Our People

President of the DIA

Mark is a fourth generation drycleaner from the Ryan family who have a long history of owning and operating drycleaning stores in Canberra. The Ryan family own R & R Drycleaners and Launderers and it was started by his great-grandfather Herb. Herb's son Alan worked in the business along with Mark's father Peter and Uncles Brendan and Lynton. R & R Drycleaners have two plants and six agencies in Canberra.

The Ryan family has been dedicated to the drycleaning industry and have been members of the association since 1985.

Mark is a family man at heart and spending quality time with his wife Angela and three boys aged 11 - 16 is important.

Rugby Union as well as drycleaning is in the family blood - they are all avid Brumbies fans and Mark's dad Peter played rep footy and for the Wallabys in the 1960s. Mark's son Lucas is carrying on the family tradition and is a rep player for the ACT.

Mitchell is the first external to the industry Director of the DIA and recently appointed Vice President.

Mitchell brings over 10 years’ expertise as a respected business executive, leader, communications and public relations professional with significant experience in complex policy development and stakeholder management. As Co-Founder and Managing Director of MK The Agency, Mitchell has established a boutique strategy and communications firm specialising in international companies entering and operating in the Australian market. Mitchell has held senior executive roles with US technology companies including publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Pete Waring is the founder and principal advisor of Cardinal Advisors, a Queensland-based strategy, governance and risk advisory practice.

Pete spent 11 years in leadership roles with the Australian Army’s 2nd Commando Regiment, serving across New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Iraq, the USA and Afghanistan. He then owned and led businesses and held executive roles, bringing a disciplined, practical approach to planning, risk and execution under pressure.

An AICD Company Directors Course graduate, Pete is a director on an industry board, where he chairs the Strategy and Risk Sub-Committee.

He helps boards, executive teams and business owners sharpen strategy, strengthen governance and accountability, and build performance-driven cultures that hold up through growth, change and succession. As a certified DISC and Flippen behavioural profiling practitioner, he uses profiling to improve leadership, communication and recruitment decisions.

Pete advises around 20 organisations, mainly in construction, trades, technical services and allied professional services.

Katerina Dimitriou has over 20 years of experience in the cleaning, hospitality and laundry industries. With her husband, Taso, she owns and operates New Look Dry Cleaners & Laundry and Jim’s Laundry Services Mt Lawley in Perth, Western Australia.

Katerina spent 18 years running a successful cleaning company specialising in hospitality, Airbnb and short-stay accommodation, which gave her a strong grounding in customer service and operational efficiency. In 2022, she and Taso purchased New Look Dry Cleaners, a well-established Perth business dating back to 1955. Entering the industry without a technical background, they have built their knowledge through hands-on experience and working closely with experienced staff.

Through Jim’s Laundry Services Mt Lawley, Katerina also provides residential and commercial laundry services to hotels, accommodation providers, aged care facilities and sporting organisations, including major international teams.

Katerina is passionate about the future of the industry and believes in collaboration, knowledge sharing and supporting the next generation of professionals. She is committed to addressing the challenges facing the industry, including the shortage of skilled technicians and rising operating costs, and to helping ensure its sustainability for years to come.

Luke Hudson is a third-generation dry cleaner and the owner and operator of Master Dry Cleaners Malvern. He joined the family business in 2007 and, after taking the time to deeply understand the operation, purchased Master Dry Cleaners Malvern and Master Dry Cleaners Sunbury from his father, Peter, in 2015. Shortly after, Luke also purchased a share of Cressbells Dry Cleaners in Ballarat alongside Matthew Hyde and Bill Hudson.

Before entering the dry cleaning industry, Luke completed a degree in Sports Administration and Management and worked with leading organisations delivering large-scale, high-profile multi-sport events in Australia and overseas. Since committing to the industry, he has continued to invest in his own development, completing an MBA in 2024 with a focus on applying modern business practices to drive growth, improve performance and build more resilient businesses.

 Luke served on the National DIA Board from 2018 to 2019 and remains passionate about helping the dry cleaning industry move forward through innovation, stronger commercial thinking and better business performance.

David Karet has over 30 years of experience as a business operator in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, where he owns and operates five boutique dry cleaning stores. Starting with eight staff, he has grown the business to more than 40 employees.

Alongside the technical side of professional garment care, David manages the everyday demands of running a small business in Australia, including Fair Work obligations, modern award conditions, fire safety and environmental compliance.

David also brings governance and asset management experience through his involvement in the strata management of Ranelagh, a 30-storey residential tower in Darling Point, where he oversees complex, high-value building infrastructure.

David offers a practical, independent operator’s perspective and is keen to advance online training partnerships with the DLI and develop strong, long-term governance policies that support independent operators.

James is the second generation of the Ratcliffe family to be involved in dry cleaning. James runs the family business from one central location in Geelong, Victoria.

The business has several stores. He worked in the family business growing up, helping during the school holidays. James lived in the UK for a period time, upon returning home worked in Recruitment for several years in Melbourne.

He then made the easy decision to head home and help his father run the family business. 10 years later the business has grown, and so has James’ family getting married and having two young boys.

Cameron grew up in the 70’s and 80’s in Cairns and has nothing but wonderful memories of being part of a drycleaning and laundry family, where all the family were involved in getting things done.

Cameron moved to Brisbane in the late 80’s, after not learning too much at Uni, and then worked in numerous sales, marketing and event management roles before re-establishing in 2000 his family drycleaning and laundry business.

He commenced with the purchase of a Brisbane based nappy service and re-branded the business as Gateway Laundry and Plus Drycleaners. The business has since grown into one that processes 50-ton of laundry and 5000 pieces of drycleaning per week, employing 70 staff.

Cameron is the president of the DIA Queensland and a past President of DIA Australia. He commented that “belonging to the DIA is a no brainer for anyone in the industry who genuinely committed to growing and improving their business”

Marcus Walker is the General Manager of Upton Dry Cleaners, a well-established business on the Gold Coast.

Marcus is dedicated to dry cleaning and textile care, with extensive knowledge in the best cleaning, finishing, and automated systems in the industry. He is a firm believer in creating a strong, positive culture within his team, which contributes to the high-quality service Upton Dry Cleaners provides for all garments.

The business has been a continual member of the Drycleaning Institute of Australia (DIA) since 1992 and values the support and resources the DIA offers to its members.

Catherine comes from a corporate administration back ground having worked in property valuation and top tier accounting firms in Melbourne and most recently as an Executive Assistant at Crown Casino in Melbourne.  She has a strong knowledge of administration systems and the importance of customer service plus a marketing focus.  

Kimberley McGrath became a member of the DIA staff in 2017 and has proven to be a valuable member of our team. With over 16 years’ experience in the Financial Industry as well as other administration roles Kimberley has been able to use these skills effectively in her role within the DIA office.

With growing enthusiasm for how the Financial side of the DIA operates she is taking on more responsibility with the learning of the Financial reporting after completing her Certificate 4 in Accounting and Bookkeeping.