People - The Board

Major General the Hon. Michael Jeffery is the Founder and first founding Chairman of Future Directions International. He is a distinguished former soldier in the Australian Army and a former Governor of Western Australia. As an infantry and Special Forces officer he served operationally in Malaya, Borneo and South Vietnam (where he was awarded the Military Cross and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry).

He has commanded every combat unit of the Australian Army, headed Australia's national counter terrorist authority in the rank of brigadier and held two star appointments in logistics, operations and as Deputy Chief of the Army. He was appointed Governor of Western Australia in 1993 and served in that position for seven years. He was sworn in as Australia's 24th Governor-General on August 11, 2003, and retired on the 5th September 2008. He is currently Chairman of The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, the Global Foundation and Outcomes Australia.

Major General John Hartley graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in December 1965. Three months later, he deployed to South Vietnam as a platoon commander with the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. He returned to Vietnam in 1970 as a senior adviser to a South Vietnamese infantry battalion. In these two appointments, he was wounded three times, twice mentioned-in-dispatches, awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the US Army Commendation Medal for Valour on two occasions and the US Air Force Air Medal for Valour.

As a General Officer, he headed Army’s Training Command, was the Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation, Deputy Chief of the Army and Head of Army’s Land Command. He has lectured on geo-strategic issues at the University of Queensland and at Griffiths University and has published over 150 articles in newspapers and defence related magazines. He was the SBS commentator for the opening phase of the 2003 Gulf War, appearing on national TV on 20 consecutive nights and was also the ABC FM spokesperson on the same topic. He was appointed FDI Institute Director in September 2009.

Mr Wallace was educated in Scotland. He is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Mr Wallace trained as a Chartered Accountant in Aberdeen, Scotland and then spent four years in an international accounting firm in London. He moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1969, joined Hendry Rae & Court (now Grant Thornton), and from 1971-2000 was a partner of Hendry Rae & Court/Grant Thornton.

Mr Wallace’s area of responsibility within Grant Thornton was as an Audit Partner. He covered a wide range of clients including public and private companies, not-for-profits and a range of government departments and entities. His other areas of professional work included business valuation and corporate due diligence, general business advisory, including business planning, operating cash flow budgets and company secretarial. Since retiring as a partner of Grant Thornton he has been involved in business consultancy work, including company directorial work. Mr Wallace is a honorary trustee and treasurer for Special Airborne Services Resources Trust and a Committee member of Commercial Travellers Association of WA.

Professor Lyn Beazley was appointed Chief Scientist of Western Australia in 2006 and was re-appointed in 2007 by the current Western Australian government. She is also Professor in Zoology at the University of Western Australia, where her research career has spanned 30 years.

She graduated first from Oxford University and then undertook her doctorate at Edinburgh University. Lyn transferred to Perth in 1976 and built up an internationally renowned research team that focused on recovery from brain damage. Her research also changed clinical practice in the treatment of infants at risk from pre-term delivery. Lyn has served on numerous peak bodies advising State and Federal Governments such as the NH&MRC Fellowships Committee (2006-2009). She is currently a board member of Neurosciences Australia. Internationally she has served on a panel assessing research performance for the Swedish Research Council and is a member of the Education Committee of the International Brain Research Organisation. She was a Trustee of the Western Australian Museum from 1999 until 2007. Lyn was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia in January 2009. She became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in November 2009.

On 7 March 2006, Professor Kerry Cox started as Vice-Chancellor and President of Edith Cowan University (ECU), Western Australia.

Prior to joining ECU, Professor Cox had been Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Ballarat for five years, after being Deputy Vice-Chancellor (at Ballarat) and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Head of Faculty of Science and Engineering, and Dean of Biological Sciences (all at Flinders University of South Australia). He has been a research scientist at leading institutions in Stockholm, London and Melbourne in his field of microbiology/immunology.

Professor Cox has a strong record of establishing linkages with government, industry, business and research partners. He has broad community interests and involvement. As a University Head, he promotes a pronounced service orientation and high standards of integrity.

Committee/Board/Council memberships include the National Council on Education for Sustainability; the Business-Higher Education Round Table; the Australian Society for Microbiology (former President); the Australasian Society for Immunology; the Victorian Education Research Network; the Grampians Rural Health Alliance Network; the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery; Universities Australia and the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (former President).

Professor Cox holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Microbiology and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Western Australia and Doctor of Education (honoris causa) from the University of Ballarat. The title of Emeritus Professor was conferred on Professor Cox by Flinders University in 1997 and by the University of Ballarat in 2006.

Previously from an agricultural background John established what was then John Garland & Co in 1965 to specialize in rural associated property and business sales in Western Australia. Over the past 46 years the company’s expertise has grown to one where it is now recognized as a leader in the marketing and sales of lifestyle estates, tourism ventures and the facilitation of overseas investment in Australia.

In 2007 John was awarded a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of his service to the Real Estate industry and the community.

