Our People

Director

Alexandra Abeyratne

Alex has over five years’ experience in corporate communications and investor relations in both the London and Australian markets. Alex works with listed and private companies on investor communications strategies, including through transactions, capital raisings, and reputational crises.

Prior to joining Citadel-MAGNUS, Alex was a Senior Consultant at FTI Consulting in London, working with financial services clients in asset and wealth management. In London, Alex was also previously at Moorgate Communications, specialising in transaction banking and trade finance.

Alex has a Bachelor of Science in Politics and International Relations from the University of Bath, England.

Senior Managing Director

Peter Brookes

Peter is a Senior Managing Director, based out of the Sydney office. He leads the transaction practice across IPOs and M&A and has 20 years’ experience as an adviser to ASX listed companies across financial corporate communication.

Peter has led complex transaction projects, including cross-border deals, and has advised on numerous high profile public listings and trade sale processes. He also worked as a communication adviser in the UK, and prior to that was a OTC derivatives dealer for TulletPrebon.

Media Assistant

Lauren Cherry

Lauren, a recent graduate from Curtin University (Bachelor of Arts in Journalism) provides media monitoring and social media support for Citadel-MAGNUS clients. She has a keen interest in the corporate communications sector and supports the delivery and production of communication collateral for investor relations and corporate reputation enterprises at Citadel-MAGNUS.

Senior Managing Director

Brett Clegg

Brett specialises in strategic communication, issues management, business innovation and capital markets transactions. He was the founder of Kadia Partners, which merged with Citadel-MAGNUS in 2020, and his career has spanned professional services, investment banking, publishing and the technology sectors. Brett spent more than two decades in senior executive and editorial roles in the media industry, responsible for some of Australia’s leading news brands including The Australian Financial Review, where he rose from cadet journalist to the position of CEO and Publisher, as well as The Australian and The Daily Telegraph.

He is Chair of Sydney Dance Co, a former board director of hipages group and Council Member of the University of Technology Sydney.

Analyst

Simon Corson

Simon, a recent graduate of Durham University in the UK, supports investor relations and media relations activity across the Citadel-MAGNUS team, assisting with the production and delivery of communication collateral, organising roadshows and other financial calendar events and general support for directors across the investor relations team.

Simon has spent four-years working as a Financial Analyst in the FinTech industry, specialising in data and assessment research in the ESG and Business Resiliency sector. In doing so, Simon built strong client relationships and understanding of global markets.

Director

Ashleigh D’Alessandro

Ashleigh has more than nine years’ experience in corporate communication, public relations and stakeholder management. She is experienced in developing crisis communication plans, implementing community development initiatives and brand and reputation management. Ashleigh is skilled in content creation, having completed the Content Marketing Certificate from the Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA), and has a passion for writing.

Ashleigh previously worked in the public sector as an advisor for a member of WA State Parliament and prior to joining Citadel-MAGNUS was the PR and Communication Coordinator at Australia’s largest private residential land developer.

Ashleigh holds a Bachelor of Arts (Communications Studies) from the University of Western Australia.

Advisor

Martin Debelle

Martin was a founding Partner of Citadel-MAGNUS.

He specialises in corporate issues management, transactions, government and regulatory affairs with more than 25 years’ corporate communication experience across resources, energy, manufacturing, retail and real estate, with listed and unlisted companies.

Previously he worked as media director to NSW Premier and government, a news reporter and foreign correspondent for 15 years.

Manager

Jackson Eldridge

Jackson is based in Citadel-MAGNUS’s Sydney office where he provides corporate and financial communications support to a diverse range of clients.​

​Jackson joined Citadel-MAGNUS from a Senior Adviser role at leading commercial law firm, Clayton Utz where he was responsible for managing some of the firm’s key client accounts. He has well-honed communication skills and his expertise lies in tailoring communication solutions to meet the specific needs of each client. ​

​Jackson has experience in conducting in-depth research to understand clients’ target audiences, competitors, and industry landscape, allowing Citadel-MAGNUS to develop bespoke communication plans that resonate with their client’s stakeholders.

