Cindy Woods
Chief Executive Officer
Cindy is a skilled executive and healthcare professional with over 30 years’ experience in both the private and public sector, across acute hospital and aged care services.
She holds a Masters in Health Administration from the University of NSW and postgraduate qualifications in Dementia Care from the University of Tasmania.
Cindy was appointed Chief Executive Officer of St Luke’s Care in April 2018, having previously held the position of Director of Aged Care services at St Luke’s since 2010.
Ketan Thakkar
Chief Financial Officer
Ketan joined us as Chief Financial Officer in September 2022. He is responsible for St Luke’s Care’s financial management strategy and core finance functions including reporting, budgeting, payroll, compliance, and treasury, together with company secretarial, procurement and digital technology function.
Ketan has over 20 years’ experience in chartered firms, large multinationals and multi-disciplinary organisations. He is a qualified CPA and CA finance professional with Masters in Financial Management.
Matt McLean
Chief Operating Officer
With a background in sales and marketing, Matt joined St Luke’s Care in 2018 and has been the Chief Operating Officers since 2022. He oversees the St Luke’s Foundation, marketing and communications, facilities and food services.
Matt is passionate about finding new ways of increasing revenue and profitability through existing and new markets. He played a pivotal role in the establishment on Mind Connect Australia, an e-commerce business supplying products to aid with memory loss for those living with dementia.
Emma Hayward
Director, Hospital & Clinic
Emma has held many roles during her tenure at St Luke’s Care including Infection Prevention and Control, Nurse Educator, Workforce Planning and Management and Quality Improvement. She has a strong clinical background in Acute care (Adults and Paediatrics) and Rehabilitation. Her extensive experience in senior leadership nursing positions is complemented by a Bachelor of Nursing, Masters in Nursing (Acute Care and Health Management) and post-graduate certificate in Rehabilitation.
Emma has a special interest in patient safety and infection prevention and control and aspires that care at St Luke’s Private Hospital and Clinic is of the highest quality and delivered with dignity and compassion.
She became director of the Hospital and Clinic in 2016.
Susan Thacker
Director, Residential Services
Susan has been the director of Lulworth House, St Luke’s Care residential aged care facility, since 2021. She has vast experience in the Aged Care industry, having managed various nursing homes across Australia.
Her love for her job is evident every day in her interactions with residents of Lulworth House, their families and her staff.
She has a degree in nursing from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK.
Emily Caruana
Director, Home and Community Services
Emily joined St Luke’s Care in 2015 as our physiotherapist in Lulworth House. She progressed her career, joining the Home Care team and taking over the role of Home Care Manager. In February 2020, Emily took on the role of Director Home and Community Services, overseeing Home Care, Active Life Studio and Dementia Pathway.
She has worked across Australia, as well as in the UK, working in private practice, hospital and community settings, specialising in Aged Care for over 10 years. She is passionate about promoting exercise and maximising the quality of life for our clients.
Paul Ryken
Director, People & Culture
Paul has held senior human resources roles within residential aged care, mental health care, community home care, disability services and health. Fostering the development of others is a key driver, believing that skilled, motivated and valued individual’s or teams can achieve amazing things together.
No stranger to St Luke’s Care, Paul previously held the role of Personnel Manager from 2000-2002 and strongly believes that the experience gained both during and since that time has him well equipped in the role of Director of People and Culture, which he commenced in 2022.
Paul holds degrees in Business and Employment Relations, a Certificate IV in Aged Care and is currently furthering his studies in leadership and management.