Natalie Waller Reappointed Chair of ARIA, Board Members Named

Freshly-appointed major label chiefs Sean Warner and Vanessa Picken are among the industry leaders named to the ARIA board, announced Thursday (Feb. 23).

Warner, recently unveiled as president of Universal Music Australia, following the departure of George Ash; and Picken, appointed chair/CEO of Sony Music Australia and New Zealand in 2022, after the exit of Denis Handlin, are confirmed to the trade body’s board.

They’re joined by UMA’s senior director, legal and business affairs Rebecca Sandel, while indie kings Chris Maund (COO of Mushroom Group’s label and publishing divisions) and David Vodicka (managing director of the Rubber Group of Companies and principal of Media Arts Lawyers) return as directors following the annual general meeting of member representatives in late 2022.

Also Natalie Waller returns as chair, following her reappointment by the board.

Waller, head of ABC Music & Events, has served on the ARIA board since 2019, and was tapped to lead as chair in mid-2021.

Natalie Waller

Two fresh faces enter the mix this year as part of the ARIA Board Observership Program.

Mitaru McGaughey and Cassandra Paz are names as 2023 participants in that ARIA Board Observership Program, established in 2019 through The Observership Program, which itself was created five years earlier to facilitate the involvement of young, talented and energetic individuals in a structured experience on not-for-profit boards.

This year, ARIA made two observership opportunities available — one for employees of ARIA members who identify as female or non-binary, and one for employees of ARIA members who identify as First Nations.

McGaughey is co-founder and managing director of Blak Label Music, a First Nations led, independent record label with a goal to bring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, stories, and art to a global stage.

Paz serves as marketing strategy and audience development manager at UMA’s Classics & Jazz division.

According to ARIA, the Observership Program board placements provide “valuable professional development for talented employees within member companies, exposing them to the decision-making processes and corporate governance of boards.”

It was launched under then-ARIA CEO Dan Rosen as a mechanism to support emerging industry leaders and to promote “equality, diversity and inclusion” on boards across the music industry.