meet our crew

Our team are an incredibly dedicated bunch of coffee experts & enthusiasts with years of experience throughout all levels of hospo. From baristas to venue owners, sales, marketing, roasting & tech support, we’ve done it all. Our team are united by a deep love of coffee & a passion to create a sustainable future for everyone.

Could one of these legends be your new best friend? Reach out below for more on joining the Locale fam.

josh jackson.

GROUP GENERAL MANAGER

Pace to his mates. He’s the glue here at Locale, holding everything together. He has recently taken on a group GM role across the Locale & Genovese businesses, as well as running Loveramics & working closely with Ben in developing Locale’s coffee program.

He’s worked in the hospo industry his entire working career from cheffing through to sales & management roles & everything in between.

Pace steers the ship here & loves a cheeky filter coffee while he’s doing it.

ben toovey.

HEAD ROASTER

Ben’s origin story is barista-turned-renowned-roaster, since taking out the Australian Roasting Championship in 2018 & going on to place 4th at Worlds. He loves the challenge of coffee, that it’s dynamic, complex & requires constant attention. Ben has been with the Genovese coffee family for nearly 15 years & we’re so grateful to have his knowledge & experience behind Locale’s coffee program.

Ben drinks his coffee black & starts the day with a double espresso followed by loads of cupping. He also enjoys a pour over on the weekends.

kristin jackson.

MARKETING MANAGER

KJ has worked in Sales & Marketing roles across a range of industries including food, wine & coffee. She’s been with Locale from the early days & was the creative mind behind the re-brand in 2020.

KJ is super passionate about the environment & the ability for businesses to create positive change, driving Locale’s sustainable & community-based initiatives.

She starts the day with an oat milk flatty & prefers a batch brew in the arvo.

paul solway.

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER

Beginning his coffee journey as a barista at a small cafe, Pauly realised he had a deep love for coffee & the industry, a drive to help people succeed and the ability to make you buy whatever he’s selling!

He’s been an integral part of Locale since the very beginning & the main reason behind the success we’ve seen in WA.

Now managing the sales team nationally & showing mad love for the cold brew, Pauly is the best friend you never knew you needed.

rach commander.

WA STATE MANAGER

Since scoring her first coffee gig at 15, Rach knew that she wanted to learn everything there was to know about creating the perfect cup. After a good 12 years, both in the Tassie and Melbs coffee scene, including owning her own cafe, she brings a wealth of knowledge to our sales team. A woman of many talents, Rach has some mad barber skills & has even danced professionally as a go go girl! Her favourite thing about coffee is the people – a perfect fit for Locale.

Rach’s go-to coffee order is a soy flatty – “a hug in a mug”.

sage wilson.

VIC STATE MANAGER

Originally from sunny California, Sage fell in love with the barista life as soon as they moved to Melbourne. A foodie and lover of all manner of fancy beverages, Sage has been working in coffee for over 6 years now, and hospo even longer. They scored their first roasting gig a few years ago & the rest is history.

Sage loves the nuance of flavour from different origins and the ritual of making and sharing a cuppa!

They’re a huge filter fiend or like to kick of the morning with an espresso.

pat dwyer.

QLD BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Since Pat’s brother-in-law first taught him to make coffee in his music-themed cafe in Surfers, he hasn’t looked back! He comes to us with over 10 years in the coffee industry & loves getting lost in the endless rabbit hole of knowledge, flavour & technique.

On top of being a qualified Sound Engineer and all round lovely human, we have high hopes for what he can bring to our QLD customer base.

Pat says an oat flat white in the morning always goes down a treat!

shinji shimoyama.

NSW CUSTOMER SUPPORT

While working a gap-filler role at a cafe inside The Gallery of NSW, Shinji got his chance to live out his coffee dream when the head barista called in sick. He grabbed it with both hands & has been brewing ever since.

Working in the coffee industry for 15+ years now, Shinji loves that there’s always new coffees & exciting flavours coming from all over the world, and getting to share his passion with as many people as possible.

When it comes to his go-to order, it’s a close call between an espresso or filter – sometimes both!

These superstars are backed up by awesome tech & training support staff, as well as a killer back-of-house team working out of Coburg in VIC.

Hit the button below to get in touch…we always love a chat! Or for more on wholesale/cafe supply, head over to our wholesale page.

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