A Past President of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (1986-88) and recognized by that body with the Kevin Sullivan Award in 1992. He was acknowledged with a Life Membership of REIWA in 1993. John is one of Western Australia’s longest practicing licensed auctioneers. As a past Deputy World President of the Paris-based FIABCI (International Real Estate Federation), John was responsible for the Asia-Pacific area and in recognition of his contribution he is one of the very few Australians to receive the FIABCI Medal of Honour.

John is a past Chairman of the Small Business Development Corporation in Western Australia, a position he held for seven years. The Corporation is responsible for Western Australia’s business migration centres and accepts the role of Advisory Body to the Minister for Commercial Small Business. A Committee Member with the Regional Development Authority, a Commonwealth Government Advisory Board for allocation of Commonwealth funds to regional projects in Western Australia. He is currently a councilor with the Small Enterprise Network Advisory Body of the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He was Deputy Chairman of Celebrate WA, responsible for Citizen of the Year Awards, Foundation Day, Proclamation Day, the Oz Concert and Adopt a Digger. A past committee member of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce and a Life Member of the Settlement Association of Western Australia. The Rotary Club of Perth is another commitment, where he is a Past President and Paul Harris fellow with sapphire and is actively involved in current Rotary initiatives to enhance the City of Perth.

John is a mentor for the Western Australian Police Force and provides a weekly visit to a squad during their six months training at the Joondalup Academy.

Professor Lance Twomey was Vice-Chancellor and President of Curtin University of Technology between 1997 and 2006. Prior to that time, he had been Deputy Vice-Chancellor for 8 years and Head of the School of Physiotherapy for 15 years. He has qualifications in physiotherapy, teaching and an honours degree and PhD in Anatomy. His research has focused on the structure, function and pathology of the human spine, including the effects of ageing and of trauma to the spine.

Lance has in excess of 200 peer reviewed publications in books and journals and has presented numerous conference papers and keynote addresses. He was a member of the National Health and Medical Research Committee’s medical research group for 9 years.

During his period at Curtin as Vice-Chancellor, the University grew to include more than 38,000 individual students, with international students comprising more than one-third of total student numbers, placing Curtin within the top ten WA export earners. A major campus, funded by the state government of Sarawak and supported by the Malaysian federal government, was developed at Miri in northern Sarawak in 1998. It presently has more than 2500 students from 30 countries. Curtin’s research increased five-fold under Lance’s direction, with a major focus on energy, mining and resources. Curtin has a superb Centre for Aboriginal Studies and Lance was Chair of the Australian Vice-Chancellor’s committee for Indigenous education during his 7 years as an elected member of the AVCC Board. Since retiring from Curtin in 2006, he has undertaken projects for the Federal and State governments; the State Government of Sarawak; universities and mining companies among others.

Lance Twomey was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996 and an Officer of the Order in 2007. He has honour awards from Japan and also from Malaysia, where he carries the title of Dato. He has honorary doctorates from Curtin University, The University of Western Australia and Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

The Hon. Cheryl Edwardes is Western Australia's former Attorney-General and Environment Minister.

Having completed her law degree at the University of WA in 1983, Cheryl was admitted to appear before the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 1984 and the High Court of Australia in 1986.

Cheryl was Western Australia's longest serving female State government minister (1993 to 2001), including her time as the State's first female Attorney-General and its Minister for the Environment. As Minister, Cheryl was responsible for a range of reforms in the environment, justice and labour relations portfolios.

She was the first female solicitor to serve in the WA State Parliament, following her election as the Member for Kingsley in 1989, a position she held for 17 years, until 2005.

In 2010 Cheryl was appointed the Executive General Manager - External Affairs, Government Relations and Approvals, for Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (HPPL). In this role, Cheryl helped to secure the necessary government and regulatory approvals for the company's major mining and infrastructure projects, including the Roy Hill Mine Rail and Port, as well as other Hancock coal developments.

Cheryl joined Hollman Fenwick Willan (HFW) in March 2012. Cheryl advises in relation to the range of complex statutory approvals needed for any successful large resources or infrastructure project in respect of environmental, climate change, native title and land tenure and access matters.

Mr. David Humann FCA, FCPA, FAICD, serves as a Non-Executive Independent Chairman of the Board of Mincor Resources NL since September 30, 1999. He is also serving as Nonexecutive chairman of Advanced Braking Technologies Ltd and Atomaer Holdings Pty Ltd., Nonexecutive director of India Resources Ltd, as well as Director of James Anne Holdings Pty Ltd.

Mr. Humann is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Certified Practising Accountant and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He was Chairman and Senior Partner of Price Waterhouse Hong Kong and China, from 1986 until 1994. He was also the Managing Partner of Price Waterhouse, Asia Pacific Region, and a member of the World Board of Price Waterhouse and of the global firm World Executive Management Committee based in London and New York. He was formerly a member of the Australia and New Zealand firm Executive Policy Committee.

Photographs Courtesy of www.shotbysean.com