The Smith Family welcomes three new board members

The Smith Family Chairman Nicholas Moore AO and CEO Doug Taylor welcomed the appointment of Greg Barnes, Lisa Paul AO PSM and Mark Ryan to the Board of the national children’s education charity.

The latest appointees bring a wealth of experience from a variety of organisations across the corporate, government and the not-for-profit sectors.

Nicholas Moore said: “The Board joins me in welcoming Greg, Lisa and Mark. Our organisation is working hard to deepen our impact and grow our reach, and these appointments will help us achieve our ambitious target of supporting 100,000 students by 2027 with Learning for Life scholarships.”

CEO Doug Taylor said the appointments bring vast professional experience and insight to The Smith Family as it seeks to deepen and broaden its impact in the community.

“Our newest Directors all share a passion for the work of The Smith Family and are strong advocates for the role education plays as a powerful change agent for young people experiencing disadvantage,” Doug Taylor said.

Greg Barnes is the Group Chief Financial Officer at Ampol Limited, where he has responsibility and oversight of Group finance, strategy, risk, investor relations, government relations, sustainability, and procurement. 

Mr Barnes has more than 25 years' experience in finance and strategy across a diverse range of industries. In the decade prior to Ampol, he held CFO roles at Coca-Cola Amatil, Nine Entertainment Co and CSR Limited. 

He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Newcastle as well as a Master of Business Administration from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Lisa Paul AO PSM has more than 30 years’ experience in public service, at State and Federal levels, and is the longest-serving Secretary of the Federal Department of Education in Australia, serving five Prime Ministers and nine Cabinet Ministers between 2004-2016. 

Ms Paul is the incoming Chancellor of the University of Canberra (2024). She was an Enterprise Professor at the University of Melbourne School of Government and is a Councillor of Bond University, a Director of the Future Battery Industry Cooperative Research Centre in addition to chairing the Audit Committee of the Australian Academy of Science.

Ms Paul has served on a number of not-for-profit boards including the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, chairing headspace for the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, Social Ventures Australia, Schools Plus, High Resolves, and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.

Mark Ryan has a 25-year history with The Smith Family after receiving a Learning for Life scholarship when he started tertiary study in 1998.

He is currently the Manager Strategic Communications at Queensland Rail where he advises the organisation's executive leadership team on internal communications and external engagement. 

Mr Ryan has previously worked in senior and executive level roles at Mater Group, the Gold Coast Suns AFL Club, and Tatts Group in roles across strategy, corporate affairs, organisational development, marketing and stakeholder engagement. He is also the Chairperson of Return Serve Inc., a not-for-profit that provides sports and recreation opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

“I am delighted to welcome our newest Directors, and believe their invaluable professional and personal expertise will be key to helping steer the organisation towards achieving our goals under our current Five-Year Strategy,” CEO Doug Taylor said.

Mr Barnes, Ms Paul and Mr Ryan join Christine Cawsey AM, Tony Davis, Rosheen Garnon, Adrian Kloeden, Jerry Maycock, and Peter Radoll, while Jeff Harmer AO and Mark Johnson retire from The Smith Family Board of Directors.

Mr Harmer joined the Board in 2013. His background as a former Secretary of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and of the Department of Education, Science and Training was particularly relevant to his role as a Smith Family Board member as we sought to develop our advocacy role with governments nationally. 

Nicholas Moore said: “Throughout his time on the Board, Jeff has been generous in sharing his deep connections with government, policy insights and wise counsel regarding government relations strategy and engagement, and his measured input has been greatly appreciated over time by both the Board and Management.”

Mr Harmer has also been a very active Board representative on our Advisory Group on issues concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

“He has been actively involved in the Board renewal process as a member of the Corporate Governance Committee throughout most of his term as a director and has facilitated the recruitment process for most of the current members of the Board,” Mr Moore said.

“We are delighted that he has accepted the invitation to remain as a member of the Council of Governing Members following his retirement at the conclusion of this year’s Annual General Meeting.”

Mr Johnson joined the Board at the start of 2012, and was appointed to the Finance, Audit & Risk (FAR) Committee at the same time. He also joined the Endowment Fund Committee when it was established in 2016 and took on the Chairmanship of both Committees following the retirement of Arun Abey in 2020.

He has brought a strong risk management focus to the Board as well as a sound knowledge and understanding of audit and financial matters.

He has fostered a collaborative approach with management in his oversight of the FAR and Endowment Fund Committees which has been of great assistance to the management team in these areas.

“Mark retires from the Board this year after 12 years of dedicated service which has helped to ensure that the organisation is in a sound financial position with the capacity to meet its ongoing commitments to the families we support, having helped to guide it through the recent pandemic-related disruptions, and for this we can all be very grateful,” Mr Moore said.

Mr Johnson has also accepted the invitation to remain as a member of the Council of Governing Members.