BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ms Jillian Segal AO
Chairman
Jillian is Chairman of the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce (NSW), Chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), a Director of Rabobank Australia Limited, a Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, a Trustee of the Sydney Opera House Trust, a Director of the Grattan Institute, Member of the International Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) and Member of the Council of the Order of Australia.
Previously, she was a Director of ASX Limited, NAB Limited, Rabobank New Zealand Limited, a Member of the Federal Government’s Remuneration Tribunal, President of the Administrative Review Council, a member of the Major Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council and involved with a number of other not-for-profit organisations. Jillian is a graduate in arts and law from UNSW and has a Masters of Law from Harvard Law School. Jillian was a partner and later consultant, at Allen Allen & Hemsley solicitors from 1986 to 1996 and was a Commissioner of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) from 1997 to 2002, being Deputy Chair from 2000 to 2002.
Steven Skala AO has a distinguished career of service including on the boards of public and private companies, and government-related and not-for-profit organizations. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the law, business and banking.
Steven is Vice Chairman, Australia of Deutsche Bank AG, a position he has held since 2004 and is Chairman of the Commonwealth Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Among public companies, he is a former Chairman of Wilson Group Limited, Hexima Limited and the Island Food Company Limited, and is a former Director of the Channel TEN Group of companies and Max Capital Group Limited. Between 1982 and 2004, he was a Partner of Australian law firms, Morris Fletcher & Cross (now Minter Ellison) and Arnold Bloch Leibler
Active beyond banking and commerce, Steven is Chairman of the Heide Museum of Modern Art, a Director of the Centre for Independent Studies and a Member of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. He was previously Chairman of Film Australia Limited, Chairman of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Vice President (Deputy Chairman) of The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, a Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and a Director of the Australian Ballet.
Mr Steven Skala AO
Deputy Chairman
Ms Lee Liberman
Deputy Chair
Ms. Liberman is Principal and Chair of the Lee Liberman Foundation, which provides strategic funding to non-profit partners in Australia, Israel and the United States.
Lee is currently Deputy Chair of the General Sir John Monash Foundation.
Lee is Chair of the USC Shoah Foundation. The Shoah Foundation preserves a Visual History Archive of more than 55,000 video testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides; the largest digital collection of its kind. The Shoah Foundation works to counter identity-based hatred by developing empathy, understanding and respect through teaching with testimony.
As a committed supporter of the arts, Lee has served on the Council of the Australian National Gallery and the Australian National Gallery Acquisitions Committee. Lee is publisher and editor of A Day in the Life of Africa, A Day in the Life of Israel and Jerusalem in the Shadow of Heaven. She also is Chair of the Day in the Life of Africa AIDS Education Fund.
Peter had a distinguished career in civil engineering and was at Monash University for 33 years, during which time he was the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, responsible for research and development and information technology, and Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash University. Professor Darvall is the author of several books on mechanics and structures and has written numerous research papers on topics related to his areas of expertise. He has been a Board member of the Prince Henry’s Institute for Medical Research, Montech, the Victorian Strategic Industry Foundation (SIRF), the Baker Medical Research Institute, the Institute of Reproduction and Development and the Cooperative Research Centres for Catchment Hydrology, Water Quality and Treatment, and Freshwater Ecology and was on the board of Melbourne Water until October 2009. Peter has been Chair of the National Selection Panel and the Victorian Selection Panel.
Emeritus Professor Peter Darvall AO
Academic Review Panel Member
Mr Stephen Gerlach AM
Investment, Audit and Risk
Committee Member
Stephen is Chancellor of Flinders University of South Australia. He is the Convenor of the University Chancellors Council, a Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Trustee of Australian Cancer Research Foundation, Chairman of AML3D Limited, Chair of Psychosis Australia Trust, Chairman of Adelaide Capital Partners Pty Ltd and Gerlach Asset Development Pty Ltd, Chairman of Ebony Energy Ltd, Director of Beston Global Foods Ltd, Director of Beston Pacific Asset Management Pty Limited and Chair of South Australian Cricket Association Nominations Committee.
Stephen was a partner of the Adelaide legal firm Finlaysons for 23 years and its Managing Partner from 1985 to 1991. He was formerly the Chairman of Santos Ltd, Futuris Corporation Ltd (now called Elders Ltd), Equatorial Mining Ltd, Elders Australia Ltd, Challenger Listed Investments Ltd, Amdel Ltd and Penrice Ltd and formerly a Director of Southcorp Ltd, Brunner Mond Holdings Ltd (UK) and Elders Rural Bank.
He was a Director and an Honorary Life Member of the Australian Red Cross Society, a Director of the Flinders Medical Research Foundation and Inaugural Chairman of Foodbank SA from 1999-2014 and a director of Foodbank Australia.
Leon Kempler AM is involved in various business activities. His honorary roles include: President of Museums Victoria; National Chairman of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce; Chairman of the Advisory Council of the National Science and Technology Centre (Questacon); Director of Wonderment Walk Victoria, Director of the General Sir John Monash Foundation; Member of the Board of Directors of Israel Innovation Institute.
