Sector moves and appointments
David Frew has been appointed National Property Portfolio Manager at Beacon Lighting. David has over 20 years’ experience in property across the UK and Australia. He was with DTZ in Edinburgh before successfully transferring to Australia in 2007. He then went on to work with Yum! Restaurants, Repco, Coles and Viva Energy before joining Beacon. David has a strong track record in steering national retail portfolios and shaping long‑term property strategy. He has demonstrated experience across stakeholder engagement, negotiation, strategic decision‑making and delivering commercially sound outcomes that support sustainable growth.
Jessica Kahanoff was appointed Executive Head of Property at Baby Bunting in October 2025, leading the Retail Property function as part of the Executive team. With over 18 years of experience across retail shopping centres, Large Format Retail, and mixed-use asset portfolios, Jess has held senior leasing roles with QIC, Mirvac, JLL, and Colonial First State Global Asset Management. She brings expertise in leasing strategy, portfolio planning, and building strong landlord and retailer relationships across both metropolitan and regional markets.
Emma Klingberg has joined the Transact Capital team as Asset Manager in Queensland. Emma brings over twenty years of experience across commercial, industrial, and retail property management. Her extensive skills span lease negotiation, financial oversight, property restructuring and coordination, all supported by her sharp attention to detail and proven ability to uncover new revenue opportunities. Emma will play a key role in supporting Transact Capital’s growing portfolio, working closely with landlords, tenants, and the wider team to deliver exceptional service and results.
Vend Property has welcomed Tom Edson as its new Head of Investment Sales. Tom brings 25 years of brokerage experience from London, with a focus exclusively on the Large Format Retail. Previously, Tom was a founding partner at Font Real Estate, and held senior roles including Head of Food Stores at JLL and Head of UK Retail Capital Markets and Co-Head of Retail at Colliers. Tom recently shared his excitement about joining Vend and contributing to its continued growth in the Australian Large Format Retail sector.
In December 2025, Simon Day was appointed Group General Manager of Property at Adairs Group, overseeing property strategy across Adairs, Focus on Furniture and Mocka. Day brings more than a decade of senior retail leasing experience, having served as General Manager of Leasing at The Just Group and Premier Investments from 2013 to 2025, working across brands including Just Jeans, Peter Alexander, Smiggle, Jay Jays, Dotti, Portmans and Jacqui E. He has previously held leasing and property roles at Colliers International, Australia Post and National Australia Bank.
In February 2026, Day appointed Sam Morahan as Group Leasing Manager for Adairs. Morahan joins with extensive Large Format Retail experience and established relationships with key landlords and agents, most recently serving as Group National Leasing Manager at GPC Asia Pacific. He has also held roles at Fitstop and CBRE.
After 29 years with the Adairs Group, Michael Cherubino will commence a part-time Strategic Advisor – Group Property role from March. In this capacity, he will consult across the business, attending monthly Property Committee meetings, strategy sessions, and quarterly Board meetings for Adairs, Mocka and Focus on Furniture, alongside his ongoing Large Format Retail Association commitments for the remainder of 2026.
If you or someone in your organisation has recently taken on a new role or made a significant industry move, we’d love to hear from you. Please send details to media@unwraplfra.com.au.
