Board Members

Michael Legge was elected as President of Australian Red Cross at the Annual General Meeting, held on 8 December 2011.

Michael has a long and distinguished involvement with Red Cross and has served as Vice President of Australian Red Cross for the past eight years.

Michael's leadership appointments are numerous. He has been a member of the Australian Red Cross Tasmanian Division Council and Finance Committee and was Deputy Chairman of the Division in 1998 and Chairman in 1999.

Michael has also served on the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Board since 2001 and was appointed Chairman of the Board's International Committee in April 2008. He has represented Australian Red Cross internationally, both as an Australian delegate and speaker at international forums, and as an active participant in decision-making for the Movement.

Michael joined Red Cross in 1986 as a young and enthusiastic volunteer ambulance driver with the St Marys Red Cross branch in Tasmania.

Since then, his involvement with Red Cross has taken him from rural Tasmania as far afield as Mongolia, Pakistan and the Pacific.

Michael and his wife Sophie are the proud parents of three school-aged children and he is the hardworking owner of a sheep farm in Tasmania.

Ross was elected to the Board and as Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee on 1 March 2007, after serving as a member of the Victorian Division Board since 2005.

On 8 December 2011, Ross was elected as the Deputy President. He has a distinguished background in both public and private sectors. Most recently, he worked for 15 years as a senior manager at National Australia Bank, working as Executive General Manager in the Office of the CEO, CEO Europe, and Executive General Manager, Products and Services. Prior to that he was Chief General Manager, Operations at the Accident Compensation Commission in Victoria, and served in a number of positions including Controller, Revenue at the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, after starting his career as an accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co. Ross was elected as a member of the International Federation of Red Cross Finance Commission in 2007.

Ross has an MBA from RMIT, a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

Appointed to the Australian Red Cross Board in April 2012, Jan has more than 35 years' finance experience with Australian and international-listed and private companies, government agencies and community organisations.

A chartered accountant, Jan was a senior audit partner at Deloitte for more than 20 years. She currently serves as a Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Urban Renewal Authority Victoria, and of Neurosciences Victoria and is a Director of Retail Responsibility Entity Ltd, and a Member of the Financial Reporting Council.

Jan has also held the position of National President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and currently chairs the Institute's Professional Conduct Tribunal.

In addition, Jan has been Non Executive Director of the National Trust of Australia, Keep Australia Beautiful Council and EcoRecycle Victoria. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and of CPA Australia, Jan is also a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

In recognition of her services to the accountancy profession and to the community, Jan was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007 and awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001.

Chris Kwong was elected Youth Member in September 2011.

Chris first volunteered with Australian Red Cross in 2008. He has served as a member of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Committee of South Australia, and founded the South Australian IHL Collective, a group comprising mainly of Young Humanitarian volunteers with a keen interest in IHL issues and the dissemination of IHL to the broader community. He has also served as a member of the South Australian Youth Advisory Committee and the South Australian Divisional Advisory Board.

In early 2011 he was made a co-opted member of the National Youth Advisory Committee to work with Australian Red Cross staff to coordinate flash-mob events around Australia to promote the Make Nuclear Weapons the Target Campaign.

Chris graduated from Flinders University of South Australia in 2009 with a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Hons), and a Bachelor of International Studies in 2010. He was appointed an Associate to a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia in 2009, and is currently a solicitor practising in civil litigation.

Arati Waldegrave has been a member of the ACT Advisory Board since April 2011. She has been involved with Red Cross since 1995 as a branch member and office holder in the New Zealand Red Cross, member of the Central Region Board of the New Zealand Red Cross (2005 - 2007) and volunteer with the Oakland Blood Services of the American Red Cross in 2000-2001 while studying for her Masters in Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley as a Fulbright scholar. In her professional capacity, Arati is a public servant, having worked for the Australia, English and New Zealand governments in a range of public management and housing policy roles. She currently manages the housing policy section of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

Deven's involvement with Red Cross dates back to 1978, when he was a junior auditor with KPMG conducting the audit of the NT Division. He became the engagement partner for the audit in 1986. During this period he was impressed by the work of the Red Cross and started volunteering as a driver during doorknock appeals and generally supported Red Cross by attending auctions and fundraising events.

KPMG's appointment as auditors was terminated in 1992 when auditors were appointed nationally. This opened up an opportunity for Deven to join the Council in 1992. On the retirement of the then-treasurer in 1994, Deven was elected as the honorary treasurer, the position that he continued to hold till 2006 when he accepted the position of deputy chairman. He was elected Chairman in 2007.

John MacLennan joined the Board of Red Cross NSW in July 1998. He was elected as a member of the National Council and became the Deputy Chairman in NSW in 2007. John was elected Chairman of Red Cross NSW in August 2009.

He has been a member of the National Board since 2009. He currently chairs the Migration Programs Advisory Committee and is a member of other national committees including the Governance Committee, the International Committee and the Services, Members and Volunteers Committee.

