Our Patrons and Board

Gail has held senior positions across Government including at Worksafe and the former Department of State Development. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and member of Chief Executive Women of Australia, CEOs for Gender Equity, Murdoch Vice Chancellor’s External Advisory Committee, Western Australian Planning Commission, Pastoral Lands Board and Infrastructure WA.  

Todd Hutchison is an international bestselling author, global business consultant and behavioural and project management specialist. He is listed on the Who’s Who of Business in Australia, and holds a world championship (grade 2) in music as a former WA Police Pipe Band member.

Todd is the global CEO of management consultancy firm Peopleistic, an executive of commercial law firm Balfour Meagher, and works in digital forensics (multimedia) as a police-licensed investigator with Forensics Australia, mainly on homicide cases. He also resides as the Chairman of the International Institute of Legal Project Management.

He is an adjunct Associate Professor position, with adjunct positions at Edith Cowan University and Curtin University. He has qualifications in company directorship, business, contract management, legal project management, project management, training, information technology, professional coaching and engineering, including an MBA from Deakin University, and a Master of Commerce from Curtin University. He is now progressing a PhD in business, and a Bachelor of Laws.

As an internationally qualified and experienced company director, he has served on boards in Australia, United Kingdom and the United States, including large global organisations like the Project Management Institute.

Todd is a Fellow of Leadership Western Australia (LWA) after graduating in 2005, and also holds fellowships with the Australian Institute of Management (AIM), Project Management Institute (PMI), the Australian Institute of Project Management and the Governance Institute of Australia (GIA).

Justine has over 30 years’ experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in Australia, the UK and Europe, doing everything from running a pub to running a prison.

Justine has worked to support and promote the needs and rights of some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in WA and is keen to see them considered as valuable, contributing and celebrated citizens.

For ten years, Justine has been the CEO of Rise, which offers services for people with mental health issues, a disability, older people, youth at risk, those dealing with family and domestic violence, and the carers for all those people. Rise is a significant provider of community housing.

Justine is a Distinguished Fellow of Leadership WA, one of the premier leadership programs in WA and the winner of the WA Telstra Businesswomen’s Award (Community and Government).

Chris joined Hays in 2002 and has held several key leadership positions in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia and in November 2013, was appointed as State Director of Western Australia and the National Director for Hays Resources & Mining. This role involves the total operational responsibility for all of Hays specialist areas ranging from short term trades recruitment to government and multi-national executive appointments. In particular, Chris is passionate about working with and supporting small business and is currently leading a strategic team which focuses on the SME market in Australia and New Zealand for Hays.

With a degree in Applied Science with a major in Psychology, Chris has travelled extensively before settling into his career at Hays and starting a family, which now consists of his wife and two beautiful girls. Since completing Leadership WA’s Signature Leadership Program in 2015, Chris has taken on additional responsibilities as an inaugural Board member of Leeming Primary School and a Non-Executive Director of a small not-for-profit promoting disability awareness in schools, known as Kissabilities.

Sam has held senior positions since the late 1990s and has experience across a wide range of industries. He has a law degree from the University of Western Australia and, after spending a decade practicing law in top tier law firms specialising in corporate law, energy and resources, administrative law, compliance and governance, he moved in-house.

Sam is currently Executive Manager Asset Operations at Western Power. This is the chief operations officer role at Western Power and is accountable for the operational staff across 27 regional and metropolitan offices and depots that are responsible for the planning, scheduling and delivery of work to expand and maintain the electricity network.

Prior to this role Sam was the General Counsel and Executive Manager of the Governance & Assurance Business Unit at Western Power, which included being the Company Secretary for the corporation.

Sam has extensive experience advising corporations and Boards, and brings a diverse range . of teclylical and management experience in strategic leadership, stakeholder management, legal and financial regulation and governance, culture and change management, and safety and compliance.

Sam is also a non-executive director of the Fiona Wood Foundation and is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, an associate member of the Australian Institute of Management and a Signature Program Alumni 2011. 

Darren is an Aboriginal person (Yamatji) with over 28 years’ experience as a Senior Level Professional (Civil Engineer). He has led and managed companies and multi-disciplinary teams to achieve results in dynamic and complex work environments, including infrastructure, government, contracting and resource sectors.

Darren has worked as General Manager role with Ngarda Civil & Mining; Team Lead role on the Chevron $US 34B Wheatstone Project; Chief of Staff - Office of the Minister for Regional Development, Agriculture and Food (Western Australian Government); and Regional Manager Gascoyne with Main Roads Western Australia.

He is experienced in Board governance, financial management and operation. He has been Managing Director and Director of 4 Aboriginal businesses since April 2018. Since February 2020, he has been a Board Member and Trustee of the Sister Kate’s Children 1934 to 1953 Aboriginal Corporation.

He has a comprehensive knowledge of Western Australia, its regions, and various industries and developments. 

As CEO of the WACA since 2012, Christina has redefined the way the WACA approaches its business, introducing a strong strategic focus, commitment to community engagement, restructuring to ensure resourcing aligns with the Association’s strategic objectives, and managing change to ensure a successful future for the organisation including moving commercial cricket from the WACA Ground to Optus Stadium. 

Her focus has also included increasing philanthropic endeavours and partnership development, both within the sports industry and in other complementary businesses, to expand the WACA’s reach.

Christina previously held the position of Chair of Selectors for the Australian Women's Cricket Team and has mentored young sports women aiming to move into elite sport. Her compassion and understanding has driven a supportive culture and work environment, with a focus on wellbeing and encouraging staff to reach their potential both personally and professionally. 

Named the country’s most capped female Test player, Christina is the only woman in Australia to hold the position of CEO of a first-class cricket association.

Caroline Parry is an Audit and Risk Committee member for WA’s Mental Health Commission and the former Chief Financial Officer for Gold Corporation, Western Australia’s third largest exporter by value. Her previous experience also includes 10 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Caroline is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Caroline’s experience includes financial management, governance controls, business transformation and technology as well as the embedding of environment, social and governance related policies and procedures.

Caroline is a Graduate from the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Australia, a Post Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting and a Cyber Security qualification from Harvard University. In Caroline’s spare time she is a facilitator and examiner for the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

In 2017 Caroline won the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand CFO of the year award at the 32nd WS Lonnie Awards.