30 June 2019
Nahtanha Davey
Chief Executive Officer at SACARE
Graduate Certificate, Business Administration
Graduate Diploma, Business Administration
Masters, Business Administration
From her humble beginnings, Nahtanha Davey has ascended through the South Australian business industry to become the leader of SACARE, providing vital housing and care services for those affected by disability.
Her tenacity and ambition led her to the 5-star MBA program at the University of South Australia, and when she graduated in 2010 it set her on a rewarding path leading ethically-based companies with strong ties to our community’s most vulnerable.
Mum to “two beautiful young girls and an amazing husband”, Nahtanha was previously the CEO at Brain Injury SA where she led successful improvements and enhanced frontline service delivery for people living with acquired brain injury.
And with SACARE’s promise that every person should have access to the very best services and accommodation, enabling them to live enriched, fulfilled and independent lives – it’s easy to see where Nahtanha’s values lie.
She joined SACARE at a very exciting period in 2018, just in time to oversee the opening of The Gums, SACARE’s newest $14m property for people needing high-quality health care, injury recovery and transitional services.
“It really is a privilege to be working with such an incredible team, supporting South Australians living with disability at SACARE,” says Nahtanha.
“I see myself as a values-based leader, passionate to continue to build onto and grow my expertise at the leadership level to support community-based organisations to thrive.
“I enjoy the community business sector, our broader not-for-profit sector, and I enjoy supporting worthy government initiatives at the local level to build strong foundations, manage change through good governance, stakeholder engagement and align to best practice.”
At SACARE, Nahtanha is responsible for making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources, while being the public face for the organisation.
There are times when her role can be quite hands-on and times when she spends her day dealing with the higher-level company strategy.
“Seeing members of our community be rewarded for the efforts of our strategic initiatives is what keeps me going,” she says.
“Knowing that we make a difference and provide hope to the lives of people who have endured some of the most harrowing experiences.
“I get to work with beautiful people daily, people who are adapting to a new lifestyle because of their traumatic experience and acquired disability. We get to help them achieve much more and enable them to thrive in their environment, it’s very rewarding.
“I am passionate about being accountable and driving governance and quality to achieve outstanding results. I enjoy redeveloping governance systems and turning around organisations. I enjoy working in very complex environments, particularly politically.”
Her commitment to change, travel and experience has successfully contributed to her executive career. It took a lot of drive and passion to show courage and resilience as a young woman in a leadership role, which she secured after completing her 5-star UniSA MBA.
“One of my most memorable experiences during my time at UniSA was the International Business in China Intensive School opportunity which saw us travel to Shanghai and Beijing, extending on experiences and learning the value of building strong relationships.”
She believes this experience enabled her to strengthen her learning and capacity in this space which has led to many successful negotiations throughout her career as a result of these learnings. Her advice to graduates?
“Step outside your boundaries, don’t just sit still. Take off and learn what other parts of the world are achieving, find yourself a great coach or mentor and please keep learning.”
If you’re interested in learning more about UniSA’s 5-star MBA, join our MBA Info Session in person Thursday 5 September 2019, or online Monday 9 September, from 6.00-8.00pm. Register now.
