Appointments December 1, 2023

Ollie Salimi has joined property development firm Effective Property Solutions as senior manager of project development services. Mr Salimi has more than 10 years’ experience in the sector and has worked on more than 30 development projects across Perth, gaining experience in every stage of property development from acquisition to completion. Prior to his appointment with Effective Property Solutions, Mr Salimi worked at Nicheliving for seven years. He also spent 1.5 years at Yaran Property Group.

Matthew Curwood has been appointed as a Judge of the District Court of Western Australia, bringing his three decades of experience to the role. Mr Curwood was admitted to practice in 1993 and worked as a solicitor first at boutique firm Arns and Associates and then as the principal of his own practice Curwood and Co Lawyers. In 2013, Mr Curwood joined Francis Burt Chambers as a barrister and was later appointed as senior counsel in 2020. He is set to commence with the District Court of WA on December 13.

Glass Jar Australia has appointed Helen Ockerby as executive officer, a position she will commence in January next year after relocating from Broome to Perth. Ms Ockerby is a Bardi-Jawi Noongar woman with more than 15 years’ experience in community development. She has served as a Glass Jar Australia director for the past three years and between 2016 and 2020, she worked as Kimberley regional manager for Glass Jar’s educational program Shooting Stars. Ms Ockerby has been working as Minderoo Foundation manager local Aboriginal community partnerships for the past 1.5 years and has formerly worked in Aboriginal development at Fortescue Metals Group between 2021 and 2022.

Marketing communications agency Rare has appointed four of its senior staff members as financial partners of the agency, in an expansion of the board structure. Client services director Simon Stewart, creative director Liz Hammond, head of digital experience Shannon Murray and director of finance and operations Adam Copple-Smith have been enhancing Rare’s business operations and strategic growth as part of the executive leadership team. Each person has worked with Rare for a significant period of time, with Mr Stewart and Ms Murray joining the company more than 10 years ago, Ms Hammond nearly eight years ago, and Mr Copple-Smith more than 11 years ago.

Litigation specialist Michael Hotchkin is to step down from the partnership he established with John Hanly 30 years ago. Mr Hotchkin plans to start a new business in February next year offering strategic advice that leans on his experience as a tenacious lawyer representing some of Western Australia’s biggest businesses.

WA senator Patrick Dodson will vacate his role from January 26 to focus on recovering from cancer, which he says has left him physically unable to fulfil his duties. The Yawuru man from Broome was installed as special envoy for reconciliation and implementation of the Uluru Statement after Labor’s 2022 federal election victory.