The Alfred Health Board Members

The Alfred Health Board was established in July 2000 and has 9 members:

Mr Stephen Grant (Chair)

Mr Grant is Chief Executive Officer of the Asia Pacific Business Coalition on AIDS, was previously Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and has held positions including Executive Director, Ferrier Hodgson Corporate Advisory (FHCA) and Managing Director, Brand, Laura Ashley PLC. He is on the board of the Brotherhood of St Lawrence, was Chair of the Victorian Trauma Foundation until February 2006 and has previously held positions on the boards of the Monash Accident Research Centre, British Fashion Export Council, Myers Pharmacy Ltd and Austin Group Ltd. Mr Grant is Chair of the Alfred Health Remuneration Committee, and is a member of the Audit Committee, Finance Committee, Quality Committee and Primary Care & Population Health Advisory Committee.

Ms Fiona Bennett (Deputy Chair)

Ms Bennett is a business consultant and a director of a number of boards including the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, WPC Group Limited and the Legal Services Board.  She is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in commercial and financial management, governance, risk management and audit.  She has held senior executive positions at BHP Billiton Limited and Coles Group Limited, and has been Chief Financial Officer at several organisations in the health sector. Ms Bennett is Chair of the Alfred Health Audit Committee and a member of the Finance Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

Ms Hannah Crawford

Ms Crawford is a Director of Grant Samuel. She is a chartered accountant and has expertise in corporate strategy, the preparation of independent expert's reports, business valuations, and mergers and acquisitions. She has provided independent corporate advice in respect to capital market transactions to a wide range of public and private companies. She has considerable experience in transactions in the healthcare sector. Ms Crawford previously worked in the corporate finance division of Arthur Andersen and the taxation division of Ernst & Young. She is also Vice President of the Queen Elizabeth Centre. Ms Crawford is Chair of the Alfred Health Finance Committee and a member of the Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

Professor Allan Fels AO

Professor Fels is Dean of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG). Professor Fels was Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission from 1995 until 30 June 2003. Prior to that he was Chairman of the Trade Practices Commission from 1991 to 1995 and Chairman of the Prices Surveillance Authority from 1989 to 1992. Professor Fels was previously Director of the Graduate School of Management of Monash University. He was appointed a Professor of Administration at Monash University in 1984. He has been an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Economics and Business at Monash University since 1996 and is now also Professorial Fellow in the Department of Political Science at the University of Melbourne. He is a Patron of the Mental Health Council of Australia, Compeer Program, Association of Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill, the Burnet Institute, Psychology Centre (Swinburne University) and an Associate of SANE. He is a member of the National Advisory Council on Mental Health. Prof Fels is a member of the Alfred Health Quality Committee. 

Mr Rob Gerrand

Mr Gerrand heads the marketing and communications consultancy Gerrand & Associates and is also Chairman of Parks Victoria and a Director of the Mental Health Research Institute. He has previously held positions as General Manager of Group Public Affairs at ANZ and a Director of Turnbull Fox Phillips, and has served on the boards of the Financial Planning Association of Australia, Melbourne City Marketing, the Melbourne Convention and Marketing Bureau and the Koorie Heritage Trust. He was the Founding President of the Monash Alumni Association, is a former Chair of Theatreworks, and in 1994 was appointed Adjunct Professor at Deakin University. He is also a published author. Mr Gerrand is a member of the Alfred Health Audit Committee, Finance Committee and Remuneration Committee.

Mr David Menadue OAM

Mr Menadue is a former teacher and editor, who was a founding member of People Living with HIV/AIDS Victoria, and held positions as President, Vice President and other executive roles with the organisation between 1989 and 2008. He was also a founding member of the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS and has held numerous Executive positions with the organisation since 1990. He has held Board positions with the Victorian AIDS Council/Gay Men's Health Centre, including Vice President between 1990 and 2001. He was a Director of the AIDS Trust of Australia from 2002 -2008. From 1992-1995 he was a Director with the Board of Management of Fairfield Hospital. He was a member of the Disability Caucus of Australia from 1998-2002 and a Board Member of the Consumer Health Forum between 2001 and 2003. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 1995 for services to community health. Mr Menadue is a member of the Community Advisory Committee and the Quality Committee.

Dr Elaine Saunders

Dr Saunders has a history in leadership, directorship, technology management and roles in research and business in hospital, university and industry environments.  With a strong background in management of research and technology in the bio-medical engineering sector she has taken up a role as Senior Business Development Manager at Monash University following 6 years as CEO of Dynamic Hearing Pty Ltd, a technology company that supplies leading edge DSP software to hearing aid and other personal communication companies around the world.   Her focus is on new initiatives, or on taking existing enterprises to the next level. Dr Saunders was formerly Assistant Director at the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Innovation, where she led the team that developed the award winning Contour electrode of Cochlear Ltd, and founded the spin off, Dynamic Hearing.  Dr Saunders was a founding member of the audiological scientist profession in the UK and has held senior roles in the development and management of hearing services in the British hospital system, has contributed to a number of government inquiries on innovation and is a recognised public speaker in this sector.   Dr Saunders is a Churchill Fellow, was awarded the State and National Prizes at the 2004 Telstra Business Women of the Year Awards in the Australian Government Private and Corporate Sector, and led the team that won the Australian Design award in 2000.  She is Chair of the International Committee of the American Academy of Audiology and is involved in several initiatives in the voluntary sector, including as a member of the Board of the Children's Charity Network, where she is spearheading a committee that seeks better outcomes for children with specific learning disabilities.  Dr Saunders is Chair of the Alfred Health Community Advisory Committee and a member of the Quality Committee.

Associate Professor Jill Sewell AM

Associate Professor Sewell is a consultant paediatrician and is Deputy Director of the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children's Hospital.  She is responsible for clinical services in developmental/behavioural paediatrics and runs the Victorian Training Program in Community Child Health for advanced paediatric trainees.  Her special interests are in learning difficulties, language delay, attention deficit disorder and other behavioural problems. She is a past President of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and was previously President of the Paediatrics and Child Health Division of the College.  She has long term interests in medical workforce, training, continuing professional development, women in medicine and health policy at state, national and international settings. She was an inaugural member of the board of the National Institute of Clinical Studies, and its Chair from 2001 to 2004. She has also served on the Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care, the Victorian Quality Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. Assoc Prof Sewell was made a Member of the Order of Australia in January 2005, for services to child health. Assoc Prof Sewell is Chair of the Alfred Health Quality Committee.

Professor Hal Swerissen

Professor Swerissen is Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Pro Vice Chancellor (Regional), La Trobe University. He is an expert on health policy and program development, particularly in the analysis, evaluation and quality improvement in primary health and community services. Prof Swerissen has extensive experience in human services research and policy development and has been a ministerial consultant to the Commonwealth on health and community services, including primary care and disability services, health insurance and financing, and Commonwealth-State relations and had oversight for the professional indemnity review and the Quality in Australian Health Care Study. He has also been an adviser to the Victorian Government on community services, including disability services and the Home and Community Care program, and as a consultant has conducted a number of public consultations on health, aged care, disability and acute care services for government, providing advice on the development, organisation, funding and effectiveness of health and community services for government and non-government organisations.  He was one of the key designers of the Commonwealth COAG health reform process and an architect of the coordinated care trials.  Prof Swerissen was a member of the board of Dental Health Services Victoria from 2003-06. Previously he has been a director of the Quality Improvement Council, a member of the Board of the Moreland Community Health Service and is past president of the Victorian Healthcare Association community health division. Prof Swerissen is Chair of the Alfred Health Primary Care & Population Health Advisory Committee and is a member of the Quality Committee.