation in its various capacities over the past 11 and a half years puts him in an ideal position to push forward with the organisation’s ambitious strategic plan.
“Over the last five months of Michael’s tenure, Retail Drinks has secured several positive outcomes for the industry, including successfully ensuring that all liquor retail remained open during Stage Four lockdowns in Victoria and most recently in South Australia, as well as negotiating key changes to the Liquor Amendment (24-Hour) Economy Bill in NSW.”
When thanking the Chairman and the Board for the appointment and acknowledgement, Waters reaffirmed a commitment to deliver on Retail Drinks’ strategic priorities, as outlined at the recent AGM in September.
“I would like to thank the Retail Drinks Board and am grateful to be given the opportunity to continue the important work of representing all of Australia’s retail liquor industry as permanent CEO,” Waters said.
“I am enormously proud of Retail Drinks’ achievements over its short history and am excited to help implement our core strategic priorities of driving momentum, continuing to lead and deliver value, expanding member services and benefits, enhancing industry responsibility, sharing our stories and promoting the good.
“I look forward to leading the Retail Drinks team and to supporting and working in close collaboration with our growing, diverse membership to deliver on our vision of enhancing the freedom to retail responsibly.”