John has a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney. He practised as a solicitor from 1977 to 2012, primarily in the areas of civil litigation, insurance and general commercial advice.

John is a long standing member of the Council of Wesley College at the University of Sydney. He has also served the Scout Association as a member of its Scoutsafe and Audit and Governance Committees.

John and his partner Carolyn have two daughters in their twenties.

Mr Clayton joined Red Cross in 1979 as a foundation member of the Qld IHL Advisory Committee and was its chair from 1992 until 2005. He was elected to the Board in 1999 and has held positions on, and chaired a number of, Divisional committees. Mr Clayton was elected Queensland Division Chairman in 2005.

Mr Clayton has had more than 37 years experience in senior educational management and policy positions within the Queensland Public Service.

Though retired, he continues to practise as an educational consultant.

Sue Vardon was appointed to the Board on 1 April 2009 as an "Appointed Member", standing down from this position in November 2011 when she was appointed Chair of the South Australian Divisional Advisory Board under which she now continues to serve on the Board.

Sue has had a distinguished career in public and community service as Chief Executive in Commonwealth and State Government Agencies. Sue was inaugural Chief Executive of Centrelink and helped create the South Australian Department of Families and Communities. She also acted as State Recovery Coordinator and Chair of the National Community Service and Disability Administrators Disaster Recovery Group.

Sue was educated as a social worker at the University of New South Wales. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Australia where she is currently an adjunct professor in the School of Social Work and Social Policy.

Mike Howarth joined Red Cross as the ADF representative on the Tasmanian Division's IHL Committee. He has served as a member of that committee for over a decade and was its Chairman for the last six years. During that time he was appointed to Council and was elected Deputy Chairman in October 2004, and was appointed Chairman in November 2006.

He has been practising as a barrister and solicitor in Hobart for some twenty seven years, both in private practice and for the government. Since October 2000 he has been employed as a corporate solicitor with the Hydro-Electric Corporation. For ten years he was a director of the Tasmanian Cerebral Palsy Association and is presently a Director and Company Secretary of The Military Heritage Foundation of Tasmania, being the company managing the historic Military Museum of Tasmania.

John Hood holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Melbourne University.

He has spent most of his working career as a management consultant having joined PA Management Consultants in 1969. In 1987 he joined Amrop International, a leading International Executive Search consultancy and has spent the last 20 years in this profession.

John is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers.

He joined the board of the Red Cross Victoria in 1995, was elected Deputy Chairman in 2006 and became Chairman in 2007. John is also involved in the Aged Care industry and is Deputy Chairman of MECWA, a leading provider of aged care services in the South East of Melbourne.

Mr Ian Anson was elected Chairman of Australian Red Cross WA in November 2004.

Ian originally joined Red Cross in 1993, and has served on a number of committees before being elected as Deputy Chairman in 1998. For his service and dedication to the principles of Red Cross, Ian received a Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and was awarded Honorary Life Membership in 2009.

Now retired, Ian was a practising accountant and business consultant for over 30 years.

The Honourable Dr David Hamill served on the Queensland Divisional Board of the Australian Red Cross Society from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Board since 2004, he was appointed Chairman in April 2007.

David Hamill is a professional company director and serves as either Chairman or Director on the boards of several companies. An Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland, he is a Fellow of both the Australia Institute of Company Directors and the Chartered Institute of Transport. David served six terms in the Queensland Parliament as the Member for Ipswich from 1983 to 2001, and was a Minister in both the Goss and Beattie governments. His Ministerial appointments included Minister for Transport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Economic and Trade Development from 1989 to 1995; Minister for Education from 1995 to 1996; and Treasurer of Queensland from 1998 to 2001.

David received a Centenary Medal in 2001 and became a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2009 for service to the Parliament of Queensland, to the community, and to business.

Robert Tickner took up the position of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (Secretary General) in February 2005.

Prior to taking up this appointment he was the CEO of Job Futures Ltd. Robert served as Federal Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs from 1990-1996 and is Australia's longest serving Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.

Before being elected to the Federal parliament, he was a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the Institute of Technology as well as the Faculty of Business Studies. He later served as Principal Solicitor to the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service. Between 1977 and 1984 he served as a Councillor on the Sydney City Council including a very brief period as Acting Lord Mayor. Robert holds Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Economics degrees and has undertaken the first stage of an Executive MBA.

Robert is committed to ensuring that Australian Red Cross remains a leader in the not-for-profit sector in transparency and accountability and in delivering even greater efficiencies in its humanitarian work.

Jeni McDonough commenced with Red Cross in September 2004 as Assistant to the Board and was appointed to the position of Secretary in December 2009.

Jeni has over 32 years experience in administration, the majority of which has been at a senior level. She holds Certificate of Governance Practice and Administration and is a Certificated Member of the Chartered Secretaries Association.