Hardie Grant has appointed Janey Martino and Shirley Chowdhary to its board at a time of growth and strategic expansion, as the independent group continues to scale its publishing and media operations.
Martino has founded and scaled multiple companies across media, martech, and fintech in the past 20 years—including Smiling Mind and Undertow Media (acquired by Bastion in 2010)—and is a long-standing investor and advisor to high-growth Australian businesses. She’s also currently the CEO of Australian wellness company KIC.
Her appointment brings sharp insight and entrepreneurial perspective as Hardie Grant continues to innovate across its publishing and media businesses.
“I am thrilled to be part of the Hardie Grant Board using my personal experience spanning business, publishing and technology alongside my passion for igniting a deeper sense of creativity and innovation into a business like Hardie Grant—that has such significant cultural influence and growth potential,” said Martino.
Sydney based Shirley Chowdhary brings a global background spanning law, finance, governance, and social impact, with deep expertise in complex commercial environments, M&A and organisational transformation.
Chowdhary began her career as a corporate lawyer with Cleary Gottlieb in New York and Tokyo, before holding senior roles including regional counsel, Asia Pacific at JP Morgan Investment Management.
She has since built a diverse portfolio of executive, board and advisory roles across financial services, education, for-purpose and cultural organisations, including serving as CEO of the GO Foundation, where she worked closely with Indigenous communities to expand access to education and opportunity.
Chowdhary is currently a Fellow of Senate and Pro-Chancellor at the University of Sydney, chair of women for Election, and a member of Faculty at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has a strong interest in the arts and is widely recognised for her work empowering women into leadership.
“Australian publishing and media play a critical role in shaping how our stories, ideas and creative capability are understood globally. Hardie Grant has demonstrated that Australian companies can build distinctive cultural and commercial propositions that travel well beyond our shores, and I am thrilled to support the next phase of that ambition,” commented Chowdhary.
Hardie Grant Publishing has seen revenue growth of 20 per cent year-on-year, driven by the success of key non-fiction, lifestyle and children’s titles in Australia and the US—combined with its recent acquisition of Pantera Press at the end of 2024.
Across its media and marketing operations, Hardie Grant Media continues to expand its full-funnel offering, most recently with the acquisition of creative communications agency Keep Left in August 2025, further strengthening its integrated communications capability.
Sandy Grant, founder and chair of Hardie Grant, said the appointments reflect a pivotal moment for the business.
“Hardie Grant has always evolved in response to the ideas, people and opportunities around it. As we move into a new era for the company, Janey and Shirley bring contemporary leadership, global perspective and deep experience that will help guide the business forward. Their insights will be invaluable in supporting CEO Nick Hardie-Grant and his leadership team.”
