2025 Signature Leadership Program cohort

We are delighted to introduce our 2025 Signature Leadership Program cohort. These 38 diverse and established Western Australian leaders represent a range of sectors and industries and each contribute passionately to the WA community.

We are also pleased to acknowledge and thank our Leadership WA Scholarship Partners and congratulate the 2025 recipients.

The GGA and CBH Group Growing Leaders Scholarships - awarded to Nicole Batten and Jim Hamilton.

The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries - awarded to Monique Beaudoire (Leadership in Culture and the Arts), Jamie Harnwell (Leadership in Sport and Recreation) and Henrietta Podgorska (Leadership in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities).

Our Leadership WA Scholarships - awarded to Steve Hilton and Anne Hallam; and the Department of Communities LeadAbility Scholarship - awarded to Kate Fulton.

You can discover more about our Scholarships, including the Leadership WA Foundation and LeadAbility Scholarships, here.

We wish our 2025 cohort an outstanding leadership journey as they embark on the 2025 Signature Leadership Program.

Leadership WA Signature Leadership Program 2025 cohort:

• Amanda Albrecht - Manager, Governance and Strategy, City of Bayswater

• Andrew Blaver - Head Of Distribution Energy Transition, Western Power

• Anne Hallam - Chief Executive Officer, Respiratory Care WA

• Ben Bristow - Head of Grid Transformation, Western Power

• Ben Smith - Executive Manager Growth & Innovation, Holyoake

• Carina Cooke - General Manager, Anglicare WA

• Carlos Llanos Parada - Manager Mining, BHP

• Cassandra Ryan - Alliance General Manager, SAAB Australia (Warship Asset Management Agreement Alliance)

• Cristina Perbelini Silva - Manager Integrated Planning, BHP

• Dan Metschke - Manager Agility & Change, Keystart Home Loans

• Daniel Muggeridge - Regional General Manager, Westpac Banking Corporation

• Debbie Strachan - Manager State Control Centre and Operations, St John WA

• Doug Stjepic - Inspector, Western Australia Police

• Eleanor Hughes - Collegiate Principal, Department of Education

• Emma Ferguson - District Director, Department of Communities

• Henrietta Podgorska - Chief Executive Officer, Umbrella Multicultural Community Care Services Inc.

• Jamie Harnwell - Chief Executive Officer, Football West

• Janine Egan - Planning Director, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

• Jason Page - General Manager Onshore Projects, Woodside

• Jethro Sercombe - Director Innovation Practice, Innovation Unit

• Jim Hamilton - Manager / Partner, Maradah Farm

• Jonathan Shuker - Project Delivery Manager, Public Transport Authority of WA

• Justin Fonte - Head of Country Ambulance Operations, St John WA

• Kate Fulton - Chief Executive Officer, Avivo

• Kelly Van Maanen - Director, Professional Practice, Specialist Child Protection Unit, Department of Communities

• Laura Kendall - Director of Community and Sustainability, Guildford Grammar School

• Leah Anderson - Head of Business Customer & Growth, Synergy

• Lee-Ann Pereira - Head of Contracts - Australia Region, Woodside Energy Ltd

• Leon Kroep - Senior Project Director, Department of Finance

• Marie-Anne Keeffe - Director of Communications, Department of Education

• Michelle Beresford - General Manager Energy Demand Initiatives, Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

• Monique Beaudoire - General Manager, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre

• Neil Cowan Executive - Director, East Metropolitan Health Service

• Nicole Batten - Director, Batten Farms

• Sang Nguyen - Manager Rehabilitation Closure, Rio Tinto Australia

• Sarah Stephens - Director, Agency Capability Reviews, Public Sector Commission

• Shannon Wright - Councillor, City of Mandurah

• Steve Hilton - Precentor, St George's Cathedral, Perth