MELBOURNE: Regis Healthcare Limited has appointed Andrew Kinkade as its next managing director and chief executive officer, effective July 20, 2026.
Kinkade joins Regis from Bupa Villages & Aged Care, where he currently serves as managing director, leading 8,000 employees across 57 locations. He brings more than 20 years of experience spanning aged care, healthcare, private equity and investment banking.
He will succeed Dr. Linda Mellors, whose resignation was announced Dec. 22, 2025. Mellors completes her notice period on June 19, 2026, after six and a half years in the role.
“Andrew is a values-based leader with deep sector experience,” said Graham Hodges, chairman of Regis. “His track record in delivering growth whilst leading complex transformations in highly regulated, people-intensive businesses makes him ideally suited to this role.”
Kinkade’s career includes executive healthcare roles at Bupa Dental Care, Catholic Healthcare and National Home Doctor Service, as well as strategy consulting at Bain & Company and Macquarie Group in London. He holds bachelor’s degrees in law and accounting from the University of Technology Sydney and is a qualified chartered accountant and solicitor.
“Aged care is an industry I am deeply passionate about — it is a genuine opportunity to make a meaningful difference to the lives of older Australians and their families,” Kinkade said.
Under the terms of his contract, Kinkade will receive total fixed remuneration of $900,000 per annum, inclusive of superannuation. Short-term incentive at-risk remuneration is up to 50% of fixed pay, while long-term incentive at-risk remuneration is up to 100% of fixed pay. Both are subject to performance conditions and shareholder approvals.
A sign-on equity award of $1.6 million in performance rights was approved to compensate Kinkade for forfeited unvested awards from his previous employer. The award vests in three tranches over 36 months and is also subject to shareholder approval at the company’s next annual general meeting.
Korn Ferry conducted an independent search for the role.
EDITOR’S COMMENTARY
At first glance, Regis has landed a safe pair of hands. Andrew Kinkade’s resume reads like a blueprint for what ailing aged care operators want in 2026: deep regulatory experience, transformation credentials, and financial discipline. His time at Bupa — steering a large portfolio through sector-wide reform and clinical scrutiny — suggests he understands both the operational grind and the political heat.
Yet the appointment also invites sober watching. The $1.6 million sign-on award, while framed as compensation for forfeited incentives and conservative relative to historical outcomes, lands at a time when aged care remains under public and fiscal pressure. Shareholders may reasonably ask whether such upfront alignment is necessary for a sector executive who should already see long-term value creation as the job, not a bonus. The malus and clawback provisions are welcome, but their real-world teeth have yet to be tested.
Then there is the timing. Kinkade joins in July 2026, leaving a handover window of barely a month after Mellors’ departure. For a company of Regis’ size — 13,000 employees, more than 10,000 residents — that transition feels tight, even for a seasoned operator.
The board’s confidence is clear. But in aged care, reputation is rebuilt slowly and lost instantly. Kinkade’s genuine passion for the sector will need to meet relentless execution. The story here is not just who got the job, but whether the structure around him lets him succeed without distraction.