​Jackson earned a Bachelor of Media (Communication and Journalism) / International Business, University of New South Wales. 

Office Manager

Monika Fairclough

Monika has over 15 years’ experience in corporate administration and is currently Citadel-MAGNUS’ Perth Office Manager.

She has developed valuable skills in customer service, stakeholder management and accounting having worked for some of the world’s largest engineering and oil and gas companies, and now in corporate finance.

Monika supports Citadel-MAGNUS with a broad range of activities, bringing a professional and friendly approach to managing the Perth office.

Office Manager

Stacey Finley

Stacey is an accomplished Executive Assistant with several years’ experience providing high-level C-suite support in various industries including Media, Real Estate and Entertainment based in both Sydney and London.

She supports the five Sydney based Partners and is the Office Manager. Stacey is tasked with overseeing the smooth day-to-day operations and fundamental administrative requirements of Citadel-MAGNUS. Her ability to think outside the square for solutions, coupled with her meticulous organisational and time management skills, Stacey ensures the Citadel-MAGNUS team are always prepare and focused on exceeding client expectations.

Stacey also holds a current real estate licence issued under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002.

Senior Director

Cameron Gilenko

Cameron joined Citadel-MAGNUS with eight years’ experience in equity capital markets both in Australia and London, drawing on this expertise to work closely with small-to-mid cap companies as part of the investor relations team.

Prior to Citadel-MAGNUS, Cameron worked as an Analyst for Barclays Capital in London, having spent significant time with a major Australian financial advisory firm.

He brings in-depth knowledge of the financial markets, corporate transactions, investment strategies and facilitating secondary market trade execution. Cameron has an interest in all market sectors with a particular passion for the resources industry.

Cameron holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance & Management) from Curtin University and is RG 146 qualified.

Senior Director

Jack Gordon

Jack has 7 years’ corporate communications and federal government experience. Jack has advised listed and private companies across Australia through M+A, reputational crises, capital raisings and profile raising activity. Jack Joined Citadel-MAGNUS from one of Australia’s leading corporate communication and government relations firms. Prior to working in communications Jack was on the staff of a senior federal senator.

Jack holds a Masters degree in strategic communications from the University of Sydney and an undergraduate degree in communications from UNSW.

Managing Director

Matthew Gregorowski

Matthew leads the Sydney investor relations practice. He has more than 17 years’ agency and in-house corporate communications experience in Australia, the UK and South Africa, running holistic investor relations programs for public companies spanning a range of sectors.

He has also advised on several corporate transactions including IPOs, capital raisings and M&A.

Before emigrating to Australia, Matthew was Head of Media Relations for FTSE 100 financial services company Old Mutual plc and a Partner of international corporate communications firm Instinctif.

Director

Emma Handreck

Emma has a strong understanding of the Australian broadcast media landscape, with 7 years experience in the news industry. She has worked in radio and television, holding Senior roles at both Network Seven and Ten, including as Executive News Producer of Sunrise.

Prior to joining Citadel-MAGNUS, she was a Senior Media Officer with the NSW Government, where she advised on reputation management and developed crisis communication strategies.

Emma holds a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) from Curtin University.

Senior Director

Joanna McCarthy

With over 25 years experience working with some of the world’s most loved and trusted brands Joanna is expertly skilled in developing and executing strategies that drive business growth and mitigate risks.

As member of senior leadership teams both in-house and in agency, Joanna has been a trusted advisor to CEOs and leaders on sensitive, complex projects across Healthcare, Government, Consumer Products, Technology and Financial Services working within highly regulated and listed environments. Most recently Joanna was engaged as a consultant to the NSW Government at the outset of COVID for her expert crisis and health experience to be a founding member of the COVID-19 Taskforce at Transport for NSW and, as a result, a founding member of the Security Crisis and Emergency Management team. The work was adopted by the US and UK governments in their response and has been awarded locally and internationally.

