Meet the dedicated professionals, working tirelessly behind the scenes to make childcare search and discovery a seamless process.
We strive to connect early childhood services and educators to families looking for the perfect care.
This sensational team come together to ensure our platforms best meet the needs of both families and service providers,
connecting with experts, bringing up-to-date information on the ECEC sector and parenting related news.
ASh
CEO
Ash is super passionate about helping parents learn and understand the wonders of the ECEC space while supporting the industry and customers to grow their business. He loves facilitating the marketing efforts of centres everywhere, watching them grow and of course unlocking the amazing potential of the sensational group of people he gets to work with every day.
We asked Ash what he'd learned about his own child through the childcare experience and his answer hit us right in the feels!
"I have learned that success and growth isn’t linear. I used to get either happy or sad comparing my child's development to other parents' kids, worrying if something was wrong. I remember my daughter Mia doing 6 months of speech therapy, not realising that sometimes kids just go at their own pace. Happy to report she’s a chatterbox now, even if ‘fish’ is still pronounced 'bish'!"
James
Chief Customer Officer
James is most excited about leading a team and helping to solve problems. He loves being involved with growing the business, helping it and his team to reach their full potential.
James is exceptionally passionate about the learning philosophy of childcare centres believing all parents should consider all options on which best aligns with their family before making any final decisions.
His biggest influence on him growing up was his Pa and two older cousins and when asked who he would want to play him in a film, he truly believes that the similarities between himself and Ryan Reynolds are uncanny - so there's no question. He also considers himself quite the wordsmith, unbeatable at a nine-letter word untangle.
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Thierry
chief financial officer
Thierry is in full swing, thrilled about building a business from the ground up. He finds Care for Kids to be particularly interesting because of the really positive mission; helping parents find the right childcare for their children at such an early stage in their development. He believes it has tremendous benefits for the children but also society as a whole. For Thierry, at such an early age, he thinks children simply need an environment where they feel loved, happy and safe. He himself as a child found wonder in big machines on construction sites, space shuttles, magnets, toy motors and computers.
If an actor was to be cast to play him in a film, he'd choose Daniel Day Lewis and if he had to pick a song for his karaoke debut, he sends a shout out to Jacques Brel with Amsterdam, adamant that nobody will know what it is.
Jacqui
Senior Marketing Manager
Jacqui is excited about bringing the Care for Kids story to life and connecting with parents along the way. She's inspired by the growing team, ideas, innovations, and energy that will make a genuine difference in not only the lives of educators caring for kids, but families searching for the best childcare. One of the most important things Jacqui talks to in her journey into early learning is that she's really come to understand just how important the educators are in her child's development. She's been amazed over the last few years to see how connected they are to her children, how they know every little nuance of their personalities and how to respond to their needs.
Just for a bit of fun, we asked Jacqui the song she'd belt out at karaoke if she were to be put on the spot and she took us back to '96 with Love Fool by The Cardigans. Good choice, Jac.
Emily
Senior Marketing Manager
Emily is excited to have the ability to tell real life stories and help families across Australia to feel connected, inspired and supported in their parenting journey. "Care for Kids and Toddle offer a brilliant service that makes a huge impact in the decision-making process, and I am excited to be part of its growth towards being another household brand."
Emily remembers finding wonder as a child creating chalk roads and shops on the driveway, often spending hours in a peddle car living in another world. Her three main influences as a child were, her mother with a heart of gold, her father with his unwavering belief and her nan which she describes as a "powerful, intelligent and witty women who was always the life of a party."
We checked in with Em about the actress she wished would play her in a movie and can see the uncanny resemblance for her choice of Donna Paulsen.
Jo
Content manager
As the copywriter for Care for Kids and Toddle, Jo is most excited about the site evolution and watching it develop into a hub which supports parents from the moment their babies come into the world through to their childcare decision making and beyond. As a mother of three herself, Jo understands firsthand how much children can differ and believes that parents should look at every possible option when choosing care. "Children are so different, even siblings so when choosing childcare, parents really should think about the individual child, their personalities and how they best learn."
