The Board
Dr Marianne Broadbent
Chair
Dr Marianne Broadbent is a Managing Partner at Future Leadership. She works with companies and government organisations every day on their leadership, people, talent and capability challenges. This includes high quality executive search and leadership advisory services for top level government and corporate organisations. Her eclectic career includes co-owning NGS Global Oceania recently integrated into the Future Leadership group of businesses. Her nine years at Gartner includes Senior Vice-President for Global Strategy/New Product Development and prior to that, as Group Vice-President with Gartner’s Executive Programs.
Her academic appointments include Associate Dean and Professor at Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne and Visiting Researcher at Boston University. She is a Director of The Conversation Media Group, and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has published extensively and her most recent book, The Agile Executive: Embracing Career Risks and Rewards, combines both her personal and professional career journey. The book has been described as ‘compulsory reading for all women (and men too!) who aspire to succeed in corporate life’.
Marianne’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education from University of Sydney, Dip T.Lib from UTS, a Master of Arts from Macquarie University, an A.Mus.A. (AMEB) and a PhD from Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne. She is an inaugural recipient of the position of Distinguished Academic Fellow of Melbourne Business School.
Dianne Jacobs
Co-Deputy Chair & Member Engagement
Draws on experiences as founding principal of The NED Advisors and The Talent Advisors and with investment bank Goldman Sachs JBWere, where she was an equity partner. Dianne is skilled at guiding executives to be more astute when navigating to non-executive directorships or corporate appointments. Experience at c-suite, partner, executive, partnership committee and diversity council levels means she has a real understanding of which actions and strategic choices succeed in complex, networked businesses.
Her focus is on improving business and leader impact by helping others prepare for the next-level, to take stock of that new role, to jump-start change, to avoid transition pitfalls, to rethink their managerial leadership, to capitalise on the advantages of diversity. She works with both individuals and organisations such as ASX and SME businesses. She has been on coaching or mentoring panels with Melbourne Business School, Australian Institute of Company Directors, Governance Institute (pro-bono), Women on Boards and Leadership Victoria. In her spare time, she can be found in recital centres, concert halls, galleries, theatres and discussion forums.
Prof Vin Massaro
Co-Deputy Chair & Program
Honorary Professorial Fellow in Higher Education at the University of Melbourne, specialising in policy, governance and management. He has previously held several senior positions in universities; was Chief Executive of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and of the Victorian State Board of Education, Strategic Adviser to Deloitte Consulting, and served as a higher education consultant to the OECD.
Vin has been a member or Chair of several health and related company Boards, including Northern Health, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists, Médecins sans Frontières, and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. His advisory work in Australia and internationally is focused on higher education and health.
Dr Jonathan Spear
Company Secretary
Dr Jonathan Spear is Infrastructure Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. He has previously held senior leadership, policy, strategy and legal roles with the Department of Premier & Cabinet, Department of Justice, Victoria Police and Slater & Gordon Lawyers. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Bachelor of Laws (Hons), Master of Laws, Executive Master of Public Administration and Doctor of Philosophy (History).
He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Williamson Community Leadership Program. Jonathan is an experienced Company Secretary and holds a Victorian Legal Practising Certificate.
Richard Hilton
Treasurer
- Over 20 years of professional services experience with EY in the UK, Australia and the US primarily working in the Audit & Assurance division (including having worked in industry secondments as a CFO and GM Finance) demonstrating versatility in working successfully with a variety of clients across the energy, infrastructure, hospitality, telecoms, manufacturing, sport and not for profit industries.
- Director, and Honorary Treasurer, of Environmental Justice Australia, 2007 to 2018 – currently a member of the Audit and Governance Committee.
- Director, and Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee, of the Australian Tapestry Workshop, 2012 to 2017.
- Independent member of the Abbotsford Convent Audit Committee, 2016 to 2018.
- Committee member of the Australian Institute of Energy, 2010 to 2013.
- Along with my community board roles, my experiences have allowed me to demonstrate my people, technical accounting, governance, strategy and project management skills in dealing with complex and high-pressure situations, while expanding my knowledge of different industries and making lasting contacts across Australia and the world.
Prof Barbara van Ernst AM
MF Fellowship
Previous leadership roles include Deputy Vice Chancellor at Swinburne University and as Councilor and Mayor of Hawthorn City Council. The past 10 years have included work as an education consultant in universities and colleges, both nationally and internationally.
Current activities include positions as non-executive director for two higher education providers, one as chair. In addition, she has extensive involvement with arts organizations in both visual and performing arts.
Tony Nippard
Director
A governance professional, and board director. I have had extensive experience as a senior executive in various roles primarily in the areas of public administration, health and human services. I have a BA, B Com (Hons) and MA from the University of Melbourne. I am a Fellow of the Australasian College Health Services Management, a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Secretaries, a Fellow Governance Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
I have been a Director of not for profit and public entities since 1988 in the arts, mortgage finance, community health, mental health, health information management, child protection, children services, higher education and training, as well as advisory committees in defence, public sector governance and university sectors.
