Allura Partners Appoints COO for Childcare Leader Eden Academy
Since its inception, Eden Academy has quickly become a leader in the early childcare sector. Allura Partners was first introduced to the founders, Chris Sacre and Sean Collins, based on our extensive C-suite searches in the early education sector.
Their vision was to create an early childhood brand that offers children care resembling the warmth and familiarity of home, while fostering a supportive and appreciative environment for staff. As is often the case with founder-led businesses, external expertise was needed to help transform and operationalise the organisation, enabling sustainable and scalable growth.
Chris and Sean engaged Allura Partners to recruit a newly created COO position with the mandate to transform the company and embed additional rigour, systems, and operational capability.
James Curtis, Principal at Allura Partners, led a national executive search across the early education sector and other relevant multi-site industries, such as healthcare and retail. The shortlist featured candidates from across Australia, with initial interviews conducted virtually. Those who advanced to the next stage were invited to the head office on the Gold Coast for in-person interviews and a tour of one of the centres.
Mike Lyon was appointed to the role following a thorough and competitive process. He brings extensive experience in the early education sector with Only About Children and other multi-site businesses, including Flight Centre Group, where he held both commercial and operational leadership roles.
Mike will build on the strong foundations laid by the founders and take on a broad role within the executive leadership team. He will work closely with existing centres while also focusing on implementing the operational frameworks, structures, and processes needed to support the next growth stage.
About Eden Academy
Eden Academy is an Australian childcare provider offering early learning programs for children aged six weeks to six years. With over 50 centres across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, Eden Academy focuses on holistic development through play-based learning, fostering children's social, emotional, and cognitive growth in nurturing environments.
“James Curtis and Allura Partners have been fantastic through this process and delivered the perfect candidate to take our business to the next level.”
“James is a true professional - a leader in his field, as he truly works to understand his candidates and position them in the right environments to truly flourish. I am so excited for my future, and the thank James for the careful thought he has put into connecting me with the perfect leaders to take the next step in my career.”