Toro Australia has recently undertaken a number of changes to its business. These will further drive and support investment in their strategic priorities aligned with Toro’s overarching goal of delivering “Exceptional Customer Experiences Always”.

The changes made will consolidate Toro’s business units into three: Garden and Trade Irrigation, Residential Landscape Contractor Equipment and Commercial (Equipment and Irrigation).

The Garden and Trade Irrigation Business Unit will be led by Luke Ognibene. As the Business Manager he will join the Toro Australia Leadership Team. Since starting at Toro 15 years ago Luke has had the unique opportunity to spend time in all divisions. Starting in the dealer based Equipment business he then managed the Bunnings account nationally before spending time managing all of the customer service teams and spare parts. This was followed by time as the National Sales Manager for the Irrigation division. Most recently Luke was Toro’s Aftermarket Services Manager, where he looked after service centres, the technical team, spare parts and pre-owned equipment.

Luke is looking forward to his new role and will be using his experience from the irrigation and retail sections of Toro. He is excited to reconnect with the great people that he has worked with previously and is looking forward to meeting new faces.

Elise Willemsen is promoted to Business Manager, Residential Landscape Contractor Equipment encompassing Consumer, Professional and Construction equipment and will also join the Toro Australia Leadership Team. Equipment Customer Service is also part of her portfolio.

Elise started with Toro in 2010 as a Product Manager for the Pope brand. She took on the role of Senior Marketing Manager for the equipment side of Toro and looked after the golf, consumer, construction, professional and sports fields and grounds equipment markets. She has also assisted the Asian team with event management and digital marketing. Elise has been a mentor for the “Women in Hire” program through the HRIA and was part of the Women in Turf recently launched with the ASTMA. She is also a board member of Bendigo Bank - East Gosford & Districts and a member of the OPEA.

She is looking forward to focusing on the consumer and landscape contractor customers to drive growth for the Toro brand and is committed to driving diversity and inclusion within the industry.