Michelle Evans Takes Up Kelsian Joint Company Secretary and ASX Contact Roles

Michelle Evans has taken up her appointment as joint company secretary of Kelsian Group Limited effective September 5, adding formal responsibility for the listed transport operator’s ASX communications to her existing role as group chief legal and risk officer. The change completes a handover from Joanne McDonald, whose resignation as a Kelsian company secretary became effective at the close of business on September 4.

Andrew Muir, Kelsian’s group chief financial officer, continues as joint company secretary. From September 5, Evans is also the person responsible for communications with the Australian Securities Exchange on Listing Rule matters, placing the exchange-contact function with the executive who already oversees the group’s legal, risk and corporate governance requirements.

Evans takes over ASX communications after McDonald’s departure

Kelsian disclosed the company-secretary changes on August 25, with the appointment and resignation taking effect later. That timing matters for the September 5 development: Evans was named to the post in August, but her appointment and ASX-contact responsibility begin on September 5. Kelsian’s investor centre identifies the group as ASX-listed under the ticker KLS and provides access to its market announcements and shareholder information.

Evans joined Kelsian in 2026 and was appointed group chief legal and risk officer on May 4. Her company biography says she brings executive experience spanning governance and compliance, corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, competition law, regulatory matters, technology, procurement, engineering and construction, disputes, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions. She holds bachelor’s degrees in law and arts from the University of Adelaide and has board and governance experience across Australian and international businesses.

Her company-secretary appointment extends a governance remit Evans already held rather than moving her into an unrelated function. As chief legal and risk officer, she is responsible for Kelsian’s legal, risk and corporate governance requirements. Her new secretary role adds the formal listed-company responsibility that had been shared by McDonald and Muir.

McDonald joined Kelsian in 2018 as general counsel and company secretary and became chief legal and risk officer in 2022. Kelsian’s board biography credits her with more than 25 years of experience in commercial and corporate law at senior levels, as well as strategic risk and executive management experience. Her departure from the secretary position closes an eight-year period in which she held legal and governance responsibilities at the group.

Muir provides continuity on the other side of the joint-secretary structure. He joined Kelsian in 2017 and remains group chief financial officer as well as joint company secretary. The company describes him as a chartered accountant with experience in strategy and planning, debt and equity markets, mergers and acquisitions, and senior financial and commercial management. Kelsian has not announced a change to his CFO duties as part of the September 5 handover.

Responsibility for ASX contact is a defined governance duty rather than a ceremonial title. ASX Listing Rule 12.6 requires a listed entity to appoint and at all times have a person responsible for communication with ASX on Listing Rule matters, and to notify the exchange of the initial appointment and any change. The rule notes that a company secretary will often be an appropriate person for the role. ASX guidance also emphasizes that the nominated contact should have sufficient knowledge of the organization and ready access to senior management for time-sensitive Listing Rule issues.

Governance handover comes as Kelsian starts FY27

The secretary change arrives at the start of a new financial year for a business that has expanded well beyond its Australian origins. Kelsian operates bus, motorcoach and marine services across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the Channel Islands. Its businesses include Transit Systems in Australia, All Aboard America! Holdings in the United States, Tower Transit in the United Kingdom and Singapore, and SeaLink marine operations.

Kelsian said that, as of June 30, 2026, it employed more than 13,300 people and operated 6,317 buses and 122 vessels, delivering more than 384 million customer journeys over the preceding year. A listed company with that geographic and contractual footprint must coordinate market disclosures and Listing Rule communications across information originating from multiple operating businesses and jurisdictions.

Kelsian reported its FY26 results on August 26, one day after announcing the secretary changes. Revenue for the year ended June 30 rose 8.8% to A$2.40 billion, while underlying EBITDA increased 10.8% to A$315.8 million. The group ended the year with leverage of 2.46 times, within its stated target range of 2.0 to 2.5 times, and declared a fully franked final dividend of 10 Australian cents per share. Those financial results are separate from the governance appointment, but they show the size of the listed business for which Evans is now one of the formal company secretaries and the nominated ASX contact.

Management has also entered FY27 with several operating priorities already in motion. Kelsian has cited further work on Australian bus performance, the new Kangaroo Island ferry contract, growth opportunities in the United States and United Kingdom, and the planned Tourism Portfolio divestment excluding SeaLink Rottnest. The company’s FY27 guidance calls for underlying EBITDA of A$320 million to A$335 million, subject to its stated assumptions about the operating environment and business structure.

For shareholders, the September 5 change does not alter that earnings guidance or announce a new operating strategy. It is a governance handover with a clear practical effect: McDonald’s secretary tenure has ended, Muir remains in place as joint company secretary, and Evans now carries both the joint-secretary title and responsibility for Kelsian’s Listing Rule communications with ASX. Because the appointment was announced in advance, the key development on September 5 is that those responsibilities have now formally taken effect.