Management

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

Appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on 1 October 2018.

Mr Whickman was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Australia and New Zealand (2015 – 2018). He had a 20-year career with Ford in senior executive roles in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.

Chief Financial Officer

Mr Fraser’s early career was with Coopers & Lybrand in Australia, followed by over 25 years in senior finance and operational roles in Asia and Europe with McIntosh Hamson Hoare Govett, Lardine Matheson Ltd and the Schindler Group.

Company Secretary and General Counsel

Mr Tyler is a fellow of Governance Institute Australia, a former partner with Freehills and general counsel with Southcorp Limited.  He has held a legal practicing certificate in Victoria for 34 years.

General Manager – Automotive Acquisition and Strategy

Mr Pattison joined GUD Holdings Limited (GUD) in 2004. He has a wealth of experience in the automotive industry having held senior sales, marketing and general management roles with Ford, International Harvester, Nissan and Calsonic.  He held the role of CEO at each of Ryco Filters and Brown & Watson International (GUD subsidiaries) before moving into his current role with GUD. He is a Past President of the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association.

Chief People Officer

Ms Harrison joined GUD in 2019 and is an experienced People and Culture leader. With over 20 years leading teams in organisations across both private and public sectors, Barbara’s areas of expertise include safety leadership, developing and implementing talent growth strategies and diversity and inclusion approaches.  Barbara is a past recipient of a Prime Ministerial (NZ) scholarship facilitating her participation in Wharton Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

Chief Innovation Officer

Mr Moonen joined GUD in 2019, following innovation leadership positions at NAB and AGL. He previously worked in venture capital and innovation consulting in Australia, Europe and the US.

Chief Executive Officer Davey Water Products

Ms Tripp was most recently Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Murray River Organics, an ASX listed company. Her prior roles have included leadership of Top Cut Foods, a subsidiary of JR Simplot USA and Senior Director with KPMG Management Consulting where she was responsible for leading transformation, strategy, customer growth, supply chain, operational and financial turnarounds, with a focus on consumer, agri-business, FMCG and industrial sectors. Ms Tripp has also served as a Non-Executive Director across several ASX, private and not-for-profit organisations.

Chief Executive Officer Brown & Watson International

Mr Davies joined Brown & Watson International in 2002 and has held various senior roles within the company, including product development and sales and marketing management. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 1 August 2017. Prior to joining BWI, Mr Davies worked with Goulburn-Murray Water as a mechanical engineer.

Managing Director Wesfil

Mr Cooper has been the Managing Director of Wesfil since selling the business to GUD in 1996. He has been actively involved in the automotive aftermarket industry for over 30 years and has been instrumental in driving the growth of Wesfil since it became part of GUD.

Executive General Manager Ryco Filters

Mr Chandler joined Ryco Filters in 2008 and has held various roles within product management, supply chain and sales.  He was appointed EGM for AA Gaskets in 2018 and in 2019 re-joined the Ryco Filters business.  Prior to joining Ryco Filters, Mr Chandler worked in various domestic and export sales roles for a market-leading overseas filter manufacturer.

Executive General Manager Disc Brakes Australia

Mr Segal was appointed Executive General Manager with the acquisition of DBA by GUD in July 2018. Prior to that he had joined the GUD group in August 2017 initially taking up a senior role within Brown and Watson. Mr Segal has been actively involved in the automotive aftermarket industry for 40 plus years in various roles covering sales, export business development, product management, purchasing & sourcing and general management with PBR, ATAP and Federal-Mogul Motorparts. This experience has not only been within the Australian market but has also included living in South East Asia during this period.

Executive General Manager Innovative Mechatronics Group

Mr Ricciuti was appointed Executive General Manager of Innovative Mechatronics Group in June 2018, having previously held the role of Sales and Marketing Manager since joining in 2004. Mr  Ricciuti has over 35 years experience as a supplier to the Australian aftermarket industry, and has held a number of supply and marketing roles over this period in both supply and remanufacturing fields. Over these years, Mr Ricciuti has developed extensive experience in establishing and serving export markets.  

