Board of Directors

Mr Julien O'Connell AO - Chairman
Newly appointed to the VMCH Board of Directors in 2019. Julien brings significant senior board and management experience, together with a detailed knowledge of health and aged care.
He has recently retired as Chair of the Board of Mercy Health which he held from 2008. He is a board member of Catholic Health Australia, Pro-Chancellor of Australian Catholic University, Executive Chairman of Mercy Health Foundation, Chair of PM Glynn Institute and is a member of a number of Archdiocese Committees and Councils.

Ms Anna Clarke
Anna was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2013 and is currently the national Director of Human Resources, Private Hospitals Division, St Vincent’s Health Australia. She has held a number of roles in private and public health including Director of HR & Workforce Development, Director of Nursing, and Manager of Organisational/Service development.
Anna is also a Board Director of CLC Eltham and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has a particular interest in the areas of workforce strategy, organisational development and workplace safety.
Initially qualified as a nurse, Anna also holds post graduate qualifications in Critical Care Nursing, Adult Education and a Masters in Health Administration.

Ms Jo Dawson
Jo was appointed to the Board of Directors in June 2021. She is a Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Jo has deep experience in customer facing highly regulated service businesses. During her career with Deloitte, both in Australia and the US, and National Australia Bank, Jo has specialised in managing, acquiring and building funds management, superannuation and insurance businesses.
Jo is a member of the Finance and Audit Committee. She is also a Non-Executive Director of PSC Insurance Group Ltd (PSI), Templeton Global Growth Fund Ltd (TGG), Bank First Ltd and Vision Super, and is Chair of the Finance Council of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Mr Brendan Donohoe
Brendan was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2019 and sits on the Finance and Audit Committee. He established Bank of Ireland Asset Management Australia in 1996 and subsequently, a similar operation in Japan.
Brendan went on to manage all of Bank of Ireland Asset Management’s business outside of Ireland. During his 29-year tenure with Bank of Ireland Group, he held senior executive and directorship positions in Ireland, Australia, Japan, the UK, USA and Canada. Brendan subsequently joined the leadership team at NAB Asset Management, responsible for its global distribution, client services and the management of Antares Equities, a boutique asset management firm based in Melbourne.

Mr Michael Fisher
Michael was appointed to the Board of Directors in November 2019. He has had significant experience in information technology and cyber security.
Michael has run a successful business over the last 13 years that has provided a broad array of ICT services to Victorian Catholic institutions in the fields of education, digital media, social services and health.
Prior to running his own business Michael had a successful career in Human Resources with several publicly listed Australian organisations.

Ms Sally Howe
Sally was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2019. Sally brings extensive health, business and senior leadership experience with over 25 years experience in the not for profit private health sector, private health insurance markets and more recently, primary and community health.
Currently Sally holds non-executive directorships on the Connect Health and Community Board, a State Ministerial Planning and Partnership Board and is a Trustee (VIC) of the Committee for Economic Development Australia.
Sally serves on a range of board subcommittees including Remuneration, Nominations and Audit and Risk. Having also previously held NFP Board and School Council positions, Sally has governance experience across diverse sectors.
Sally is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors with postgraduate qualifications in health, governance and business management.

Mr Terry Janes
Terry was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2013 and is the former CFO and Executive Director of leading staffing services company Skilled Group Limited (1998 - 2012). Terry has over 20 years' experience in a range of senior finance roles, including Senior Divisional Finance Officer for major operating divisions in the minerals and steel businesses of BHP.
Terry holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, is a Fellow of the AICD and a Fellow of the Australian Society of CPA’s. He is also a graduate of the Wharton Advanced Management Program 2008.

Ms Kate McCormack FAHRI
Kate was appointed to the Board Of Directors in 2021 and is a member of both the Quality and Risk and People and Culture Committees. Kate is the former Executive Director People, Culture and Learning for Mercy Health Australia (2001 – 2020) and is a Board Member of Catholic Care Victoria. She’s passionate about workforce and in particular, aged care.
Kate is also a Board Director of the Mercy Health Foundation and Caritas Australia People and Culture Committee.
Kate holds a Graduate Certificate and Masters of Business, Industrial Relations/HR Management/RMIT/Grenoble Ecole de Management – France. She studied at London Business School and Harvard Business School. She is a Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute.

Mr Bob Santamaria
Bob was appointed to the Board of Directors in early 2020. Prior to this he was Group General Counsel of ANZ Bank for 12 years; responsible for the provision of legal services to ANZ globally.
Pre-ANZ, Bob’s career spanned more than 40 years across governance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, including numerous complex transactions in the resources, manufacturing and finance sectors.
Bob has also held Partner and Executive roles and been a Relationship Partner for Rio Tinto, ANZ, BHP Billiton, Goldman Sachs JBWere, Aviva Insurance Group and Bendigo Bank.

Ms Phoebe Shipp
Phoebe was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2019. She has a background in technology with over ten years’ experience in the ICT industry and has held roles across sales, business development, market enablement and management consulting.
Phoebe currently works at Ernst and Young, one of the largest audit and consulting firms in the world, as a Director in the Asia Pacific Managed Services Group. She also holds the title of President of the Sales Enablement Society Melbourne Chapter.
Phoebe has a Bachelor of Commerce (with Honours) from the University of Melbourne.