Managing Director

Helen McCombie

Helen is a Managing Director and has extensive expertise in corporate communication and issues and crisis management across numerous sectors.

Helen has a strong understanding of the Australian media landscape having previously worked in journalism for 25 years including roles as Business Editor of Sky News and with Channel 9’s Business Sunday Program.

She also provides presentation and media training to senior executives and company Boards.

Director

David McFadyen

David has more than 12 years experience in the equity and debt markets in Sydney and Asia where he began his career at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities. David joined Citadel-MAGNUS from investment and wealth management firm Shaw and Partners and prior to that was as an analyst at Petra Capital and an analyst at CIMB giving him valuable perspective on how investors and the investment community consider and evaluate funds. As a Director in our Investor Relations team David maintains a frontline view of the market gaining continuous insight on trends, sentiment and the competitor set. 

Associate

Sara Naghizadeh

Sara supports the delivery and production of communication collateral for investor relations and corporate reputation enterprises at Citadel-MAGNUS.

With a keen interest in fostering relationships with clients, Sara assists with organizing roadshows, financial calender events and media monitoring for the team.

Sara is currently studying for a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in International Business) and a Bachelor of Communications (majoring in International Media) at Macquarie University.

Director

Genevieve Norton

With over 15 years of experience in professional services firms, Genevieve is a skilled Design Director specialising in creating visually stunning and impactful design solutions for stakeholders in the corporate world. With a strong focus on corporate design, presentation design, and report design, Genevieve has a proven track record of delivering effective visual communication strategies that engage and inform audiences in both internal and external settings.

Genevieve holds a Bachelor of Design and Technology (Industrial Graphics) from Western Sydney University.

Director

Russell Quinn

Russell has almost 20 years’ media and communication experience in Australia, providing advice to listed and unlisted entities across the public and private sectors after a successful career as a senior business journalist and editor.

He has extensive expertise in corporate communication, public relations, community engagement, government relations and reputation management, having worked across various industries in challenging regulatory and stakeholder environments including banking and finance, insurance, health and gambling.

Russell holds a Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communication) from Curtin University and is pursuing a MBA with the University of Western Australia. He also sits on the Advisory Board of the Perth Fashion Festival.

Associate

Stephanie Richardson

Stephanie supports the Citadel-MAGNUS team with media and investor relations, and corporate communication. She has prior experience in the Finance and Construction industries

Most recently Stephanie worked as an in-house Marketing and Communications professional in the Construction industry which encompassed the execution of strategic marketing campaigns, digital marketing, social media, stakeholder relations, event management and public relations.

Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Public Relations and Marketing) from Curtin University and Digital Marketing Certificate from the Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA).

Senior Director

Paul Ryan

Paul has extensive experience in communication, stakeholder engagement, and issues and crisis management, forged over a 25-year career in media and corporate affairs with major Australian organisations in the agriculture and energy sectors.

He has a strong track record of managing corporate reputation in challenging regulatory and stakeholder environments, providing strategic communication counsel across metropolitan and regional Australia, devising stakeholder engagement programs and effectively managing corporate and operational issues incorporating government relations.

Paul has worked for Seven West Media, major Australian agribusinessess and has held senior corporate affairs leadership positions in Woodside and Shell where he worked on major projects including the North West Shelf, the Browse Joint Venture, Shell’s Prelude Floating LNG Project and the integration of Shell Australia and QGC post the Shell-BG merger in 2016.

Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) from Edith Cowan University.

Director

Maddie Seacombe

Maddie joined Citadel-MAGNUS from the UK, bringing five years’ of agency experience from the City of London, where she advised Companies on engagement with the capital markets and investor community.

In London, Maddie was an Associate Director at Buchanan, one of the UK’s leading financial communications agencies.

Her clients included UK and global Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main and AIM Markets across a variety of sectors.

