Leadership Team

CDC MANAGER - Alan Dobeson

Alan joined PF in March 2011, prior to this he worked for Woolworths for four and half years from 2006 as the DC Manager of the Hume DC in Campbellfield. Alan also had responsibility for the two Tasmanian DC's in Devonport ( Produce ) and the ambient DC in Hobart.
Alan was on the board of State Wide Independent Wholesalers based in Launceston.  Prior to Woolworths worked for Qantas for 32 years having started as a baggage handler in 1974.Alan has had  a number of senior roles including Airport Manager Perth ( 1994 -1996 ), Manager Melbourne Airport ( 1996 - 2001 ) and Regional Airports Manager New Zealand and  Sth. America based in Auckland  ( 2001 to 2006 ).

OPERATIONS MANAGER - Jack Goodman

Jack joined Polar Fresh in June 2010 as the Operations Manager. Prior to Polar Fresh Jack spent 5 years working for Coles as part of the Warehouse Management System Implementation Team configuring and rolling out the Manhattan Warehouse Management System in the 8 new state of the art Distribution Centres across Australia. Jack honed his Supply Chain and Operational experience having spent 14 years working in the Print industry and 3 years working for GE Security holding several positions ranging from Supervisor through to Distribution Centre Manager.

COMMERCIAL MANAGER - George Papadopoulos

George commenced with Polar Fresh in March 2007 as Commercial analyst before resigning and taking up a commercial management role at Coles in late 2009.George returned to Polar Fresh after a one year stint with Coles to take up the role of Commercial manager upon Tony Enache's resignation. As part of the senior leadership team George's role involves contract management, financial management as well as providing KPI visibility and reporting for the operational team. Prior to joining Polar Fresh, George worked in a commercial management role with Coles most recently and held Analyst roles within the automotive industries for both General Motors and Toyota.

PEOPLE & CULTURE MANAGER - Tani Cirak

Tani joined the Polar Fresh team in July 2009 as the People & Culture Officer.  In July 2010, Tani was placed into the role of People & Culture Manager and is responsible for Human Resources across our Laverton site. Tani brings to Polar Fresh a background in recruitment and generalist HR in the agency recruitment, business consulting and food manufacturing industries in Melbourne, Geelong and South West Victoria.

FACILITIES AND CONTRACTS MANAGER - Glenn Andrews

Glenn joined Polar Fresh in January 2007 after more than two decades working within various Facilities related industries. Glenn spent over 13 years working at Melbourne City Council for the Mechanical and Test Engineering/Urban Design and Architectural Departments working on all major projects throughout the City of Melbourne. Since then Glenn has held various senior roles as Property/Facility Manager for Tafes, Private schools, Banks and was the Infrastructure Services Manager for Western Health, Engineering Manager for the National Gallery Victoria, and Capital Works Manager Defence AWMA region.

DISTRIBUTION CENTRE MANAGER - Michael Hill

Michael joined the Polar Fresh team in 2007 after 11 years with Costa Logistics. Michael's logistics career with Costa's spans from NSW to Tasmania and Western Australia where he has been responsible for start up's, planning, commissioning, designing and managing the Costa operations. A key stakeholder in the formation of Polar Fresh, Michael brings with him hands on 3^rd Party Logistics (3PL) experience.

COMMERCIAL MANAGER - Stephen Szych

Stephen joined the Polar Fresh Team in 2008 and is responsible for commercials, budgets and KPI reporting. Stephen comes to Polar Fresh with a background in accounting and has held finance related roles for such companies as Coca Cola Amatil, Packard Bell and BOC. Stephen holds a bachelor of Business (Accounting) from University of Technology; Sydney, as well as a CPA.

PEOPLE & CULTURE MANAGER - Teresa Jarman

Teresa joined Polar Fresh in 2008 as the People and Culture Officer.  Teresa was promoted to the role of People and Culture Mangager in 2010 and is responsible for Human Resources at the Parkinson DC. Teresa holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Behavioural Science, combined with a strong Generalist HR background.

OPERATIONS MANAGER - Jim Smith

Jim started with Polar Fresh in 2007 after spending 9 years working for Costa Logistics. Jim has a strong warehousing background and has been involved in implementing a range of key projects during his working career. Jim's extensive knowledge helped our site to successfully build during the "go live" stage and his forward thinking helps Polar Fresh Parkinson continue to be one of the strongest performers in the network.

SYSTEMS MANAGER - Rob Kift

Rob joined Polar Fresh, initially at the Laverton site, in 2006 and then transferred to Parkinson in 2009. Rob came to Polar Fresh from the Costa Group after being recruited from the UK where he worked for Exel based at Sainsbury's. He has over 13 Years IT development experience and is responsible for the entire IT infrastructure at both of our state of the art warehouses. Rob's IT career has seen him gain experience in working in leading edge warehouse technology ranging from fully automated through to Voice Picking and Radio Frequency managed warehouses.

CONTRACTS & FACILITIES MANAGER - John Rigby

John joined the Polar Fresh team in August 2008 after a stint with Stradbroke Ferries as their Engineering and Maintenance Manager. Originally from the UK, spent 12 years in the Merchant Navy as an Engineering Officer before coming ashore to work in a Management role within the Pharmaceutical industry, which he held for ten years. John's engineering career spans the UK, Papua New Guinea and Brisbane and he is currently responsible for all on site facilities including refrigeration, mechanical handling equipment, air conditioning and ventilation, lighting, emergency power generation, fire fighting services, canteen facilities, contract cleaners and security guards.