Meet our team

Tomas Steenackers

CEO & Managing Director

Tomas was the founding CEO and Managing Director of National Veterinary Care, where he commenced in August 2015 with 34 veterinary businesses. When the group was acquired by VetPartners in April 2020, he had grown the business to more than 100 veterinary businesses, 3 veterinary training centres and a management services group (originally UVG) of over 450 practices, where rebate payments from suppliers grew over 300% in three years. Tomas has extensive senior management experience in the veterinary, health pharmaceutical, pathology, optical and digital start up sectors.

Paula Sadler

Chief Marketing Officer

Paula is a senior marketing and management professional with over 25 years’ experience working across animal health, optical, sport, entertainment, retail, and a large full-service marketing agency. Paula was an original member of the National Veterinary Care management team leading the marketing function and working closely with Tomas on the Management Services group. Paula has a strong background in business and marketing strategies (B2C and B2B), customer relationship marketing, and digitally-led and integrated marketing communications working across multiple brands concurrently.

Janita Robba

CFO & Company Secretary

Janita has extensive financial, governance and commercial experience working in both publicly listed and private companies in a range of industries, including animal health, optical, property, funds management, aviation, travel and professional services. Janita was on the management team of National Veterinary Care and understands well the financial metrics around veterinary practices.

Janita’s areas of expertise include acquisitions and mergers, business integration, business strategy, company secretarial, financial and treasury management.

Derek Radue

Chief Technology Officer

Derek has over 35 years of IT and consulting experience, with more than 25 spent building and running data warehouses for animal and human health organisations, pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturing. Most recently Derek built and ran the data warehouses for National Veterinary Care, National Optical Care and PetPA with numerous API and other integrations with PMS systems, online shopping platforms, Google, CRM, and HR and finance systems. Derek leads the team of software engineers who have developed and deliver the practice performance reporting for all our vet practice partners.

Kathryn Leckie

Marketing Communications Manager

With more than 7 years’ experience in marketing and communications, Kathryn has utilised her skillset across the veterinary, online beauty, accounting and real estate industries, in addition to freelance copywriting. Kathryn specialises in email marketing, marketing and communications strategies, customer loyalty and copywriting.

A devoted animal lover and advocate, Kathryn has involved herself with the not-for-profit animal welfare sector and is also slowly filling her home with rescue and foster pets.

Kathryn is the person crafting and delivering all the communications for our vet practice partners.

Kate Frost

Account Coordinator

Kate is a Qualified Veterinary Nurse with 18 years of in-clinic experience. Complementing her in-clinic background, she also spent several years delving into the world of digital marketing. Kate’s unique blend of skills enable her to bring a wide understanding of many different aspects of the animal health sector.

Her passion for the veterinary and animal health industries drives her commitment to providing the best possible solutions for practices, clients, and their beloved pets. Kate is likely the person you will speak to when you have a sticky question. If she can’t answer it, she will be sure to send it in the right direction.

Ella Paine

Marketing Communications Coordinator

Ella is a dedicated communications and marketing professional with experience in Australia’s not-for-profit, education, and real estate sectors. With specialisations in copywriting, social media and email marketing, she has a passion for driving positive change and fostering meaningful connections.

In her spare time, Ella enjoys travelling, reading and watching too many cat videos. Ella is excited to join the team and looks forward to supporting our vet practice partners in creating and delivering engaging communications.

Haley Sywak

Marketing Communications Coordinator

Haley has over 10 years of copywriting and digital marketing experience across different sectors. She grew up on a farm on Yorke Peninsula and her passion for animal wellbeing influenced her to become an Animal Rescue Assistant for the RSPCA while completing her digital studies. Haley also has experience in the arts sector and has worked across theatre, film, social media management and content creation. Haley has a great passion for writing copy that is educational and entertaining, and she has expertise in crafting SEO driven copy because of her thorough understanding of organic search performance and online consumer behaviour. She is currently finishing the edits of her first fictional book and also appears on camera in many of our training videos.

Dr Peter Elliott

BVSc

Dr Peter Elliot has worked as a veterinarian for over 33 years, including 25 years leading a large veterinary hospital on the Gold Coast. Peter now enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with the pet parenting community from around Australia.

In his spare time Peter enjoys everything about the great outdoors.

Dr Fiona Hyde Page

BVSc MVM (Companion Animal)

Fiona graduated from the University of Sydney in 2004 and has been working in small animal practice ever since. She has a Master of Veterinary Medicine degree from Massey University, New Zealand where she studied Emergency Medicine, Diagnostic Imaging, Canine and Feline Oncology and Avian Medicine.

In her spare time, she enjoys bushwalking and bird-watching