Mark Burns
Country Leader – AKG Australia and
CEO, Education and Training
Our Country Leaders
Across the AKG world, our Country Leaders drive the strategic and operational direction for their markets, geographies and teams.
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Mark Burns enjoys working with teams to help them grow and improve their businesses. He has worked across Australia and New Zealand with more than 20 years’ experience in managing large and diverse businesses and teams. As a results-driven and growth-focussed leader, he enjoys the challenges of today’s current economic environment.
His career spans multiple industry sectors and geographies with large organisations such as Shell, Spotless, Skilled and Programmed.
Mark has worked across many industry segments including Retail Facilities Services; Cleaning and Soft Services; Staffing and Recruitment and most recently in the Programmed business managed large scale RTO and GTO business units.
Whilst always commercially driven, he is most passionate about creating learning and career opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds, which lead to sustainable and scalable life pathways.
Mark is passionate about successfully creating training and employment opportunities for the long-term viability of individuals, families, communities and business.
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Patricia Salmon
Country Leader – AKG Canada
Patricia Salmon assumed the role of Managing Director at AKG Canada in 2024, where she is responsible for the strategic direction of its operations in Canada.
Patricia is a dedicated and compassionate social services professional with over 20 years of experience in addressing barriers to employment, homelessness and mental health.
Throughout her career, Patricia has worked with both private and non-profit organisations and with government agencies, focusing on job training programs, vocational rehabilitation services, and establishing partnerships with employers to create job opportunities for those facing barriers to employment.
Patricia will continue the mission of transforming AKG Canada into a leading provider of comprehensive employment solutions, expanding its services to include employment and education including talent acquisition, workforce management, and career development programs that cater to diverse industries and demographics.
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Marco Frangione
Country Leader – AKG Italy
Marco is the Country Leader for AKG Italy, where he oversees the overall growth, development, and strategic direction of the business.
Marco entered the active labor policies and employment services industry with Maximus in 2019, tasked with forming a new team in Italy. This team was unique as it was the first in the country dedicated entirely to serving institutional clients and the community while maintaining high performance and quality standards.
At AKG, Marco leads a well-structured team that provides employability services and training to citizens and employers, aligning with the programs from the Institutional clients. He has a strong background in establishing complex, high-performance operational frameworks within large international organizations, focusing on robust organizational structure, sustainable growth, and performance metrics.
Marco believes that every significant achievement stems from people: those we work with, those we serve, and our customers. His priority is to create a positive, engaging, inclusive, and high-performance environment with a strong emphasis on the quality of service.
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Ayden Sims
Country Leader – AKG United Kingdom
Ayden Sims is Country Lead for AKG United Kingdom as well as CEO for Jobs 22 (our partner in UK), where he leads the overall growth, development and strategy for the business.
Ayden has more than a decade’s experience in the employability and welfare-to-work sector, he began his career in frontline roles working directly with unemployed disabled people and veterans, later moving into strategic business development roles. Ayden joined from Maximus UK, as Contract Director he was instrumental in both securing and delivering the Restart Scheme for South and East London, and South and West Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Formerly a pilot in the RAF, Ayden was discharged on medical grounds in 2007; he deeply values this experience as helping him gain the skills and empathy to truly understand the challenges of getting back into work and the self-esteem and confidence this can bring to an individual’s life.
As a Fellow and Board Member of the IEP, Ayden is invested in shaping the future of employability and dedicating his time and influence to promoting career pathways into employability and attracting diverse talent into the sector.
Daniel Robinson
Country Leader – AKG Singapore
Joining AKG in November 2023 as Country Lead for AKG Singapore, Daniel has been working to support governments, charities and corporations build programmes and solutions to societal challenges since 2002. He has led and contributed to businesses across the United Kingdom, Singapore, Korea, Italy, Sweden and the Gulf. Most recently working for Maximus Corporation, the largest Human Services BPO globally, as SVP across Europe and Asia – focussing on new markets and business turnaround.
Daniel has a track record spanning 3 decades, of strong government relations, new country entry, organisational development and operationalising of polices into tangible impact.
With a focus on innovative program design and the building of successful executive teams, Daniel is passionate about making measurable impact into populations and developing executive teams to navigate changing landscapes.
Currently Daniel is leading development and delivery of several programmes across Asia, currently in Singapore, supporting inclusion and outcomes for several key groups and leading expansion across the region.
Working on policy solutions across Asia, Europe and the Middle East has given Daniel a broad global insight into the nuances of the global business place.
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Aralia Eriksson
Country Leader – AKG Sweden
Before joining AKG in November 2021 (as employee number 1), Aralia was instrumental in leading the growth, development, and quality of one of the biggest Swedish employment Services providers.
Prior to that, Aralia served as Operating Manager at one of Sweden’s largest Employment Service Providers, responsible for managing various schemes and training programs for a diverse group of job seekers.
Aralia is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in the Swedish labour market, procurement laws, and official communication. Aralia has a teacher and Principal Degree, as well as additional university courses in Swedish Employment Laws, Organization Development, and Leadership.
Our Board
Our board is fully empowered to make decisions that assist us with our journey of transformation. Harnessing their broad spectrum of expertise, our leaders are committed to living our values and transforming the lives of job seekers and communities.
Our Global Leadership Team
The Global Leadership Team oversees the overall identity, strategy, performance, and growth of AKG with each of the Country Leaders.
Help us build solutions that work
Our team is always exploring new ideas and opportunities to build meaningful solutions with real impact. We work best co-designing with employers, local stakeholders and people with lived experience. Connect with us to explore how we can work together for change.
AKG is privileged to work in many countries across the globe. We acknowledge the traditional owners and First Nations people for all those places and recognise their connections to lands, water, sky, and community. We are dedicated to learning about local Indigenous People and culture, to sharing what we learn, and to listening and respecting Indigenous voices. We pay our respects to them, their elders and their cultures.
