After an extensive and extremely competitive selection process, Warrigal announced today that Jenni Hutchins has been appointed as the new CEO of the organisation. The news comes as Warrigal’s long-time Chief Executive Officer, Mark Sewell, announced his retirement in August 2022, in order to spend more time with his large extended family.

Jenni comes to Warrigal with an impressive history of leadership in several not-for-profit and government roles, most recently as the CEO of Big Fat Smile, a not-for-profit specialising in early childhood education. She is a registered psychologist, and a graduate Company Director on several distinguished boards, with qualifications in business and people management from Harvard Business School.

“Myself and the entire Warrigal board welcome Jenni as our new CEO, and look forward to working together to achieve our strategic goals,” said Wyn Janssen, Warrigal’s Chairman of the Board. “Jenni’s extensive experience in not-for-profit leadership roles in human services will transfer well into this role, as she brings a fresh perspective to our community-focused organisation.”

“Jenni is highly qualified and a great advocate for the abolition of ageing at whatever age, and a passionate leader in the community services sector, and I’m absolutely confident she is going to lead Warrigal into a successful future with the backing of the Warrigal Executive and Management Team,” said retiring CEO, Mark Sewell. “She is very well connected in our region, and will only increase Warrigal’s expansive network of resources to help achieve our goal of assisting older people to live great lives.”

With her official start date of November 7 2022 (and then a handover period with exiting CEO Mark Sewell), Jenni will steer Warrigal during an exciting time of growth for the organisation, as they progress with their strategic plan, called Towards 2030. Warrigal currently has more than 2000 employees and volunteers across NSW and the ACT, and supports older people in 12 locations across these regions.