Mark Townend heads to Spinal Life Australia after nearly 20 years as RSPCA Queensland boss. He’ll be taking over from acting boss Pauline Davis, who has had to warm the big seat since early March. She was a fill-in for previous Spinal Life CEO Michael Powell, who spent 3½ years in the job but had to step down after being declared personally bankrupt. The tax man sued Powell last November in Brisbane Federal Court and he was tipped into bankruptcy on March 6 for what Spinal Life described as “personal business dealings’’ prior to joining the charity. The upshot is that Townend will now be heading a second charity after problems emerged with his predecessor. Before he arrived at the RSPCA in 2000, it was led by Allen Callaghan, the controversial former press secretary for Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Callaghan managed to raise a few eyebrows during his time at the RSPCA in the 1990s for questionable spending. That followed his two-year stint behind bars after pleading guilty to misappropriating $43,574 from the State Film Commission. During Townend’s tenure, the RSPCA shifted from dilapidated headquarters at Fairfield to a world-class facility at Wacol that includes a call centre for the entire east coast. He introduced a raft of innovative programs, including mobile education and desexing units, and promoted the development of animal tracking technology, which is now licensed for use overseas.
