Major performing arts board members
Rick Allert AO, chair, SA
Rick Allert AO was reappointed chair of the major performing arts board for a further three years from 1 February 2009, having served as chair of the board from 2006. He is also chair of the Australia Council’s audit and finance committee. Rick is currently chairman of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd and Tourism Australia. He is a director of the Australia Business Arts Foundation and a member of the Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment. Some of Rick's former appointments include chairman of Southcorp Limited, chairman of the AustralAsia Railway Corporation, chairman of Voyages Hotels & Resorts Pty Ltd, chairman of the Coles Group and member of the Review of Business Taxation (Ralph Committee). From 1959-60, he worked with Carroll Winter & Co. Chartered Accountants and joined Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. in 1960 where he was a partner from 1973-79. From 1979-89 he was the senior partner of Allert Heard & Co. Chartered Accountants until it was acquired in 1989 by Arthur Andersen & Co. Mr Allert attended Kings College in Adelaide and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. In December 2000 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of South Australia and in December 2002, the Centenary Medal.
Frank Cooper, WA
Frank Cooper graduated in 1977 from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Commerce. He joined Arthur Andersen in 1976 and was admitted as an international partner in the partnership in 1987. He was appointed head of the Tax Division in 1990 and Office Managing Partner in 1991. In May 2002 Frank joined Ernst & Young as a partner, responsible for clients primarily within the Mining, Energy and Utilities sector. His principal expertise is in Corporate Tax specialising in mergers and acquisitions and transaction work. He was an elected member of the National Board of Partners from May 2002 to July 2005 and was also a member of the Succession Committee, Income Allocation Philosophy Committee and the Partner Care Committee. In July 2005 Frank left Ernst & Young to set up Cooper Partners Pty Ltd, a boutique tax and business advisory firm, and in December 2005 he joined PriceWaterhouseCoopers as a partner. Frank is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, fellow of the Tax Institute of Australia and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He was a director of West Australian Opera from 1994 to 2006, and was chair of the company from 1997. He is chair of the Western Australian Community Foundation and a Member of the WA Strategic Health Research Advisory Committee. He has also previously held board director positions with the Fremantle Football Club and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.
Chum Darvall, NSW
Chum Darvall was appointed Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Bank Australia and New Zealand in July 2002. He joined the bank in September 1994 as Director, Treasury, managing the money market, swaps and foreign exchange units and group funding. In early 1998, he became Head of Global Markets, responsible for all financial market-related activities. Chum was also part of the management group responsible for the integration of the New Zealand operation of Bankers Trust with Deutsche Bank in 1999. Prior to his first appointment at Deutsche Bank, Chum worked in the financial markets divisions of Westpac (1985-1994) and BA Australia Ltd (1981-1985), a subsidiary of Bank of America. Chum is a council member for the Business Council of Australia. His board memberships include Wilson HTM, Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA), Centre for Independent Studies, the Financial Markets Foundation for Children, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI) and Macquarie University Council.
Lindy Hume, NSW
Lindy Hume, artistic director of the Sydney Festival from 2009, is one of Australia’s leading directors and artistic directors, acknowledged internationally for a wide variety of repertoire and for progressive artistic leadership of a number of Australian arts organisations. In Australia she has created more than 50 opera productions, including the world premiere production of Richard Mills’ Batavia, for which she won both the Helpmann and Green Room Awards for Best Director and Best Production (opera). Her European productions have been seen in some of the world’s leading opera houses, including Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin (La Bohème, also telecast live throughout Europe), Radamisto for the Handel Festival, Halle and Albert Herring and Phaedra for the Aldeburgh Festival. She made her American debut in 2004 with The Barber of Seville for Houston Grand Opera, to which she will return for Rigoletto in 2009. From 2004 to 2007 she was also artistic director of four very successful Perth International Arts Festivals.
Mary-Ellen King, Vic
Mary-Ellen King was general manager of the Melbourne International Arts Festival from 2002 to 2006. Prior to this she was an Executive of the Victorian Arts Centre, held a range of roles at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from Marketing Manager to Acting Managing Director, Melbourne Manager of Opera Australia and Assistant Manager of the Perth Concert Hall. Pursuing a change of direction, she travelled overseas in 2007 and is now Director of Operations and Development at Calvary Silver Circle, a national community health organisation. Mary-Ellen has an MBA from the University of Melbourne and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Williamson Community Leadership Program. She is currently a Director of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and has been a member of the Australia Day Council (Victoria), the Board of Orchestra Victoria, the Leadership Victoria NFP CEO Advisory Committee and a Trustee of the Victorian Actors Benevolent Fund.
Martin Kriewaldt FAICD, Qld
Martin Kriewaldt is a professional company director having previously been a partner of Allen Allen and Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson) from 1974 to 1999. He is a director of Suncorp-Metway Ltd, Oil Search Ltd, Campbell Bros Ltd and GWA International Ltd. Martin is chairman of Opera Queensland (since 1998), the president of the Queensland Division of The Australian Institute of Company Directors and also serves on its national board. He is a member of the Redeemer Lutheran College Council. Previously, Martin has been chairman or a director of several listed and unlisted public companies and trusts and served as chairman or committee member on various professional associations, governmental bodies, charities and church bodies.
Elizabeth Proust, Vic
Elizabeth Proust has held leadership roles in the private and public sectors in Australia for almost 25 years. She left ANZ at the end of 2005 to pursue non-executive roles and to work as a mentor and leadership coach. She has an outstanding track record in leading organisations, and in involvement in a range of arts, charitable, university and business boards. In her last role as Managing Director of Esanda, she achieved double-digit profit growth in each of her four years. She was at the ANZ for eight years, and prior to that held senior positions in the Victorian Government and was CEO of the City Of Melbourne. Ms Proust has joined the boards of Perpetual Ltd, Spotless Ltd, Insurance Manufacturers Australia Pty Ltd, and Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd. She is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Previously she chaired the Campus Council at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, reviewed the Defence Department for the then Defence Minister, Dr Brendan Nelson and was chairman of the Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University. She was also chairman of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2008. Ms Proust has a Law degree (University of Melbourne) and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from La Trobe University.