Experience includes providing counsel on ongoing investor relations activity, financial calendar management, IPOs, M&A & fundraising, digital strategy, ESG and crisis communications.

Senior Director

Matt Stevens

As one of Australia’s most experienced and respected business commentators, Matthew earned a market-leading reputation over a four-decade career in journalism. Matt worked as a business reporter, editor and columnist for major mastheads including The Age, Business Review Weekly, The Business Australian and The Australian. Progressive roles at The Australian included appointments as Victorian Business Editor, Victorian Editor, Europe Correspondent, National Chief of Staff and Editor of the newspaper’s flagship weekend edition. Matt returned to writing as a business columnist with The Australian in 2001 and, most recently, he was a leading columnist at The Australian Financial Review.

After leaving journalism in 2020, Matt established a private advisory business with clients including BHP. Matt is a recognised thought leader in the minerals, metals and mining industries with a deep knowledge of bulk minerals and energy commodities markets and their geopolitical interplay. He arrives at Citadel-Magnus with decades of high-level experience in infrastructure, retail, banking and business policy. He joins Citadel Magnus to offer tactical and strategic counsel to a range of clients as a Senior Adviser.

Senior Director

Catherine Strong

Catherine has more than 20 years of corporate communication and investor relations experience in both the London, Australian and US markets. With strong experience in growth companies across multiple sectors, including healthcare and technology, she has advised listed and private companies on investor relation and media strategies, supporting them with financial calendar activity, IPOs, capital raisings and M&A.

She also held in-house roles at global not-for-profit, JDRF and the UK’s peak biotech trade body, the BioIndustry Association. Prior to returning to Australia, she supported London Stock Exchange and AIM listed clients at London-based financial communication agency Buchanan.

Catherine graduated from the Australian National University with Bachelor degrees in Science and Arts.

Managing Director

James Strong

James is a corporate and financial communications specialist with 23 years’ experience providing strategic advice to clients.

James leads Citadel MAGNUS’ transaction and financial services practice and provides advice at board and executive level on transactions, IPOs, reputation and issues management, and has led the communications on complex domestic and cross border transactions.

Senior Director

Ryan Thompson

Ryan has worked for more than nine years in investor relations and financial communications both in Australia and London.

Prior to joining Citadel-MAGNUS, Ryan was based in London, leading investor relations for a FTSE-listed international specialty insurance company. Previously Ryan spent time working at a boutique financial communications consultancy in his native Sydney.

Ryan brings extensive capital markets experience, having developed and executed successful investor relations and strategic communications programmes for IPOs, M&A, and capital raising transactions. He has provided strategic counsel to senior executives and boards on complex and sensitive corporate matters, including litigation, crisis and issues management, media relations and public affairs.

Director

Jonathan Van Hazel

Jono joined Citadel-MAGNUS with ten years’ experience in equity capital markets in Australia in addition to several years working across engineering, advisory and start up companies. This broad experience is valuable when working with the large range of companies that the investor relations team deals with. He brings an understanding of financial markets combined with a technical background based on his engineering knowledge.

Jono holds a Bachelor of Engineering, a Bachelor of Commerce, a Graduate Diploma, and a Master of Engineering.

Managing Director

Michael Weir

Michael has more than 25 years’ experience in investor relations and corporate financial communication.

A former senior finance journalist, Michael has also held in-house executive roles within the mining and mining services sector.

He has deep experience in corporate affairs, stakeholder engagement and capital markets. He has led complex communication around project development, capital raisings, corporate transactions and corporate strategy rollout.

Manager

Saskia West

Saskia leads the implementation of daily investor and media relations programs and supports on strategy. This includes managing investor relationships, organising roadshows and other financial calendar events, and assisting ASX listed companies with M&A, ESG and crisis communications. Saskia joined Citadel-MAGNUS in 2021.

Prior to Citadel-MAGNUS she spent several years as a customer success partner for a technology start-up where she fostered strong client and stakeholder relationships. Saskia graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Media in PR and Advertising.