John Spalvins

John Spalvins, born Janis Gunnars Spalvins, in 1936, in Latvia, was Managing Director of the Adelaide Steamship Company from 1977 until the company's collapse in 1991. During this period under Spalvins' control, "AdSteam" became Australia's major corporate entity with interests and significant holdings in retailing, food, wine, dairy, hardware, building, banks, and numerous other companies. "Spalvins built up one of Australia's largest industrial conglomerates, which took in David Jones, Woolworths, Metro Meat, food company Petersville Sleigh, beer and wine company Tooth & Co, as well as a tugboat business, before it was put into receivership in 1991."

Spalvins spent the first 13 years of his life in Latvia before his mother brought him to Australia.

In 1957, aged 21, he became company secretary of Camlec where he remained until 1973. During this period he studied economics in the evenings earning a degree from the University of Adelaide.

In 1973, Adelaide Steamship's then managing director (and later chairman) Ken Russell head-hunted Spalvins to aid in revitalising the company. In 1977 Spalvins was appointed managing director, and in 1980 Spalvins and Russell commenced their acquisition and control of David Jones, followed through the 1980s by acquisition of numerous Australian "household names" including, but by no means limited to, Tooth & Co, (Penfolds, KB Lager, etc.), Petersville Sleigh, (Four’N Twenty pies, Bodalla cheese, Pura milk, Peters ice-cream, Birds Eye frozen foods, Nanna’s frozen apple pies, etc.), Farmers Union, Metro Meat, AWA, John Martins, Pioneer Property Group, and Industrial Equity (Woolworths).

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