I am currently the chair of Westside Circus Inc, and a board director of Federation Training, Neami Ltd, and Mental Health and Wellbeing Australia Ltd, Alpine School for School Leadership, and the Vic Defence Reserves Support Council. I am a facilitator for the Aust Institute of Company Directors’ Company Directors’ Course.
Trisha Avery
Director
Trisha Avery M.A. Psych. & Couns. is the Director of Avery Advisory and Business Performance Coaching Australia (BPCA).
She is a business behaviour strategist, an expert in conduct risk, enhancing business success through reframing organisational behaviour and embedding and sustaining contemporary leadership capabilities.
Trisha with Avery Advisory and BPCA has consulted in China, Africa, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK, North America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. She has provided consultancy and leader/executive coaching to high profile individuals in the public domain, from Government, Entertainment and the Law.
Trisha’s first career was in the Arts and Entertainment industries working in the UK, France Australia and North America. She has acted, directed, and produced theatre and events.
For example, Trisha was on the team that produced The First Yugoslav Peace Talks, European Heads of Government Meeting, Closing ceremony of the Youth Olympics, and the French and British National Design Awards amongst many other large and small-scale Shows, events and activations.
Her Board and Committee positions over the last 40 years have included:
The Mathew Trust (UK) – Board member (UK)
Melbourne Fringe Festival – Board member (Aus)
Melbourne Comedy Festival – Management committee member and Artistic Producer (Aus)
Adzido Pan African Ballet Company – Board member – international development (UK)
Australian Actors Abroad – Board Member (UK)
Soka Gakkai International Australia (Buddhist Organisation), event committee. (UK & Aus)
Group Relations Australia – Board Secretary (Aus)
Australian Labor Party – Albert Park Branch – Treasurer (Aus)
Montague Community Alliance – Chair (Aus)
Southbank3006 Community Group – Secretary and Co-founder (Aus)
Lyceum Club Programme Committee – (Aus)
Weston Lewis
Director
Weston is an experienced sustainability leader, international business practitioner, global thinker, and innovator. He is skilled in Sustainable Development, Regenerative Design, ESG, Public Speaking, Decarbonisation, and Management.
As a strong consulting professional with a Master of Environment focused in Energy Studies from The University of Melbourne and Business from the University of Georgia, he enjoys expanding his knowledge and network within the great city of Melbourne.
Dr Lesa Scholl
Director
Doctor Lesa Scholl, FRHistS, is a former Dean and Vice Master at Queen’s College, University of Melbourne. She has extensive global networks in education through her interdisciplinary research profile, which focuses on nineteenth-century history and literature, economics, food security, mental health, gender, and the history of medicine. She is also a member of the Australian Institute of International Affairs.
Professor Scholl has experience in working on boards of NFPs, as Vice Master at Queen’s and also previous as Master of Kathleen Lumley College, University of Adelaide, where she drove a successful strategic plan for advancement and community engagement, as well as successfully managing the finances through the COVID years with primarily international students. She is a well-published scholar with several books and dozens of articles, primarily on nineteenth-century British history but also on current public intellectual concerns.
Dr Ingmar Wahlqvist
Director
A medical doctor with an MBA, Dr Ingmar Wahlqvist has accumulated wide-ranging business experience in strategy consulting, early-stage businesses and big pharma. For the past 20+ years he has focused on commercialisation and venture capital investment in biomedical and healthcare companies, incorporating extensive experience in opportunity identification and assessment, deal negotiation & execution, building management teams, research and development of new medicines, medical devices, and board governance.
Outside work, Ingmar has a range of interests including the environment and sustainability, technology, the arts, LGBTQ issues (as a parent of an LGBTQ child), various outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking, and cycling, food and wine, and the Hawthorn Football Club!
Wendy Smith
Director
Wendy Smith is the Chairman and Executive Director of Vipac Engineers and Scientists Ltd. Former corporate government positions include Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Victoria Board, Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Tourism Victoria Board, Director of the Victorian Public Transport Ombudsman Board and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Public Transport Ombudsman Board and Deputy Chairman of the Victorian Government’s Patient Review Panel.
A background in politics includes six years (1996-2002) as a Victorian Member of Parliament for the Silvan Electorate. Was the Shadow Minister for Small Business in 2002 and Shadow Cabinet Secretary from 2000 to 2002. A Ministerial Advisor to the Kennett Victorian Government in the Major Projects portfolio from 1993 to 1996. Interests include archaeology.
Simone Goodwin
Executive Officer
Simone Goodwin has built a dynamic and diverse career over 20 years working in Australia, London, and New York City. With a career spanning the arts and entertainment, management consulting and project management, Simone has experience in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors.
Most recently Simone was the Commercial Manager for Grande Experiences, a global player in the immersive arts space and owner of THE LUME Melbourne. Prior to this she was Development Manager at the musical theatre producer, The Production Company. Simone is skilled in business development, sponsorship, philanthropy, artist management, events, and marketing and communications.
Simone holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours degree from Monash University.
