Previous Roles
Chief Executive Officer | SA Business Chamber | formerly Business SA, Chamber of Commerce and Industry South Australia (2019 to 2022)
As South Australia’s leading business, employer and membership organisation, the SA Business Chambers purpose is to represent the interests of its members and provide services to help businesses grow and enable greater economic activity across the State of South Australia.
Reporting to a Board of Directors, Martin and his team of sixty-five employees advocated strongly on behalf of the business community during the global pandemic, restored the financial health of the organisation and delivered a new strategic plan resulting in membership growth of twenty-five per cent.
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Adelaide (2014 to 2018)
Martin was directly elected as the Lord Mayor of Adelaide in 2014 with a mandate to improve the livability, amenity, community well-being and economic performance of the City of Adelaide. In 2015, he was the Chair of the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors (CCCLM) where he led the national advocacy agenda for Australian capital cities prior to the 2016 Federal election. In 2016, Council unanimously endorsed the City of Adelaide 2016-2020 Strategic Plan which consisted of four key themes of Smart, Green, Liveable & Creative, underpinned by 17 key objectives and 110 actions.
Martin led the most productive, outcome focused term of Council in decades. He believes in positioning the City of Adelaide as a world leader in environmental change, sustainability practices and innovative new technologies. Carbon Neutral Adelaide 2025 is a strategic partnership between the City of Adelaide, State Government, industry, institutions and community. CNA2025 is reducing carbon emissions, growing the knowledge economy, attracting investment, creating jobs, protecting the natural environment and positioning Adelaide as a global provider of sustainability and circular economy solutions.
As Lord Mayor, Martin engaged the community, delivered infrastructure improvements, attracted public and private investment, developed smart city, sustainability and technology orientated policies and inspired considerable confidence about the future of the City of Adelaide. Due to many successful public, private and community partnerships, the City of Adelaide is now a destination for living, working, visiting, learning, entertaining, investing and doing business.
Educator (2008 to 2014)
After completing an MBA with a Distinction average in 2008, Martin was contracted as a part-time lecturer with the Sydney Business School (University of Wollongong) and Australian Institute of Business (AIB) where he facilitated subjects in retail management, retail marketing, new venture creation, globalisation, strategic marketing and entrepreneurship for Masters’ level (MBA) students in Australia. Over a period of 7 years, AIB students consistently rated his facilitation methods with satisfaction scores of more than 97%.
Martin has spoken at over 1,000 public events in recent years on topics as diverse as leadership, smart city technologies, climate change, infrastructure, transport, governance, history, heritage and economic development. In December 2015, Martin delivered an address to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris COP21 in December 2015 and the World Cities Summit in Singapore in July 2018.
Martin is the Co-Host of Your Personal Podcast, a popular weekly podcast with listeners from over 45 countries that focuses on personal and professional development. Martin reads widely on topics such as world history, politics, personal biographies, behavioural psychology, disruptive technologies, the natural environment and design. He is a strong advocate for life-long learning.
Youthworks Retail Co (1992 to 2007)
Martin founded the Youthworks fashion retail business in 1993 in Adelaide South Australia and later founded Sole Shoes as a lateral expansion to capitalise on the emerging fashion sneaker market.
Over 15 years, the company grew to 16 retail stores across Adelaide and Melbourne with $25M annual sales, 220 employees and earned a national reputation for retailing excellence and marketing innovation.
Youthworks was recognised with over 20 industry-based awards including Australian Retailers Association Retailer of the Year. In 2005, the Youthworks retail stores were sold to publicly listed Brazin Ltd and the Sole Shoes stores were sold to privately held Platypus Shoes P/L.
The Youthworks company vehicle continues on today under the name of Infinity Ventures, where it preserves its tightly held core values of providing exceptional service to its customers and stakeholders.