Phil Hayes-Brown

CEO

Phil was appointed CEO in 2010 after 20 years experience in the areas of law, finance and sports marketing including 12 years in senior international roles with the National Basketball Association with assignments in Australia, Singapore, Paris, London and Hong Kong. From his experience as a parent of a child with a disability, Phil feels a responsibility to apply his commercial experience and skills to make a real difference to improving outcomes and driving social change for the people Wallara supports.

Jonny Lee

CFO

Joining Wallara as CFO in 2020, Jonny has over 20 years’ experience as a senior finance executive in the Not for Profit sector, and is a Chartered Accountant. Jonny’s role allows him to apply his financial and commercial expertise to help Wallara deliver on its mission and make a real contribution to people of all abilities.

Simon O’Brien

General Manager – Employment

With over 40 years’ experience in warehousing & logistics spanning sectors including magazine distribution, body care and third-party logistics, Simon brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. It is this knowledge that enables him to deliver outstanding customer service with operational excellence with a talented team of staff and people of all abilities.

Ellen Burns

People, Learning & Safety Manager

Ellen joined Wallara in 2008 with over 15 years’ experience in the corporate sector specialising in learning and development. Over the journey with Wallara, Ellen has gained experience as HR Generalist and Training Manager becoming a strong human resource professional with skills in career Development, ER, IR, Coaching, Mentoring, Training, Communication and Training Analysis.

Ellen is passionate about creating great workplaces and opportunities to deliver excellent outcomes for all.

Romaine Kakoullis

Senior Manager Quality Practice and Safeguarding

Romaine has over 20 years of disability experience working across services with complex and high healthcare supports. She is passionate about communication and positive behaviour support. Most recently her work has been in the Quality and Safeguarding space; implementing systems and tools for staff as we moved to the NDIS.

Romaine is Chair of Wallara’s Quality Advisory Committee, leads the NDIS Client Experience, Support Coordination and Quality teams and monitors Human Rights as Wallara’s Authorised Program Officer. She enjoys engaging staff through L&D and conversation to bring about positive change in the disability sector.

Lisa Laing

Senior Manager Marketing, Communications & Partnerships

Lisa Laing joined Wallara in 2021 after nearly two decades in the AFL Industry, both in AFL headquarters and within a club environment. At St Kilda FC, Lisa lead the Saints Community team with a focus on inclusive football opportunities for young people and was instrumental in forming the community partnership with Wallara which has extended to Warehousing, Land Management Services and Community engagement.

Lisa is an alumni of the Leadership Victoria FOLIO Community Leadership Program (2017) and is passionate about social issues and their impacts on vulnerable communities.

David Knowles

Director

David Joined the Board in 2023 and brings over 40 years of executive and leadership experience. As a former partner of leading audit and accounting firm, Pitcher Partners, he is a trusted advisor and is highly regarded for his knowledge across finance, strategy, risk, audit, governance, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

David was the founding Partner-in-charge of Pitcher Partners second Victorian office in Southeast Melbourne and was also a founding Director and Executive Chair of the Pitcher Partners International Institute of Entrepreneurship. In 2014, he was recognised as the Thought Leader of the Year, at the Australian Accounting Awards.

David currently holds Board and committee roles at a number of organisations including: Health Education Australia Ltd, a 100-year-old NFP providing leadership through the Australian Institute of Clinical Governance, The Victorian Homeless Fund Ltd, and the Advisory Board to the Swinburne University – School of Business, Law & Entrepreneurship.

Special responsibilities: Chair of the Finance & Risk Committee.

Education: Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Applied Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Katie Symonds

Director

Katie joined the Board in April 2021. Katie is a qualified Occupational Therapist and is currently the Operations Manager of Village Glen Flexicare, a family run business that is an Approved Provider of community-based aged care services.

Flexicare supports older people to remain living independently at home. Katie was the inaugural Operations Manager with Flexicare which has grown to be a major provider of aged care services across Frankston and Mornington Peninsula.

Katie has worked in community-based aged care services for over 20 years, largely in the not-for-profit sector in both metropolitan and rural settings. She has held various positions across state-wide and regional committees with a view to bettering outcomes for clients and for those who care for them.

Mark Cowley

Director

An experienced Executive General Manager who has worked for major multinational companies such as BHP-Billiton, Bluescope Steel and Toll Holdings.

Mark has worked across multiple business functions including corporate strategy, business development, marketing, operations and supply chain. He has provided a distinctive ability to understand all facets of a business and focus on “whole of business” performance.

Speciality skills and knowledge in supply chain and logistics are complemented by senior management roles and assignments across Australia and Asia.

Mark has a Bachelor of Business (Majors in Economics and Business Management) and a Diploma of Metallurgy.

Philip Scorgie

Director

Philip Scorgie joined the Board in November 2016. With over 35 years experience working with information technology, Philip has been a senior technology executive for 25 years within professional services.

Holding a Masters’ Degree in Software Engineering and an interest in anthropology, he has been described as having the “confidence, courage and enthusiasm to drive business change”.

Special responsibilities: Audit and Risk Finance Committee

Education: Masters of Software Engineering

Michael Butler

Director

BA(AS)(Hons)/LLB Past President and Executive Committee Member, Industrial Relations Society of Australia, Past President & Life Member, Industrial Relations Society of Victoria, Chair Law Institute of Victoria Employment and Industrial Relations Committee, Founder HR+WorkLaw

Special responsibilities: Chair of Operational Risk Management Committee

Michelle Chan

Director

Michelle joined the Board in 2023 and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (Hons), with over 10 years’ legal experience in both Hong Kong and Australia.

Michelle advises on cross-border and local transactions, corporate governance and general commercial matters. Specialising in mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, she

provides technical expertise and business acumen to deliver legally sound commercial, timely and practical solutions. Currently, Michelle works for law firm MinterEllison, where she

acts for a range of clients based in Australia and Asia, in a variety of industries, such as consumer goods, manufacturing, retail and transport and logistics. Prior to joining the Board,

Michelle was a board member of Brunswick Industries Association, which is now a division of Wallara. Michelle is committed to, and believes in, providing individuals with the support

and means to reach their full potential both for the benefit of that individual and for the community as a whole.

Jane McLennan

Director

Jane joined the Board in September 2021 and brings extensive experience across the Education and Training sector having worked at both stand-alone TAFE Institutes and Dual Sector Universities.

Jane is currently the Chief of Student Success and Support at Chisholm Institute, where she focusses on providing the best possible experience for current, potential and past students. She initially joined Chisholm as the Chief of Staff where she was providing high-level strategic advice and advising on issues affecting the educational outcome of VE activities within the Institute.

Jane is also a member of the Caroline Chisholm Education Foundation which provides scholarships for students in financial difficulty to access education. Jane has studied a BAppSc, Graduate Certificates in Management, Educational Leadership and Tertiary Education and has a Master’s in Education (VET).

She is passionate about high quality education and the broad impact it can have on individuals and the wider community.