Meet the Team

 Mark is the Founder, Managing Director & Principal Consultant at Evolve and is deeply passionate about helping people, teams, and organisations define, pursue and achieve their ambitions. It is this passion that has lead to, and been ingrained in, the founding DNA of Evolve. 

Prior to launching Evolve, Mark enjoyed a decade-long tenure in big-four consulting, where he built deep expertise in Evolve's core service offerings, across a range of sectors including (but not limited to): government; education; sport; corporates; aged care; power and utilities; health; financial services, and oil & gas. 

In addition to his professional experience, Mark draws insights from a semi-professional sporting career to help organisations create high-performance environments where individuals and teams can thrive. 

Mark holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of South Australia.

Outside of his professional pursuits, Mark is a husband, a father-of-two, a volunteer surf lifesaver, and lead guitarist of Adelaide based cover band, The B-Sharps.

Mark's key areas of expertise include: 

• Strategy Development / Strategic Planning 
• Performance Improvement
• Operating Model Design
• Transformation Program Management
• Cultural Improvement & Transformation
• Leadership Development

Emeritus Professor Allan Evans is an experienced administrator, academic leader, company director and industry consultant.

As an Associate at Evolve, Allan shares his expertise in areas such as executive leadership, transformation and change management leadership, new and emerging business, and the education, health and pharmaceutical industry sectors. 

Allan's most recent role was as Provost and Chief Academic Officer at the University of South Australia where he led a number of new business initiatives, including the creation of UniSA Online, which grew to become one of Australia’s most successful online education initiatives. 

In his role as Provost and in earlier leadership roles he also led large institutional restructures and associated managing change processes and implemented a range of system improvement projects to enhance visibility and accountability of key performance indicators for student recruitment, teaching performance and research productivity. 

Allan has a sustained track record of working with partners to support innovation projects, particularly in the pharmaceutical field. He has been intimately involved in the creation of (and securing financial backing for) a number of new companies and was a founding director of what was to become Australasia’s largest pharmaceutical contract research organisations (CROs), CPR Pharma Pty Ltd. 

Allan is also an experienced personal mentor and coach with a keen interest in supporting new and emerging leaders to forge positive changes in culture and performance.

Allan's key areas of focus with Evolve include: 

• Executive Leadership
• Education, Health & Pharmaceutical Sectors
• Transformation Management & Leadership

Steve is a seasoned strategist and visionary leader with a strong belief in purpose-driven organisations and the power of people. 

With four decades of professional experience in the agricultural sector, Steve has played a key role in advancing Australian agricultural excellence through education, research and industry and commercial development.

As a Senior Advisor at Evolve, Steve shares his extensive experience in all things business and R&D strategy, organisational governance, change management and leadership, as well as his deep expertise in the agricultural sector.

Throughout his career, Steve has led teams in State Government agencies, a university, and as the founding CEO of a successful commercial entity, 'Australian Grain Technologies Pty Ltd (AGT)', who are Australia's largest and market-leading plant breeding company. More recently, as Managing Director at the Grains Research and Development Corporation, Steve lead a major transformation of Australia’s largest Rural Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

In 2016, Steve was awarded as a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his contributions to the Australian agricultural industry,

Steve currently operates his own consultancy, Jefferies Ag Solutions, and is Chairman of Rice Breeding Australia Ltd and Non-Executive Director of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority

Passionate about helping others and making a difference, Steve uses his skills and experience to add value wherever he can.

Steve's key areas of focus with Evolve include: 

• Business and R&D Strategy
• Organisational Leadership
• Change Management
• Financial Management
• Governance

Brad is a driven, compassionate and people focused leader that thrives on challenges and the processes required to succeed. 

Brad is passionate about all things high performance and embodying the key components that assist in creating these environments.

As an Associate at Evolve, Brad shares his knowledge and expertise in areas of high-performance, culture and leadership, and as well as his deep expertise in the professional sporting sector.

Over the past two decades in the AFL system, Brad has been recognised as a dedicated and trusted leader, teammate, colleague, friend, and coach, consistently leading by example and pushing himself and others to grow and improve both as individuals and as players.

As a player, Brad notched up over 250 games for West Coast and Port Adelaide, and was admired for his work ethic, leadership, courage and determination. Having now progressed into the coaching ranks as Head of Development at Carlton, Brad is applies the learnings from his career to help others to achieve their ambitions.

Brad holds a Bachelor of Sports Science and MBA from the University of South Australia, is a proud husband and father to three boys, and Managing Director of Hey Diddle Wines.

Brad's key areas of focus with Evolve include: 

• Professional Sport Sector
• Fostering High Performance      Environments
• Culture & Leadership Development

 Ruth is a highly experienced organisational leader and industry consultant with experience working across a diverse range of organisations to drive performance and productivity to achieve strategically focused outcomes. 

Prior to her transition into consulting, Ruth spent eight years as the Executive Director of Human Resources at the University of South Australia (UniSA) where she was responsible for all HR functions at the University, acting as a key member of the Senior Leadership team. In 2017, Ruth was officially recognised as a University Fellow for her outstanding achievements and contribution to UniSA in areas of Human Resources and Organisational Development.

Prior to her role at UniSA, Ruth held several leadership roles within the People, Culture, HR and Leadership space, including: Director of Workforce Development with the Department for Education and Children’s Services  (DECS); Deputy Principal and Acting  Principal of Seymour College; Director of the Office of the Chief Executive for state education in SA; Registrar of the Supreme  Court of South Australia, and; Director of Strategic Development, Deputy Commissioner for Equal Opportunity in SA.

Ruth also has extensive Board administration experience and is the current Presiding Member of the SACE Board of SA, the statutory authority in SA responsible for accreditation and assessment of the SACE (South Australian Certificate of Education). Ruth has also been the Chair of the Audit and Risk Board for the Education Department of South Australia since 2022 and in 2024 Ruth joined the Council of Governors at the University of South Australia. In addition to her Board work, Ruth also enjoys her voluntary work with Raising Literacy Australia and Meals on Wheels.

After a diverse career in both public and private sector organisations, undertaking work in organisational review, restructure and reform, Ruth is enjoying her varied work as a consultant. Ruth’s passion and enthusiasm for raising the bar and driving performance and improvement – including her own – has seen her initiate many policy reviews, workforce strategies and organisational improvement projects.

Ruth's key areas of focus with Evolve include:

• Leadership development and      executive coaching
• Organisational & cultural reviews
• Strategic planning 
• Workforce development 

With over 15 years in Elite Sport, Tom is a seasoned leader with experience in building and learning from high performance teams in high-pressure environments. 

Tom is passionate about leadership growth, culture development and supporting high performance teams with a safe, relatable and sustainable approach. My services include workshops, facilitation, individual coaching and keynotes.

Tom’s career with the Port Adelaide Football Club included five as its captain leading Port Adelaide through the Covid-19 period, where team success was driven by our relationship based, process focused approach, where we embraced being uncomfortable.

Since retiring from professional sport in 2023, Tom has partnered closely with clients in various industries including sport, corporate and education to support their ambitions in leadership, culture and high performance.

Tom has also gained expertise in personal and professional development and career transition, completing an MBA, a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Adelaide and establishing small business Hey Diddle Wines. Tom continues to focus on the transition growth through the ‘Beyond the Bounce’ Program at the Port Adelaide Football Club. 

Outside of his professional pursuits, Tom enjoys fishing, skiing, camping and generally spending time with his young family and mates outdoors.

Tom's key areas of focus with Evolve include: 

• Leadership Development
• Coaching & Mentoring
• Cultural Transformation
• Professional Sport Sector