Andrew Newbold (Chairman)
was elected as Chairman of Golf Australia in August 2019. Andrew is a lawyer by profession, and is regarded as one of the most progressive sports administrators in Australia. A keen golfer and entrepreneur, he is also a board member and chairman of several other companies, a commissioner with the Australian Football League and former Hawthorn Football Club president and life member.
John Hopkins OAM
was re-elected as Chairman of Golf Australia in November 2016 and stepped down as Chairman in August 2019. John has been a professional company director in recent years and has served as Chairman and Director of a significant number of publicly listed companies over the past 25 years.
Richard Allen
was elected to the board in November 2017. Richard spent more than 20 years as a journalist with BRW magazine and Channel Nine and currently operates a communications consultancy. He has an extensive background in golf, including serving as the captain of Royal Melbourne Golf Club and authoring a number of golf books.
Peter Castrisos
was elected to the Board in November, 2016. A qualified pharmacist and small business owner, Peter has been on the board of Club Super since 2010 and chairman of its investment committee since 2013. He was a board member of Golf Queensland from 2007 and its chairman from 2012 until his election.
Sarah Chia
was elected to the board in November 2017. Sarah is a Director at Kain Lawyers, working predominantly in mergers and acquisitions and was a board member of Golf SA from 2015 until her election.
Jeannene O’Day
was elected to the board in December 2018. Jeannene is a member at Sydney’s Avondale Golf Club and has more than 25 years’ domestic and international experience in the financial services sector. She has also been actively involved on boards and organisations dedicated to women’s and community issues, developing and directing websites and social media campaigns.
John Robinson
was elected to the board in December 2018. John, a former chairman of Golf NSW, is well known to many in the golf community for his work as a national referee and is a member of both Elanora Country Club and The Australian Golf Club. He is a semi-retired IT specialist and business owner, having previously been an IT data communications manager for Westpac and a director and chairman of several companies.
Wendy Machin
was elected to the board in September 2019. Wendy is an experienced non-executive Director, and former politician. She currently Chairs the Boards of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) and Reflections Holiday Parks. In addition, she is a Director of the NSW Forestry Corporation and Heritage Bank. Wendy has served on a number of other Boards over the last 20 years. This includes the Australian Automotive Association, Destination NSW, National Occupational Licensing Authority and an advisory committee for the ANZ (Olympic) Stadium in Sydney. Wendy was the first woman National Party MP in the NSW Legislative Assembly. Between 1985 and 1996 she served as a Cabinet Minister, Shadow Minister and as Deputy Speaker of the House.
Golf Australia has in place a Nominations Committee, which is in line with the Australian Sports Commission's mandatory governance principles for National Sporting Organisations.
The Nominations Committee is designed to undertake a range of important roles within the governance of Australian golf including: developing a skills matrix and best fit for Golf Australia directors; providing guidance to Member Associations about potential candidates going up for election; helping to identify potential appointed directors; and providing guidance to the Golf Australia Chairman and Board regarding potential appointed directors.
Mr Kevin Chandler (CEO of Chandler HR) is the Chair of the Nominations Committee, which also includes Peter Castrisos (Current Golf Australia Director), Peter Mitchell (State Representative) and Michael Sammells (Former Golf Australia Director).
Golf Australia is very appreciative of the expertise, knowledge and time being contributed by the members of the Nominations Committee and believes the committee will play a very positive role in the ongoing regeneration of the Golf Australia Board.