Tasmanian Leaders

Mr John Perry – Chair

John recently joined American Airlines’ fast track leadership program as a Financial Analyst after having completed his MBA at the University of Cambridge. Previously John was Head of Innovation and Enterprise for one of the UK’s largest universities, London Metropolitan University, where he and his team facilitated and developed the University’s commercial activity. Prior to this career transition, he was a senior corporate transactions lawyer with a ‘top-10′ London headquartered international law firm. He is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court and various Supreme Courts of Australia, and is a Solicitor of England and Wales.

Before moving to London, John was a national partner of Hunt & Hunt, a large Australasian law firm. He is a board member of London’s largest charity for homeless people, St Mungo’s, and was a founding director of TelEurope Ltd, an Australian based public telecommunications company.

Prior to undertaking his MBA, John Chaired the Fund Management Board of the Emerald 99Fund, a pre-commercial fund, of over £2million established for testing the commercial viability of new ideas and products from eight Universities across London. He is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

While working as a lawyer in Tasmania, John was also Dean of Studies at Christ College, a residential college of the University of Tasmania, and then Director of Programs. During this period, John co-founded (with Amanda Wojtowicz and Anthea Pritchard) a leadership program for University Students called Ortus Star and was the inaugural Program Manager for three years.

Ms Gillian Biscoe – Board Member

Gillian Biscoe is a Board Member of Tasmanian Leaders and co-designs and co-facilitates the TLP residentials. Gillian is the Executive Director of the Bellettes Bay Company Pty Ltd (1996-current), is on the Tasmanian Government’s Honour Roll of Women, is an Executive Associate of JTA International, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the University of New South Wales, the University of California at San Francisco, and in her first career as a nurse, the Royal Hobart Hospital.

She consults locally, nationally, regionally and globally to private, public and not-for-profit organizations, individuals and to governments, on a wide range of policy, strategy and governance issues, leadership and management, organisational development, reform and change. Gillian was the first woman in Australia to be appointed Secretary of a health department (ACT), a health and community services department (Tasmania), Deputy Director General of Health in New Zealand, and one of the first appointed as chief executive of a major public hospital (Royal Canberra Hospital).

She has been the chair, or a member, of numerous global committees (e.g. on poverty and health for the World Health Organisation); national committees (e.g. the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Health, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Standing Committee of Social Welfare Administrators, the Federal Council of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation); and local bodies such as the ACT Planning Committee (for town planning) and the Tasmanian Child Protection Council. In 2010 Gillian was awarded the Sidney Sax medal for her outstanding contribution to Australia’s health sector.

Mr Robert (Bob) Campbell – Board Member

Bob is a director of Groupwork a facilitation company that aims to help groups move from uncertainty to purpose. He began his career in human resource management and was actively involved in recruitment, policy development, training and industrial relations. He then moved to general management providing leadership in strategic and operational planning, organisational design, team building and facilitation. His industry experience includes retailing, property management, forestry and local government. From 1993 to 2003 he was the general manager of Launceston City Council leading significant city development and organisational change.

Bob is Chair of the Tasmania Together Progress Board and was a founding Board member of The Foundation for Young Australians.

Ms Lou Clark – Board Member

Lou was born, and has lived and worked for most her adult life, in Launceston. For the past three years she was the Executive Officer of the Launceston Chamber of Commerce overseeing the day to day to operations of the highly successful and independent business based membership organisation.

Lou started her career in the legal profession in 1991, although quickly transitioned from law into a sales and marketing role in media. Prior to her role with the Chamber, she worked for 14 years for WIN Television in senior positions in sales and marketing, including the position of Launceston Manager for seven years.

Lou has been involved with Festivale, one of the State’s premier food and wine events for ten years and is the current Chair of the Launceston Festivale Committee Inc. She is a past President and current member of Tamar Sunrise Rotary Club. Lou is a committee member of the Regional Development Australia Tasmania Committee and on the board of management of Scotch Oakburn College. Lou is also a founding member of Bravehearts Regional Committee Tasmania. Bravehearts is the leading not for profit organisation dedicated to the prevention of child sexual assault in the community.

Lou has a law degree from the University of Tasmania and in 2001 was a Finalist in the Telstra Tasmania Business Women’s Awards, Private & Corporate Sector Category.

Lou was a participant in the Tasmanian Leaders Program in 2009.

Ms Liz Jack – Board Member

Liz is the Deputy Secretary, Culture, Recreation and Sport within the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts, a position she has held since early 2008. Prior to this she was responsible for the overall development and delivery of sport and recreation infrastructure, programs and services within Tasmania as Director of Sport and Recreation Tasmania.

Liz’s early career revolved around sport. After competing for the Australian Olympic diving team in Montreal in 1976, she became one of Canada’s most successful national team coaches, coaching medallists at World Championships and Commonwealth and Olympic Games over a 10-year period.

After retiring from coaching she led the delivery of elite sport programs and services in Tasmania as Director of the Tasmanian Institute of Sport from 1990 until 2004. During this time she spent three years working for the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, where she was responsible for running the Olympic diving events in 2000.

Liz is an inductee of both the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame and the Tasmanian Honour Roll for Women. She is also Chair of the Fahan School board and a member of the Service Tasmania board.

Mr Brian Lewis – Board Member

Brian has worked in management consulting since the late 1980s across the public, private and not for profit sectors in a range of industries in Australia, Great Britain, the USA, Asia Pacific and New Zealand. Prior to consulting, he worked for a number of Commonwealth Government Departments in Australia.

His current focus is on leadership and management development, organisation development, organisation review, strategic and business planning, change management, executive coaching and facilitation of Trans-Tasman Executive Learning Sets.

Brian works with participants during the residentials in the Tasmanian Leaders Program.

Brian has a long term commitment to leadership and management development that shows benefits for individuals, their organisations and society as a whole. He sees leadership in its broadest sense and not merely conferred by role or job title.

Ms Anthea Pritchard – Deputy Chair and Public Officer

Anthea is the Group Marketing & Sales Executive for Blundstone, responsible for product and market development across the group. Blundstone is the iconic Australian boot sold around the world. Prior to this role she was employed within the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts, in various roles, culminating in the position of Director Antarctic Tasmania, Science and Research. Anthea has also previously been employed as Marketing Manager for J. Boag & Son, Australia’s premium brewer, where she was responsible for the development of the Boag’s brand portfolio, including James Boag’s Premium, Boag’s St George, Boag’s Classic Blonde and the development of the Boag’s Centre for Beer Lovers, (Boag’s tourism venture).

Anthea was previously employed with Diageo in Victoria, as firstly their State Marketing Manager and then in the position of Retail Sales Manager. She has also worked as a Marketing consultant and for National Foods. She is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, and was awarded Tasmanian Marketer of the Year in 2007.

Anthea co-founded Ortus Star with John Perry and Amanda Wojtowicz.

Ginna Webster – Board Member

As the Director of Community Corrections (Tasmania), Ginna has overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the agency working with offenders on community-based orders to reduce re-offending and contribute to a safer Tasmania.

Ginna has almost ten years’ experience in Corrective Services and between 2005 and 2008 she managed the transition to the new Risdon Prison Complex in Hobart. Prior to joining the Department of Justice Ginna worked with the Australian Customs Service for over 18 years in Tasmania, the Northern Territory, New South Wales and the ACT. Ginna graduated from the Tasmanian Leaders Program in 2008 and is currently Chair of the Alumni.