DHA Board

Mr Derek Volker AO

Mr Volker was appointed Chairman of the DHA Board on 26 July 2008 and reappointed for a further term on 13 October 2011. He is also Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and Chairman of the Property Committee.

Mr Volker headed three Commonwealth Departments over the 15 year period to 1996—Veterans' Affairs, Social Security and Employment, Education and Training. From 1996 to 2004, he was Chairman of the Government Relations Group in the national law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth and he has been a company director and consultant to several major Australian and international companies. For the ACT Government, he has held the positions of Chair of the ACT Business Incentives Scheme Panel, Chair of ACT Tourism, Chair of the Education Export Council, Chairman of the ACT Skills Commission and Chairman of the City West Precinct committee.

Mr Peter Howman

MBA GDipCompSc GDipBus

Mr Howman was appointed as the Managing Director of DHA in February 2013. He was appointed a Director of DHA IML in December 2012.

As Managing Director, Mr Howman is responsible for strategic outcomes and has day-to-day responsibility for achieving shareholder, customer, financial and operational KPIs.

Mr Howman joined DHA in October 2007 as Chief Operating Officer. In this role he was responsible for operational management of DHA and worked closely with the then Managing Director in setting the strategic direction and management of the organisation.

Before joining DHA, Mr Howman was the General Manager Commercial Systems at Thales. He was responsible for order capture and project delivery of commercial Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions in the security, transport and infrastructure enterprise domains. He has also held senior executive positions at major global companies including the Boeing Company, Hewlett Packard, Lockheed Martin, Siemens Plessey and Rockwell Collins.

Mr Howman also has a wealth of first-hand experience with Defence through his 21 years of service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

AVM Gary Beck (Rtd) AO

Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Beck (Rtd) was appointed to the DHA Board on 23 November 2006 following his nomination by the Chief of the Defence Force and was reappointed on 23 November 2009 and 24 November 2011. He was the Chairman of the DHA Advisory Committee. His term expired on 23 November 2013.

AVM Beck is a senior consultant with RMC Pty. Ltd. He is a member of the ACT Council of Save the Children Australia and is patron of Duo, an organisation providing respite to carers of the disabled in Canberra. He concluded eight years with the Department of Veterans' Affairs in a statutory appointment as Director of War Graves. Before this he concluded a 38-year career in the RAAF, with his final posting as Commandant Australian Defence Force Academy. His two prior senior Defence appointments were Air Commander Australia and Chief of Air Force Personnel.

The Hon. Arch Bevis

Mr Bevis was appointed to the DHA Board on 13 October 2011. He is a member of the Property and Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

Mr Bevis was a Member of the House of Representatives from 1990 to 2010. He held various portfolio responsibilities serving as Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Shadow Minister for Defence, Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and Shadow Minister for Homeland Security, Aviation and Transport Security. He chaired various Parliamentary committees involved with industry, Defence and security, and was leader of Australian delegations to Japan and the NATO Assembly. Mr Bevis also participated in Australian American Leadership Dialogues on Security. Before entering Parliament, Mr Bevis was a senior officer of the Queensland Teachers' Union. He was a board member of the Queensland Teachers' Union Health Fund and Chairperson of the Union Shopper. Mr Bevis is a Member of the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal.

Ms Carol Holley

BA

Ms Holley was appointed to the DHA Board on 23 November 2009 and was appointed to the Property Committee in July 2011. She was appointed to the DHA IML Board on 14 December 2012 and was formally appointed as Chair of the Board on 6 February 2013.

Ms Holley's current board appointments include Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit committee of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited and Independent Member of the audit committee of Sinclair Knight Merz. In addition, Ms Holley is the independent Chair of the Risk management and Audit committees of NSW Police Force, NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure, Land and Housing Corporation, Northern Sydney Local Health District and the Central Coast Local Health District. Ms Holley was a Partner of Hill Rogers, Chartered Accountants for 25 years, holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney and is a Chartered Accountant, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a registered company auditor and registered tax agent.

The Hon. J.A.L. (Sandy) Macdonald

LLB

Mr Macdonald was appointed to the DHA Board on 24 July 2008 and reappointed on 13 October 2011 and 13 January 2014. He is a member of the Audit and Property Committees.

