Board of Directors Biographies

Michael Hawker AM is a businessman and company director with national and international experience gained through a distinguished career in the banking and insurance industries as both a director and non-executive director. Prior to his directorship roles Mike was the CEO of Insurance Australia Group Ltd; Group Executive, Business, and Consumer Banking at Westpac; Executive Director of Citibank International in Europe, and Deputy Managing Director of Citibank Limited in Australia.

Currently Mike holds a number of directorships with both Australian and international companies including Aviva, Macquarie Group, Macquarie Bank, and the Australian Rugby Union. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of General Enterprise Management Services International, a private equity fund based in Hong Kong focused on direct investments in the Asia Pacific region.

In addition to his business acumen and interests, Mike is actively involved in fostering relationships between business and the community sector. He was the founder of the Australian Business and Community Network that provides mentoring, partnering and support programs to students and schools; he is the former Chair of the New South Wales Juvenile Diabetes 'Walk to Cure' annual fundraising event, the Giant Steps Foundation, the Insurance Council of Australia and the Australian Financial Markets Association.

Mike joined the Board and became Chair in 2011.

Elsa Atkin is a company director and a cultural management consultant. She recently retired after previous roles as Executive Director of the National Trust of Australia (NSW), Deputy Director of the Evatt Foundation, and a senior manager at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Currently she sits on several boards, including those of Symphony Australia and the Library Council of NSW. She was made an Australia Day Ambassador (1998–2000) and Honorary Life Member of the National Trust in 2005.

Elsa joined the board in July 2007.

Joanna Capon is a member of the Australia China Council, the Advisory Council of the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the hospital’s Health Care Quality Council and Governance Committee. She is also Chair of Operation Art, a board member of Museums and Galleries NSW, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Art and Australia.

Joanna is an art historian, industrial archaeologist, curator and writer. She was awarded Medal of the Order of Australia in 2002 for services to the community.

Joanna joined the board in March 2007.

Peter Church is Group Chairman of AFG Venture Group, a corporate advisory/investment banking firm. Previously he was the Regional Managing Partner for Asia of the Australian law firm Freehills.

His involvement in business relations between Australia and the South-East Asian region spans more than 35 years, for which he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1994.

His other current directorships and similar include AFG Venture Group, the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce,  Indochina Starfish (Australia) Foundation, the Alliance of International Corporate Advisors (Switzerland),  Zaid Ibrahim and Co (Thailand) Limited, Aksara Foundation Indonesia, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Asia Pacific Business Advisory Board and Special Counsel to the English law firm of Stephenson Harwood.

Peter joined the board in June 2004.

Don Green is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, a Fellow CPA, and a Senior Partner of Ernst & Young Australia, where he leads the Oceania Transaction Tax practice.

He has held Asia-Pacific leadership roles of his firm’s Financial Markets and Japanese Business programs, and is currently Chair of the Taxation Taskforce of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.

Over a number of years, Don has been Director or Committee Chair of the Friends of the Mater Foundation for the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, the Australian Council for Infrastructure Development, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

Don joined the board in May 2003.

Stephen MacMahon is Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Sydney.

He is an international authority on the causes, prevention and treatment of common cardiovascular diseases. His special interest is the management of chronic and complex conditions in resource-poor settings, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition to his University and Institute appointments, Stephen holds several external appointments, including those as Chairman of the Scientific Board of the UK BioBank and Chairman of the Academic Alliance for Clinical Trials.

He has published several hundred scientific papers and delivered many invited lectures. For his work in the field of cardiovascular disease, he has received numerous awards, fellowships and honours. He accepted the NHMRC Achievement Award for the Most Outstanding Program Grant on behalf of The George Institute in 2008.

Robyn Norton is Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health, Professor of Public Health and Associate Dean (Global Health) in the University of Sydney Medical School. She is an international authority on the causes and prevention of injuries, particularly road traffic injuries.

Robyn was the inaugural Chair and is now Chair Emeritus of the Road Traffic Injuries Research Network, a global network, supported by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, aimed at increasing research and research capacity to address the current and growing burden of road traffic injuries in low and middle-income countries.

She holds an Honorary Professorship at Peking University Health Science Center, and is an Honorary Consultant Epidemiologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Jason Yat-sen Li is Managing Director of RI Group China Ltd, an investment banking and private equity firm based in Beijing. Previously he was Head of China Strategy and Senior Manager, Sustainable Development for Insurance Australia Group, and worked as a lawyer for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands.

He was a recipient of the Eisenhower Fellowship in 2002, as well as the Hauser Global Fellowship to New York University Law School in 2000.

He is currently a director of The Sydney Institute and a Governor of The Smith Family.

Jason has been a member of the board since June 2007.