The Board of Western Health consists of independent non-executive members from a range of backgrounds and with local ties to Melbourne's West. Board Members are appointed to the Board by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister for Health.
July 2024
BOARD MEMBER PROFILES
Prof
the Hon Jill Hennessy (Chair)
GAICD
Professor the Hon. Jill Hennessy is a former Attorney-General of Victoria. Jill was also the Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services and Minister for Workplace Safety and led a series of ground breaking reforms in her time in Parliament. Jill is an experienced Chair and Company Director.
Jill is the Chair of the Monash Women's Health Alliance, Chair of Wellness and Infrastructure, Independent Chair of the AASW and the Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellow at Monash University. Jill is a Non-Executive Director at the Hudson Institute for Medical Research, Scope (Aust) Ltd, Melbourne Theranostic Innovation Centre (MTIC Pty Ltd) and Precision Molecular Imaging and Theranostics (PreMIT). She is a strategic advisor to the Susan McKinnon Foundation and an Ambassador for the McKinnon Prize for Political Leadership. Jill has previously served on the Board of Western Health and is a proud resident of Melbourne's West. A passionate Western Bulldogs supporter, Jill is the Deputy Chair of the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
Jill holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University and a Masters of Law (Public and International) from the University of Melbourne. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Prof the Hon Jill Hennessy is a Member of the Audit, Finance, Quality & Safety and Governance & Remuneration Committees.
Appointed Board Director July 2024; Appointed Board Chair July 2024
Hon Monica Gould
A former Victorian Minister, Monica Gould served as Victoria's first (and still only) female President of the Legislative Council. She began her career in the union movement, with a particular focus on advocating for poorly paid women in the manufacturing industry.
In Parliament, Monica served in both opposition and government and developed a reputation for effectiveness and efficiency, driving through legislation through advocacy and bipartisan engagement as Minister for Industrial Relations and then Minister for Education Services and Youth Affairs. She also played a significant role in advancing the representation of women through visible leadership and initiatives such as quotas for women in pre-elections.
Since retiring from government, Monica has applied her abilities in governance, diplomacy, strategy and stakeholder engagement in the service of non-profit organisations, holding board and chair positions in youth, community and environmental initiatives.
The Hon Monica Gould is the Chair of the Community Advisory Committee and a Member of the Governance & Remuneration Committee.
Appointed July 2020
Professor Andrew Conway
FIPA FFA FCMA FCPA (UK) MAICD FAIM BCom BTeach(Sec) GCertAIB
Professor Andrew Conway is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Public Accountants - one of Australia's largest professional accounting bodies. Andrew represents the Australian profession in a range of global Boards and committees and is a current member of the ASX Corporate Governance Council. In 2022, Andrew was appointed by the Australian Government as a member of the Tax Practitioners Board.
Prior to working with the Institute, Andrew was an Australian Government Treasury Ministry Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor. In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary of Federation Medal and was subsequently awarded Australian Young Professional of the Year and AFR BOSS Magazine Young Executive of the Year. Andrew was appointed a Professor of Accounting at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (honoris causa) and is also a Vice Chancellor's Distinguished Fellow and Adjunct Professor at Deakin University. In 2011 he was appointed as a Board Director of Eastern Health. 2020 marked the completion of his final term at Eastern. In addition, Andrew is actively involved in research and co-founded the IPA-Deakin University SME Research Centre and co-authored the landmark Australian Small Business White Paper.
Andrew is a devoted husband and father of three children.
Professor Andrew Conway is the Chair of the Finance Committee and a Member of the Audit Committee.
Appointed May 2020
Adj A/Prof Elizabeth Kennedy
B.A,LL.B (Hons), LL.M, Grad Dip Health and Medical Law (Melb), GAICD
Adj A/Prof Elizabeth Kennedy has been a practising lawyer for over 40 years and was General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Corporate Counsel of Epworth Healthcare, The Royal Women's Hospital and The Royal Children's Hospital. She was the inaugural in-house lawyer of Southern Healthcare Network from its formation in 1998.
Elizabeth specialises in health and medical law.
Elizabeth is a currently a director of Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Care Network, the legal member of the Victorian Pharmacy Authority and a director of the Australian Psychological Society. She is also a member of the Council of Janet Clarke Hall. She has held a number of not for profit Board appointments throughout her career, including Monash Medical Centre, Alzheimer's Victoria, Family Planning Victoria, and the Victorian Cytology Service.
Adj A/Prof Elizabeth Kennedy is the Chair of the Audit and Governance & Remuneration Committees.
