Martin Haese
Martin Haese | |
|---|---|
 Haese in 2025 | |
| Lord Mayor of Adelaide | |
| In office 18 November 2014 – 12 November 2018 | |
| Deputy | Megan Hender (2014-2017) Sandy Verschoor (2017-2018) |
| Preceded by | Stephen Yarwood |
| Succeeded by | Sandy Verschoor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martin Kinnear Haese 22 October 1965 Adelaide, South Australia |
| Alma mater | St. Ignatius' College Australian Institute of Business (MBA) |
| Website | martinhaese.com |
Martin Kinnear Haese (born 22 October 1965) is an Australian entrepreneur, educator and public figure. He was the Lord Mayor of Adelaide in South Australia from 2014 to 2018. Additionally, he served as the CEO of Business SA, the South Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, from 2019 to 2022. During the 2020 pandemic, his lobbying, leadership, and the chamber's services helped thousands of business owners. He currently has both private and State Government investments in his portfolio.[1][2]
Career
[edit]Haese co-founded the Entrepreneurs' Organization in South Australia and later became the General Manager of the Rundle Mall Management Authority, a subsidiary organisation of the City of Adelaide, from 2010 to 2013.[3] As General Manager, Haese successfully launched public holiday trading[4] and built the case for a A$30 million public realm upgrade.[5]
From 2010 to 2014, Haese was the chairman of the Bay to Birdwood motoring event.[6] He has served on various boards including the Adelaide Convention Bureau and South Australian Youth Arts Board, and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Australian Institute of Business.[7] He was a guest lecturer for the University of Wollongong and the Australian Institute of Business for several years.[8]
Haese was elected Lord Mayor of Adelaide in November 2014,[9] narrowly defeating incumbent Stephen Yarwood by 218 votes.[10] During his term, Haese championed ambitious environmental and technological initiatives, driving forward numerous smart city projects and positioning Adelaide as a global leader in sustainability through the Carbon Neutral Adelaide 2025 plan. He also oversaw the launch of Ten Gigabit Adelaide, an ultra-fast fibre optic data network developed in partnership with TPG Telecom, making it one of the fastest in the world.[2] His leadership saw strategic investment collaborations with the South Australian Government to revitalise city infrastructure, including improved laneways,[11] tramways,[12] and bikeways.[13]
Haese also represented Adelaide on the world stage, serving as the national Chair of the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors in 2015[14] and speaking at the COP21 climate summit in Paris the same year.[15] He actively promoted Adelaide's successful bid to become a UNESCO City of Music,[16] further elevating the city's global profile.[2] In September 2018, Haese announced that he would not contest the upcoming local government election, concluding his term as Lord Mayor.[17] The following year, in 2019, he was appointed CEO of Business SA, continuing his leadership role in shaping South Australia's economic and business landscape.[18]
Personal life
[edit]Haese is married to Genevieve Theseira-Haese, a Singaporean born marketing and communications entrepreneur.[19][20]
Haese's passion for old cars started when he was young, washing his father's and grandfather's classic Holdens. Over the past 20 years, he has grown into an avid collector and now owns a 1969 Jensen Interceptor, a 1967 Jaguar 420G, and a 1967 Vanden Plas Princess. Though he does not use them much, he enjoys restoring and servicing them, usually with the assistance of experts. Haese views classic cars as cultural artefacts and personal statements, and his support for preservation activities and motoring clubs is based on his conviction that the hobby supports local tourism and employment.[21]
References
[edit]- ^ "About Martin K Haese". Martin Haese. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "Premier's Climate Change Council members". Department for Environment and Water. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ "Martin Haese, Lord Mayor". Corporation of the City of Adelaide. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Changes to trading hours – a boon for Adelaide's vibrancy". Corporation of the City of Adelaide. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "New Faces for New Phase at Rundle Mall". 12 October 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "Bay to Birdwood appoints Mal Hyde as New Chair" (PDF). March 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ "Martin Haese Australian Institute of Business Graduate". 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Educator". Martin Haese. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Hough, Andrew (10 November 2014). "Martin Haese is new Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor". Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Businessman Martin Haese elected as Lord Mayor of Adelaide, ousting Stephen Yarwood". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ Holderhead, Sheradyn (17 June 2016). "$15m plan to connect Adelaide Riverbank to Central Market via network of revamped laneways". Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ Siebert, Bension (15 December 2016). "City tram plan: $20m for Festival Plaza extension, new trams". Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ Siebert, Bension (27 July 2016). "$12m deal to make Adelaide "the cycling capital of Australia"". Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "City of Adelaide Lord Mayor, Martin Haese is the new CCCLM Chair for 2015". 22 January 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "Adelaide plans to be world's first carbon-neutral city". Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "On song – Adelaide named a UNESCO City of Music". Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ^ "Lord Mayor Opens Up About the Personal Reasons Why he Won't Run Again". 5AA. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- ^ "Welcome to our new CEO – Martin Haese". Business SA. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ "Genevieve". Martin Haese. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "Our Patron". Students Explore Australia. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ Meegan, Genevieve (16 July 2019). "Off duty: How classic cars rev Martin Haese's engine - InDaily". InDaily. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
External links
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