Mr Macdonald was elected to the Senate in 1993 and retired from Parliament on 30 June 2008. During his parliamentary career he was Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate, Parliamentary Secretary for Trade and Parliamentary Secretary for Defence. His committee experience was broad, but with particular reference to Defence, international affairs and security. He served for eight years as the Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee. From 2011 to 2014, he served on the ANZAC Centenary Advisory board which advised Government on the activities planned for the ANZAC Centenary period. From 2008 to 2014, he served as a Non-Executive Director of Incremental Oil and Gas Ltd. He has had considerable experience in community activities. He lives near Quirindi, where he is a wool and beef producer.

CDRE Vicki McConachie CSC RANR

BA/LLB, LLM

Commodore (CDRE) McConachie was appointed to the DHA Board on 5 December 2013. She is the Chair of the DHA Advisory Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee.

CDRE McConachie has had a long and distinguished career in the Royal Australian Navy commencing in 1984. Highlights include postings as Commanding Officer HMAS KUTTABUL, Chief of Staff to the Inspector General Australian Defence Force, Chief of International Law/Deputy Staff Judge Advocate Multi National Force Iraq, Director General Australian Defence Force Legal Service, Director General Navy People and Head Navy People and Reputation. She also served for more than two years as a member of the Chief of Navy Senior Advisory committee.

CDRE McConachie has been awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross for her work as Fleet Legal Officer and the US Meritorious Service Medal for her service as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate and Chief of International Law in the Headquarters of Multi National Force Iraq. CDRE McConachie is currently heading a legal division in the Commonwealth Government and is a member of the Royal Australian Navy Reserve.

Mr Peter Sharp (Rtd)

Mr Sharp, the nominee of the Secretary, Defence, was appointed to the DHA Board on 23 November 2006 and reappointed on 23 November 2009 and 27 November 2011. He was a member of the Audit and Property Committees. His term expired on 23 November 2013.

Mr Sharp has more than 45 years of experience in the Australian Army and in Defence. His Army career spanned tours of duty in Vietnam, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. In Defence, he held senior positions as Inspector General, Head Defence Corporate Support and First Assistant Secretary Personnel. In 2002, he led the Defence Strategic Workforce Planning Review, the first of its type in the Commonwealth. Mr Sharp is the Defence representative on the Australian Bravery Decorations Council.

Ms Margaret Walker

BCom

Ms Walker was appointed to the DHA Board on 15 July 2009 and reappointed on 12 July 2012. She is the Chair of the Audit committee and a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Ms Walker is a Non-Executive Director of Buderim Ginger Limited where she also holds the position of Chairman of the audit and risk committee. She is also a Non-Executive Director of Cystic Fibrosis Australia.

Ms Walker holds a Bachelor of Commerce and is a member of the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has more than 25 years of senior executive experience with a variety of organisations, including 10 years in strategic roles as Executive Director and Director Operations of a Commonwealth Bank-owned subsidiary, Tactical Global Management (TGM). TGM was then a pre-eminent global macro hedge fund firm with offices in Brisbane and London and US$1.2 billion funds under management.

Ms Janice (Jan) Williams

BSW (first class honours)

Ms Williams was appointed to the DHA Board in December 2012. She is a member of the Property Committee.

Ms Williams is currently a Director of Jardine Developments, which delivers small scale unit developments and refurbishments, and was made a Fellow of the UDIA and the Australian Institute of Management. She is also a Director of the board of the Residential Tenancies Authority (Queensland). She was previously Chief Executive of the UDIA.

Ms Williams has been highly involved in the development and management of affordable housing in Queensland through her roles as Director of BHC Ltd and Catalyst Housing Ltd. She currently sits on a Brisbane City Council panel that addresses planning issues and has held key roles in the promotion of social inclusion, the development of community services, urban planning and excellence in design.

Ms Williams graduated from the University of Queensland with first class honours and was awarded the University Medal for outstanding academic achievement.

Table 6: Meetings attended by Board members
(number attended/number held while a Board or Committee member)

* AVM Beck's term expired on 23 November 2013.

** Mr Sharp's term expired on 23 November 2013.

*** CDRE McConachie was appointed to the board on 5 December 2013.

The board also met in out-of-session meetings on seven occasions.