Mr Leon Kempler AM
Ms Carolyn Kay
Investment, Audit and Risk
Committee Co-Chair
Ms Carolyn Kay has had more than 30 years of experience in the finance sector as an executive and non-executive director. In addition, she has been and remains a non-executive director of enterprises across a broad range of industries. She is currently Senior Advisor & Director of Rothschild & Co Australia; Member of The Future Fund Board of Guardians; Director of Scentre Group and Director of Myer Family Investments. As an executive Ms Kay worked as a banker and lawyer at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Linklaters & Paines in London, New York and Australia. She holds Bachelor Degrees in Law and Arts (University of Melbourne), a Graduate Diploma in Management (AGSM) and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She was awarded a Centenary Medal for services to Australian society in business leadership. She is married with 3 children.
Mrs Jan McCahey was most recently the Global Public Policy Leader for the PwC network. In this role, she led the network's research, thought leadership and community engagement activities on regulatory and public policy matters. She has worked with leaders in government, regulatory agencies and groups representing the accounting profession on matters relating to regulation and public policy.
Mrs Jan McCahey
Investment, Audit and Risk
Committee Co-Chair
Emeritus Professor
Alan Robson AO CitWA
Alan Robson served as Vice-Chancellor of The University of Western Australia from 2004-2011, following more than a decade as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost (since 1993). He was Chair of the Group of Eight (2007-2010), Deputy Chair of the Council of the National Library (1998-2005), Deputy Chair of Universities Australia (2009-2011), a member of the Western Australian Science Council (2003-2009) and the CSIRO Board (2003-2008). He has also held the positions of Foundation Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Head of the School of Agriculture and Professor of Agriculture (Soil Science) at The University of Western Australia. In 2003, Professor Robson was made a Member of the Order of Australia, and awarded a Centenary Medal. In 2009, Professor Robson was made a Citizen of Western Australia and in 2013 was made an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Dr Mark Schembri was appointed to the Board in 2016. He is a graduate from The University of Sydney with Honours degrees in Veterinary Science and Science (Veterinary) and also of Harvard University with a Master in Public Health. He also has a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Sydney and works as a Senior Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. He is presently lecturer at the Veterinary School at the University of Sydney and was previously the Sub-Warden of St. Paul’s College.
Mark has a distinguished record as an equine veterinarian where he also serves as a member of the Australian College of Veterinary Surgeons in Theriogenology.
In 2007 he was elected the youngest-ever Councillor of the Royal Agricultural Society and presently serves as Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee and served on its Veterinary Committee. In 2008 he was appointed veterinarian to the Australian Equine Olympic team for the Beijing Games.
He serves as Veterinary Surgeon Director of Theriogenology at the Agnes Banks Equine Clinic in Sydney. He is presently a veterinarian for the Australian Turf Club and veterinarian for the Spring and Autumn Racing Carnivals at Randwick Racecourse. Mark is a Board Member of the University of Sydney Rugby Club and Liaison Member of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney.
He was the Crown Prince of Dubai scholar in 2001, and the Australian Equine Veterinary Association scholar in 2004 when he completed sabbatical study at Texas A&M University.
In 2009 he was awarded the General Sir John Monash Scholarship for study in the United States and spent two years at Harvard. At Harvard he lived at Kirkland House, where he was academic and music tutor. He also rowed for Dudley House, and he was veterinarian to the Harvard horse polo team.
He is Chairman and Musical Conductor of the Governors Christmas Orchestra and led the World Youth Day Sydney bid to Pope John Paul II on behalf of the youth organising committee in 2001. He has also been vice-captain of the Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club Patrol where he served as a race announcer and commentator at the Surf Life Saving Australian Championships. He was recognised as Educator Partner of the Year by the Veterinary Faculty at the University of Sydney for his teaching.
Dr Mark Schembri
Scholars Advisory Committee Chair
Mrs Wendy Simpson OAM
Wendy Simpson is chairman of Wengeo Group a private investment group, which invests in industrial and commercial property developments. Wendy has been the Chair of the General Sir John Monash Scholarship NSW selection panel and a member of the panel for over 7 years. Her pioneering achievements include – Founding Chairman of Springboard Enterprises Australia, a community-driven accelerator program that recruits, coaches, supports, and promotes investment-ready, high-growth companies led by women. She was the first woman appointed as a Senior Vice President of Alcatel Asia Pacific based in Shanghai, implementing sales of major mobile and broadband services to 17 countries. At this time, she was part of the team who negotiated with the Chinese government to bring the internet to China.
Other pioneering roles are being the first woman appointed by the Victorian government as the Chief Representative and Trade Commissioner for North Asia, she was also the first woman appointed to a freight operations role in the TNT International network and established the first QBE women’s group whilst in a senior role at QBE insurance.
She has been a 3 times finalist in Telstra Businesswomen’s Awards and in 2006, she was a finalist in the Shanghai Business Women of the Year Awards.
In the 2013 Australia Day honours list she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her work with disadvantaged young people and a range of women’s groups. She has been inducted into the Australian Businesswoman’s Hall of Fame and in 2013 was listed as one of Australia’s 100 women of influence by the Australian Financial Review.