Executive General Manager

Mr Black has more than 25 years of management experience in sales, marketing, and motivational team building roles across a variety of industries. Twelve of those years have been with the automotive industry in senior management roles including Sales, Marketing and CEO positions.

Executive General Manager

Mr Long joined ECB in 2008 as the Operations Manager. He was appointed as the General Manager of Custom Alloy in 2013, transitioning into the General Manager of the combined ECB when the two businesses merged in 2015. In 2019, he was appointed as the EGM of manufacturing businesses ECB, CSM and Uneek/Barden. Prior to joining ECB, Mr Long worked in various Australian manufacturing businesses in Operations Leadership roles and is a proud advocate for Australian Made products.

Executive Manager Fully Equipped NZ

As a founding partner in NZ based Fully Equipped Kayne has been the managing director for nearly 30 years. Kayne maintains a holistic approach to the business with in-depth global knowledge of markets, competitors, products and changing business environments. He has developed strong relationships with key suppliers as well as customers. He is well connected and recognized within the motoring industry, and the associated community, having been an eight times NZ motor racing champion.

Executive Commercial and Finance Manager

Mr Henricksen commenced his accounting career in 1996 and has spent the majority of his time operating in manufacturing environments.  He joined the group as the Management Accountant of East Coast Bullbars (ECB) where he spent eight years developing, implementing and strengthening financial controls and internal reporting systems. In November 2019, Mr Henricksen stepped into the role of Executive Commercial and Finance Manager to guide the development and implementation of standard reporting, tools, systems and processes.

General Manager AA Gaskets

Mr Wels has over 22 years’ experience within the automotive aftermarket, having held various roles within AA Gaskets, including technical sales and marketing management.  Mr Wels was appointed General Manager in August 2019.

Executive General Manager Griffiths

Ms Collins was appointed EGM of Griffiths Equipment Limited in January 2021. Prior to this, she has held senior management positions in both the UK and New Zealand. For the last 15 years, she worked for Fletcher Building, with her most recent position as General Manager for CSP, specialising in the design and manufacturing of road safety hardware. Ms Collins holds a BEng(Hons) Engineering degree and an MBA.

General Manager Fleet

Mr Adams joined the group in November 2020 and is focused on growing the group’s presence in the fleet market across the country.  Prior to joining the team, Mr Adams had an extensive career at GM Holden across Procurement, Finance and Sales functions.

General Manager East Coast Bullbars

Mr Rutherfurd joined East Coast Bullbars (ECB) in 2017 as Operations Manager and then appointed General Manager in 2019. Prior to joining ECB, he has worked in the automotive industry for 20 years in various roles covering manufacturing, import distribution, product development and franchising.

General Manager CSM Service Bodies

Mr Lowe joined the group in 2019 as General Manager of both CSM Service Bodies and Alloy Motor Accessories. Prior to this, he had 25 years’ experience working within multinational manufacturers including two postings to Japan with automotive OE suppliers. Since 2008 Mr Lowe has held general manager and managing director roles at several manufacturing businesses, bringing a particular focus on operational improvement and consolidation activities.

General Manager AE4A

Mr Middleton is the General Manager of Automotive Electrical & 4WD Accessories (AE4A). For over 22 years, he has been instrumental in designing and importing award-winning products with a competitive advantage and providing innovative solutions that meet market demand. Mr Middleton has a proven history in outstanding leadership with extensive experience through multiple successful mergers and acquisitions over the years.

General Manager UNEEK 4x4 / Barden Fabrications

Mr Burt was appointed as General Manager of UNEEK 4x4 in July 2019 and brings with him more than 20 years of manufacturing management experience. His background includes five years in the automotive industry and 11 years in sheet metal fabrication. Throughout his career, Mr Burt has used collaboration, consultation and teamwork to drive performance and excellence in all areas of the business.