CULTURA’S NEW DIRECTION IN LEADERSHIP

Geelong’s leading multicultural organisation, Cultura, is soon to have a changing of the guards with CEO, Joy Leggo OAM, retiring in August 2025 and a new CEO set to lead the organisation into the future.

The appointment of Cultura’s new Chief Executive Officer, Mr Peter Birkett, will lead Cultura into the next phase of growth and impact in mid 2025.

According to the Chair of Cultura Board, Director Gillian Costa, Peter will be a great asset to the organisation as he brings to Cultura a wealth of experience in health and aged care leadership, and he is no stranger to multicultural services.

“Peter Birkett joins us from Assisi Aged Care in Melbourne, where he has served as CEO since 2020. Prior to that, he held the position of CEO at Hesse Rural Health in Winchelsea over an extended period,” Ms Costa said.

“Peter also has a previous connection to Cultura having previously served on the Board of MACS for a short period from 2019 to 2021 during the challenging COVID-19 years to provide clinical expertise. His familiarity with our organisation and commitment to culturally inclusive care and services makes him exceptionally well placed to lead Cultura into its next chapter,” she said.

“We are thrilled to have Peter onboard and believe he will be a great fit with our organisation. Peter’s professional journey includes a background in healthcare and banking, and he has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business Administration. A graduate of the esteemed Oxford University SAID Executive Advanced Management and Leadership Program (2017), Peter has also completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course.

“In recognition of his contributions to improving care quality and service design, he has held an honorary appointment as Senior Adjunct Lecturer at La Trobe University contributing to international aged care research,” Ms Costa said.

Ms Costa acknowledged that this appointment comes with mixed emotions: “whilst we are thrilled to have Peter onboard, we are also bidding farewell to our esteemed friend and colleague, Joy Leggo, who has been instrumental in shaping the new entity of Cultura, leading the complex merger of Diversitat and MACS in 2021.”

“For over 30 years, Joy has championed the expansion of care and support services to the diverse, multicultural sector in Geelong. Joy has been a driving force behind supporting an inclusive, engaged and harmonious multicultural Victoria.”

“It’s not every day you meet someone as extraordinary as Joy. She truly is a force to be reckoned with and we will miss her creativity, loyalty, passion and bravery as a leader,” Ms Costa said.

“The Cultura Board looks forward to the new appointment and watching Peter apply his leadership experience to strengthen and expand his contribution to multicultural communities in new and diverse ways.”

Mr Birkett will officially commence in the role on Monday, 4 August 2025, and will undertake a two-week handover with our outgoing CEO, Joy Leggo.