Andrew Donovan
Andrew Donovan FAICD is a company director and board advisor specialising in organisations experiencing high levels of growth, change or complexity.
An accomplished board chair and non-executive company director, Andrew is a leader in innovative and effective board outcomes. He is Chair of Barker Trailers, manufacturers of world class semi trailers and a board member of the E-Vam Institute. Andrew is a member of the Independent Nominations Committees of Bank First (formerly Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank) and Mildura Airport and has previously been the independent Chair of the Murray Goulburn (Board) Candidate Assessment Panel. He is the former Chair of Dairy Innovation Australia Limited and Environment Victoria.
Andrew is a senior facilitator for the Australian Institute of Company Directors in Australian and Asia and a facilitator for the advanced level program, Mastering the Boardroom. He has authored several Institute education programs and publications. Andrew is also a co-founder of Consigliere Private Counsel, a business which provides one-on-one specialist, strategic counsel to the leaders of Australia’s private companies.
Andrew is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and graduate of the Company Directors Course (Order of Merit). He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Australian National University.
Andrew’s sector experience includes not for profit organisations, government statutory entities, joint venture companies, private and family companies and industry associations. Industry experience includes insurance, financial services, superannuation, manufacturing, healthcare, social services, water, sustainability and research and development.
Sarah-Jane Walsh
Sarah-Jane Walsh B.Ec, LLB, LLM, MBA, FAICD is a lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in the provision of legal and public company secretarial solutions for leading corporate organisations.
Sarah-Jane advises on legal and governance issues for boards across all sectors, with a particular focus on the not-for-profit sector. She was a Senior Fellow at Monash University lecturing on directors’ duties and corporate governance and is currently an accredited facilitator with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. From 2014-2018, Sarah-Jane was also an Ombudsman with the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Sarah- Jane has been a non-executive director of an ASX listed company, a major independent school and a non-government volunteer agency and an independent director of a private family business. She is currently a director of Wannon Water Corporation.
Sarah-Jane holds a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Law from Monash University and a Master of Law and Master of Business Administration from The University of Melbourne and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Pauline Brightling
Pauline Brightling BAnSci (Hons), BVSc (Hons), MVSc, MAICD is a consultant with over 20 years’ experience in design, delivery, evaluation and review of Research, Development and Extension programs across the agricultural sector in Australia and overseas. She is the principal of a consulting group which she established in 1997. Prior to that she was an academic and Associate Dean at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne.
Pauline has led a number of industry-wide change management programs including a national drought response initiative and a program to enhance on-farm human resource management. She has designed leadership development strategies in the dairy, sheep and grain sectors. In 2013 she received the Australasian Pacific Extension Network bi-annual award for Excellence in Extension. She has also done professional and pro bono mentoring in the community sector associated with workforce development for the NDIS rollout.
Pauline holds a Batchelor of Animal Science (Hons) and Batchelor of Veterinary Science (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and Master of Veterinary Science from the University of Saskatchewan. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Jason Talbot
Jason is an outcome focused leader with a talent for succeeding in complex and rapidly changing environments.
Jason works with boards and C level executives who want to use unconstrained thinking to explore growth possibilities and set an aspirational vision for the future. Known for creating a solid blueprint for profit growth and value enhancement, he uses his deep knowledge of strategy, finance and business systems to drive outstanding results. His quick intellect, creativity and effective communication style enable him to rapidly get to the core of complex business issues and impart actionable knowledge across the organisation.
Jason is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia. He holds a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and a Graduate Diploma in Accounting, a Doctor of Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science from Monash University.
Tony Nippard
Tony Nippard is currently serving as a director and committee member on several Boards: Federation Training, Neami Ltd, Mental Health and Wellbeing Australia Ltd, Chair of Westside Circus Inc., Alpine School Council, and Chair of Moreland Affordable Housing Ltd. He is also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Commission of Children and Young People.
Tony has over 25 years’ experience providing clear and concise advice to Chairs, CEOs, co-directors and executives on a diverse range of business and policy issues that affect an entity’s operational and financial performance and reputation. He brings to the table, a strong analytical and problem solving focus with a unique insight into the practical problems boards confront in complex and sensitive environments.
He has many years of experience dealing with executives and boards in government and non-government organisations, not only developing and implementing policy but also with program management and corporate services.
As a director of several not for profit and public entities since 1988, Tony has been involved in the fields of higher education and training [a former board member of Melbourne Polytechnic], mental health, the Arts, mortgage finance, alpine resort management [a former board member of Lake Mountain Alpine Resort Management], community health, health information management, children services as well as advisory committees in child protection, defence, public sector governance, public sector governance and university sectors. Tony is a professional speaker and regularly receives invitations to speak to boards, present at conferences and seminars relating to corporate governance. Not only is Tony a facilitator for the Australian Institute of Company Directors in Melbourne, rural Victoria and other States, he also conducts induction and other training programs for board directors and executives.
Tony is a Fellow of the Australasian College Health Services Management, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries, a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Andrea Marmilic
Andrea provides project management support to the Thoughtpost Governance team to enable them to focus on delivery of governance and board evaluation services to its clients. Andrea’s role is to ensure there is a seamless interface between Thoughtpost Governance and its clients by managing numerous day to day tasks and logistics to ensure a project runs smoothly.
Andrea is very experienced in the management of finance and people functions in both corporate entities and her own small business. For more than 10 years she owned and operated an Owners Corporation management business and also operated her own remuneration planning consultancy. Andrea also has many years’ of experience working in Human Resource Management in the finance industry. Highly focused and efficient, Andrea is methodical and always operates with the utmost integrity and professionalism.
Andrea has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne.
Michael Williams
Michael provides research and strategy development at Thoughtpost Governance, enabling us to continuously improve our services and our engagement with clients. Michael has a passion for digital strategy and business’ undertaking of digital opportunities, and a keen interest in the development of directorship and governance.
Michael provides a diverse range of academic and professional skills to advise on a broad spectrum of projects. He has previous experience in commercial property management, including managing a small business centre in Western Australia. This role included managing business-client relationships, contract negotiations, leasing, market research and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the business. Michael has recent experience in business development in the environmental science industry, working closely with the company directors of a medium sized laboratory. In this role Michael assisted in advising the business in a number of key transactions and strategies, including new overseas partnerships in Singapore, India and the Middle East and the partial sale of the business. Michael has also previously worked in a number of law firms in various legal research and assistance roles. These roles were in Corporate, Property, Mining & Energy & Local Government law.
Michael has recently completed a Master of International Business at University of Melbourne. Michael also holds a Bachelor of Laws/Economics from University of Western Australia.
Bob Zhu
Bob assists with data strategy and analytics research at Thoughtpost Governance. As part of a long-term vision for Thoughtpost Governance to adapt to a continuously changing digital environment, Bob seeks to explore potential cross-over areas between data strategy and governance/directorship.
Bob has a variety of experience in consulting, software project management and data modelling. He has experience working in start-ups as a project manager, managing a small team of Indian, Russian and Australian website developers while working from home, and providing professional consulting reports as an Actuarial Consultant at Ernst & Young. This role is where Bob first discovered his passion for data analytics and modelling, where he assisted in upgrading older data models, using both mathematical and statistical knowledge to optimise the relevance of this process. Bob also has worked for a boutique management consultant, whom together consulted for clients in the insurance and risk protection sector.
Bob is currently completing a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Actuarial Studies at the University of Melbourne.