As a child, Jo's biggest influence was her nan. She describes her as nurturing, inspirational and always having a song to remedy anything. She reveals she's a bit of a country music lover and thinks anyone in her immediate vicinity should be thankful she's not holding the karaoke mic!
Georga
Project & campaigns Manager
As the Project Manager Georga works within the marketing, content, and customer success teams to ensure business strategies are implemented in a timely and effective manner. She loves the organisational elements of being a Project Manager; working through a campaign or project from the beginning and gets great satisfaction upon completion.
Georga's advice to parents seeking childcare is to go with their gut feeling - that's usually pretty spot on. “Do your research, learn all you can, ask all the questions but ultimately once you visit the centre and meet the educators, you'll know if it's right for you and your family or not.” Another snippet of advice would be that not everything you hear in mothers' groups or from other parents is true. There are so many myths about childcare so really investigate!
We asked G what she is unbeatable at, and she tells us that she makes a mean spaghetti & meatballs!
Kelly
account manager
Giving centres an opportunity to better market themselves is something Kelly aspires to achieve every day! She's looking forward to growing with the team and the business.
Kelly believes all parents should consider the safe & positive environment, the qualifications of the educators and finally the vibe when looking for a childcare solution for their family. As a parent herself, she says that she preferred the smaller and more intimate centres. “Being that I have only one child - social development was important, educators' qualifications all within a fun, safe and positive environment.”
One of the first things she remembers learning about as a kid was her manners & kindness with her mum and dad being the most influential people in her life. Kel absolutely loves the 80s and would choose to sing something from George Michael if we put the spotlight on her for karaoke.
Lan
Customer Support Manager
Lan is excited to be working in an industry that she feels is so important in society but knows that it can be so undervalued and confusing for parents at times which makes her more passionate to help cut through the noise. She loves helping parents make informed decisions when choosing their childcare and making it easier for them. She also hopes to put our great educators in the spotlight, giving them the recognition that they deserve. Lan believes parents should look for caring & passionate educators, the cleanliness of the centre, and if the children there look happy when going for a tour.
Lan remembers first learning about math as a child but finding wonder in the great outdoors. Put Lan on the karaoke stage and she's likely to take you to Kokomo but if there's something she is unbeatable at, she tells us it's eating!
Matt
Frontend Engineer
As the front-end engineer, Matt loves building quality features using powerful technology frameworks. He's looking forward to creating excellent technology solutions and evolving the product of a high value service for the customers and other stakeholders.
The most influential people in Matt's life have been his parents and one of the first things he remembers learning in his life was memorising and writing important information. An example he brings up was his home phone number and address & has fond memories of adventuring around the community with friends as a child.
We asked Matt who he thought should be cast to play him in a film and he said Colin Farrell is at the top of his list. When asked about the one thing he's unbeatable at, he said his persistence and determination will get him over the line every time.
Minh
senior software developer
Throughout Minh's Care for Kids and Toddle journey, he's most looking forward to designing and implementing features that will have a positive impact on both customers and parents. Minh believes that the educators, centre facilities and educational programs are some of the most important features in a centre and that parents should pick the centre that best meets their needs as well as their child.
The first thing he remembers learning as a child is his times tables and he found wonder in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. While Minh doesn't fancy himself in karaoke at all, he would love it if Keanu Reeves would be cast to play his character in a film.
Pooja
Product manager
As a mother and a product manager, Pooja is inspired each day to work with awesome, talented, energetic people, and to be a part of an organisation who cares enough about parents, making it their mission to create a cohesive journey where information is personalised and carefully curated making childcare search easy.
Pooja believes that the most important thing about childcare is the carers. Parents should get to know them well within any childcare setting to feel safe and confident to leave their little ones with them.
She finds herself most calm and grounded in nature and considers herself quite the water baby. If she had to sing karaoke, ‘Let it go' from Frozen would be her top pick and when asked what she's unbeatable at, she says her smile because it's not easy to wipe it off and we love that!
