New SA head – Estha van der Linden – at Ai Group

The national employer association Ai Group has appointed Estha van der Linden as the new head of its operations in South Australia.

“Estha brings a wealth of experience to her new role with over 20 years working for industry associations and representing South Australian businesses across many industries including mining, manufacturing, health and retail,” Innes Willox, Ai Group chief executive said.

“She spent 15 years in her early career as a workplace relations specialist and this experience will be invaluable especially with Australia in the midst of some of the biggest changes to our IR laws in a generation,” Willox said.

Van der Linden starts work at Ai Group’s Adelaide headquarters on 17 July. Ahead of starting in her new role, van der Linden said: “I am looking to build on the work of my predecessor, Jodie van Deventer by continuing to strengthen connections with the State Government and to ensure that the views of Ai Group’s members in the State are clearly heard and understood by policy makers.

“I will also be focusing on growing Ai Group’s membership across existing and new industries and looking to maximise the potential for SA-based businesses resulting from Canberra’s unprecedented level of spending on Australia’s defence capabilities,” van der Linden said.

Outgoing SA Head, Jodie van Deventer will remain with Ai Group based in SA following her recent appointment as the organisation’s national chief operating officer (COO).