About Afea

Esha Oberoi

Position: Founder

Esha’s formative years were incredibly tough upon arriving in Australia as a young migrant at 7 years of age which created a host of mental health challenges throughout her teenage years.

The turning point came for Esha when her father, alerted to the depths of her isolation and loneliness, stepped in to assist her in finding gainful employment. As a result, she began work as a Carer in 2007 in a local nursing home when she was 23.

Energised by her mission to redefine the experiences of the Australian aged care community, in 2008, at the age of 24, she launched Afea Care Services, a loving in-home care provider servicing vulnerable communities.

She served as CEO from 2008 to 2022. From humble beginnings, Afea now supports more than 1,400 families every week. Under her leadership, Afea has been named one of the fastest growing companies in Australia and one of AFR’s Best Places to Work.

Esha’s unique leadership approach has led to many accolades, including the 2021 Women’s Agenda Leadership Award in the Health Sector, Indian Australian Community Business Award for Small Business and 2014 Finalist in the Telstra Young Business Women of the Year Awards.

Gaurav Oberoi

Position: Chief Executive Officer

Gaurav became a part of the Afea family in 2015 and has been responsible for a number of roles including COO, CFO and now Co-CEO. He has a background of extensive experience in sales and services management at Cisco and brought with him a wealth of operational know-how.

His motivation at Afea comes from an aim to create an organisation that delivers care that our community truly deserves, and to create a culture based on empowerment, accountability and teamwork that creates a superior service for our clients.

A constant focus of Gaurav’s is to continuously improve through innovation and challenging the status quo through sustainable and ethical solutions. Gaurav oversaw the creation of a number of new systems that improved efficiency, reduced Afea’s carbon footprint, created a safer working environment for Carers and an improved service for clients.

Hiyantha Kariyawasam (Sam)

Position: Finance Manager

Sam is a certified public accountant (CPA) and has been with Afea care services since 2012. He is always smiling and joking with his colleagues, and nothing is ever too hard to accomplish for him and his team.

He is very supportive to all of the people he comes in contact with. Around the office, he is the go-to man for anything to do with numbers, and also supports many of our clients through plan management, which helps reduce stress related to their plan admin and finances.

Sam’s biggest passion when he comes into work each day is providing the best service possible to all Carers, office staff and, of course, our valued Afea Clients. In his spare time, he loves spending time with his wife and two daughters.

Joseph Assad

Position: Head of People & Culture

Joseph commenced employment with Afea in April 2021, having worked in various People and Culture roles within the Disability and Healthcare Industries for over a decade.

His specific passion and commitment to the Disability Services sector are driven by his personal experience caring for and supporting a close family member with a disability.

When he isn’t at work, you will find him chasing his young daughters around the backyard, competing on the sporting field, or holding a pair of tongs behind a BBQ.

Marielle Bagus

Position: Head of Marketing

Marielle joined the Afea tribe in November 2021, backed by over ten years in marketing, events and communications within not-for-profit, healthcare and hospitality industries.

She considers herself a strategic storyteller and a fierce protector of brands. She enjoys fully dissecting customer journeys just to rebuild every touchpoint in her pursuit of the effortless experience. Marielle leads the Afea marketing team with a collaborative approach and sense of humour.

A healthy dose of wanderlust inspires her to travel the world, seeking adventure and befriending locals. It’s this same love of people and diverse communities that drew her to the Afea mission to empower others. That, and the allure of a dog-friendly workplace for her moodle.

Anna Lira

Position: Quality & Risk Manager

Anna moved to Australia from the Philippines in 2011 and started working at Afea soon after. What she loves most at Afea are the people that she works with, and the culture of openness, trust and support. She gets a sense of fulfilment knowing that the work we do at Afea genuinely helps people in the community.

Anna has been successful in a variety of roles in the organisation. She has served as receptionist, Care Coordinator and Team Leader before moving onto a number of leadership positions, including her current role as Quality & Risk Manager. In her role, she ensures the organisation meets the quality and risk standards requirements and provides support and guidance to management and staff regarding the industry-related legislations and regulations.

When she’s not at work, she spends quality time with her family and enjoys camping, swimming and embarking on bush and nature walks.

Anita Majstorovic

Position: Head of Service Delivery

Anita joined Afea in 2022 after having worked in several disability and healthcare leadership roles. Anita is an experienced authentic leader with a demonstrated history of community service. She brings decades of experience with a passion and commitment to the sector and is driven by service excellence.

She leads through empowerment and teamwork, with an emphasis on delivering care and service to our community. She is skilled in nonprofit organisations, customer service, coaching and strategic planning. She is supportive of all the people she comes in contact with and adds a dash of humour and positivity to her interactions. In her spare time, she loves spending time with family and friends.

Deki Bhutia

Position: Head of Sales & Growth

Deki joined Afea in July 2020 and comes with more than 20 years of experience in customer-centric leadership positions within the travel and hospitality industries.

Her success in building high performance teams comes from leading by example, with her tireless work ethic combined with her nurturing instincts, energy, consultative approach and genuine affection for the people she works with.

Deki is Tibetan by ethnicity and her values of kindness, community, compassion and empathy has been abundantly evident in the quality of her work and dedication to her responsibilities. She believes in simplicity and derives immense joy from the simple things in life.

In her spare time, she loves spending quality time with her family and cooking traditional meals for them.