Adrian
technical consultant
Adrian’s biggest inspiration in his role as the Technical Lead at Care for Kids and Toddle is being able to help parents navigate a huge number of variables to find the perfect care for their family and continuing to drive better experiences for parents and centres. He strongly believes that parents should look ahead in their childcare journey, towards educators and schools which have the majority intake from their chosen centre because it makes for a smoother transition. He also notes that finding the right educator that connects with your child will do wonders for their growth.
Adrian first remembers learning about religion as a child and finding wonder in the surf, which led to his biggest influences as a kid himself; Kieren Perkins and Trevor Hendy, two Aussie sporting greats.
For fun we asked Adrian who he thought should play him in a movie – he obviously has a clear favourite in Chris Hemsworth, adding a cheeky, “Who else?”!
Damian
Tech Lead
Damian manages the Care for Kids & Toddle team of developers and helps to define the technical direction and strategy. He loves solving complex business problems and building a great team while he’s at it.
Damian was always curious about insects growing up, stating they always amazed and fascinated him. His biggest influence has always been his older brother, Adrian.
For a laugh we asked Damian who he thought should play him in a movie and his first choice would be David Tennant while his superpower is quoting Futurama. He also revealed he’s a bit of a Disney fan, stating he’s most likely to sing something from Disney, in particular ‘You’re Welcome’, from Moana or ‘A whole New World’ from Aladdin if we threw the karaoke mic his way. If we took away the Disney theme, he’d be belting out The Gambler by Kenny Rodgers.
Carl
Full stack Engineer
The one thing that Carl is most passionate about in his role at Care for Kids and Toddle is building interesting solutions to problems and effectively automating tasks, allowing people to focus on more important things. He's excited to be working on the upcoming solutions for parent's childcare needs and strongly believes that when choosing childcare, parents should ensure their children's needs are fully covered, particularly any special needs they may have.
As a child which, in his own words says, 'feels like forever ago' Carl remembers learning about maths and found wonder in building machines out of Lego. Today, if he had to sing karaoke, he would belt out 99 Red Balloons.
Saran
Business Analyst
Saran loves data and the powerful insights it can provide. "There are heaps of things we never think about, but once we see the data in front of us, it all seems so obvious! It feels like cracking a puzzle and that's a feeling I love.""
He's interested to see how the Care for Kids and Toddle team can leverage data to become real leaders in the childcare industry. Whether it's providing the best outcomes for parents, customers, or even at the policy-making level, the data has the capability to make a huge impact on the way we understand our industry.
He's always loved space – the idea that there is so much out there that will never be discovered. "As an adult you realise that it is mostly emptiness, but that doesn't stop it from being cool.""
If we were to thrust Saran into the spotlight and hand him the karaoke mic, he'd be up for a bit of Bohemian Rhapsody - but only the backup vocal parts!
Tegan
Customer Success Manager
As the Customer Success Manager, Tegan is in love with streamlining processes. As a child, she remembers the first thing she learnt was tying her shoelaces - she's a 'bunny-ear' believer to this day! She found wonder in Roald Dahl books and her nan had the biggest influence in her life, because she's the kindest person she's ever met!
We asked Tegan a few questions for fun and she didn't disappoint. She feels Emilia Clarke is the one actress she's be happy to have portray her in a film, is unbeatable at UNO and she fancies herself at karaoke enough to choose the 10-minute version of Taylor Swift's song, All Too Well! Go Tay-Tay Tegan!
Kate
customer success support
Kate is part of the onboarding team, working with service providers to ensure their Care for Kids and Toddle listings not only look great but are accurate and effectively highlight their unique features.
The thing that makes Kate's day is when a service sends beautiful photos of their indoor and outdoor spaces! "Not only do great photos make listings look lovely, but they also set services apart from others and help parents get a better feel for what the service is really like."
Kate's excited about so many of the projects and improvements the team are working on stating the fact that, “There is so much awesomeness in the works!” She looks forward to using her position and experience as a parent as well as an educator, to ensure our platforms best meet the needs of both families and service providers.