Appointed July 2020
Ben Davison
BA, MBA, GAICD
Ben Davison is a professional director and consultant with over 20 years experience in leadership roles across the for-purpose sector. In addition to being a director of Western Health, Ben is currently Chair of BGT Jobs and Training, a Trustee Director of the Industry Superannuation Fund HESTA, a Director of the Ballarat General Cemetery Trust and serves as a non-executive director for ACTU Member Connect
Ben has previously served as the Chief of Staff, Director of Operations and Director of Communications at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and as CEO of Southport Uniting Care, following a period in the leadership team at Diabetes Australia-Vic.
Ben's working life - coupled with his formal education - allows him to bring a broad range of general management, ethical governance, public policy, marketing, financial management, member engagement, campaign/project management, crisis management and corporate affairs experience to all of his endeavours.
As well as his board service, Ben provides management and governance consulting services to values-aligned clients. He runs a successful podcast with his partner and is active in a range of local community groups and organisations.
Ben Davison is a Member of the Finance and Community Advisory Committees.
Appointed July 2022
Anna Peeters AM
Ph.D, B.Sc.(Hons), CF
Professor Anna Peeters is Director of the Institute for Health Transformation and Professor of Epidemiology and Equity in Public Health at Deakin University.
She is Past President of the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society, a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International Policy Advisory Group (2015-ongoing), and sits on the Board of the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) (2019-ongoing). She was the recipient of the prestigious World Obesity Federation Andre Mayer Award (2014) for research excellence and a Churchill Award (2014) for innovative work in equity and population prevention. As a public health researcher, she works to provide information to facilitate objective and equitable choices in health by policy makers, practitioners and the public.
Anna Peeters is the Chair of the Primary Care & Population Health Committee and a Member of the Quality & Safety Committee.
Appointed July 2022
Deborah Cole
BDS GradDipHlthAdmin MBA GradCertLead&CathCult FAICD GAIST(Adv)
Dr Deborah Cole is an experienced Non-Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer predominantly in the health sector.
Deborah is the current and inaugural Chair of the Australian Centre for Value-Based Health Care and a Non-Executive Director of HESTA (Superannuation Fund) and Frontier Advisors. Deborah is the immediate past Chair of Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association and the previous CEO of Dental Health Services Victoria.
Deborah has broad experience in health, public dentistry, finance, corporate governance, and local government, and has worked in both the not-for-profit and public sectors. Deborah has held CEO positions at Calvary Health Care and Yarra City Council as well as senior executive positions at Mercy Health, St Vincent's Health Melbourne, Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and South Australian Dental Service.
Dr Deborah Cole is the Chair of the Quality & Safety Committee and a Member of the Primary Care & Population Health Committee.
Appointed July 2022
Harvey Newnham
MBBS, FRACP, PhD, GAICD, AICGG
Professor Harvey Newnham is an Endocrinologist and General Physician with extensive board and clinical leadership experience in the acute health sector. Harvey is also a board member of Bass Coast Health and was previously a member of the Royal Melbourne Hospital (Melbourne Health) and Better Care Victoria boards. Harvey chairs the board of Health Education Australia Limited (HEAL) which encompasses the Australasian Institute of Clinical Governance (AICG). He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed the AICD boardroom mastery course.
Harvey is experienced in organisational and unit review at health department, hospital and clinical unit level. Harvey's main interests are to improve the safety, quality and value proposition of acute care with particular emphasis on internal audit of clinical services, consumer engagement and interdisciplinary teamwork. In 2014 Harvey completed Brent James's "Advanced Training Program in Health Care Delivery Improvement" at the Intermountain Institute of Healthcare Delivery Research, Salt Lake City, USA.
Harvey was Program Director of Emergency and Acute Medicine at Alfred Health from 2009-20 and Director of General Medicine there from 2007-22. Harvey is an Adjunct Clinical Professor with Monash University. In his earlier career, Harvey was Director of Internal Medicine at Eastern Health and was extensively involved in education, developing both the undergraduate medical student program and the physician training program there. He was also chair of the Endocrinology Specialist Advisory Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Harvey has served for many years as a senior member of the National Examining Panel of the RACP.
Professor Harvey Newnham is a Member of the Audit and Quality and Safety Committees.
Appointed July 2023
Dr Elisabet Wreme
MSc, DBA, FAICD
Elisabet is an experienced C-Suite executive, non executive director and chair with a passion for service and technology businesses going through change. She is a highly professional leader with a genuine understanding of digital and cyber. Elisabet focus is to great customer experiences and strong performance outcomes at the same time.
Elisabet is an innovator with a patent to her name. Elisabet has broad experience across a range of strategic and operational roles, primarily across financial services and health related organisations. Her previous executive roles include COO for GuildGroup Holdings and senior executive roles with Telstra and NAB.
Elisabet is the Chair of BreastScreen Victoria, board director at HAMBS as well as board director at PWG. She has previously been on the board of Y Victoria and Ausmaq.
Appointed July 2024
