Exit interview: Steve Saffell, CEO, Country Arts SA

After 26 years at Country Arts SA, including nine as CEO, Saffell reflects on his tenure and the changes he’s seen in that time.

Steve Saffell’s 26-year tenure at Country Arts SA began at the same time the organisation was founded in 1993. Starting out as the brand new organisation’s Manager of Program and Resources, he went on to become Country Arts SA’s Chief Executive Officer, a role he’s held for the last nine years.

Now, as the organisation prepares to close for the Christmas break, Saffell is retiring, stepping down as CEO and handing over the reins to his replacement, Anthony Peluso, whose appointment has just been announced.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts