The Board of Western Health consists of independent non-executive members from a range of backgrounds and with local ties to Melbourne's West. Board Members are appointed to the Board by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister for Health.
July 2025
BOARD MEMBER PROFILES
Prof the Hon Jill Hennessy (Chair)
BA, LLB, LLM, GAICD
Professor the Hon. Jill Hennessy is the former Victorian Attorney-General and Minister for Health and led a series of groundbreaking reforms in her time in Parliament. Jill is a Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow at Monash University.
As well as being the Chair of Western Health, Jill is the Chair of GAIASO Theranostics Pty Ltd and the Monash Women’s Health Alliance. She is a Non-Executive Director at the Hudson Institute for Medical Research, Incolink, Scope (Aust) Ltd, Melbourne Theranostic Innovation Centre (MTIC Pty Ltd) and Precision Molecular Imaging and Theranostics (PreMIT). Jill is an ambassador for the McKinnon Prize in Political Leadership. A proud resident of Melbourne’s West and passionate Western Bulldogs supporter, Jill is the Deputy Chair of the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
Jill holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University and a Masters of Law (Public and International) from the University of Melbourne. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Prof the Hon Jill Hennessy is a Member of the Audit, Finance, Quality & Safety and Governance & Remuneration Committees.
Appointed Board Director July 2024; Appointed Board Chair July 2024.
Professor Andrew Conway
FIPA FFA FCMA FCPA (UK) MAICD FAIM BCom BTeach(Sec) GCertAIB
Professor Andrew Conway is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Public Accountants - one of Australia’s largest professional accounting bodies. Andrew represents the Australian profession in a range of global Boards and committees and is a current member of the ASX Corporate Governance Council. In 2022, Andrew was appointed by the Australian Government as a member of the Tax Practitioners Board and concluded his term in March 2025.
Prior to working with the Institute, Andrew was an Australian Government Treasury Ministry Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor. In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary of Federation Medal and was subsequently awarded Australian Young Professional of the Year and AFR BOSS Magazine Young Executive of the Year. Andrew was appointed a Professor of Accounting at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (honoris causa) and is also a Vice Chancellor's Distinguished Fellow and Adjunct Professor at Deakin University. In 2011 he was appointed as a Board Director of Eastern Health. 2020 marked the completion of his final term at Eastern. In addition, Andrew is actively involved in research and co-founded the IPA-Deakin University SME Research Centre and co-authored the landmark Australian Small Business White Paper.
Andrew is a devoted husband and father of three children.
Professor Andrew Conway is the Chair of the Finance Committee and a Member of the Audit Committee.
Appointed May 2020.
Monica Gould
A former Victorian Minister, the Hon Monica Gould served as Victoria’s first (and still only) female President of the Legislative Council. She began her career in the union movement, with a particular focus on advocating for poorly paid women in the manufacturing industry.
In Parliament, Monica served in both opposition and government and developed a reputation for effectiveness and efficiency, driving through legislation through advocacy and bipartisan engagement as Minister for Industrial Relations and then Minister for Education Services and Youth Affairs. She also played a significant role in advancing the representation of women through visible leadership and initiatives such as quotas for women in pre-elections.
Since retiring from government, Monica has applied her abilities in governance, diplomacy, strategy and stakeholder engagement in the service of non-profit organisations, holding board and chair positions in youth, community and environmental initiatives.
The Hon Monica Gould is the Chair of the Community Advisory Committee and a Member of the Governance & Remuneration Committee.
Appointed July 2020.
Adj A/Prof Elizabeth Kennedy
BA, LLB (Hons), LLM, Grad Dip Health and Medical Law (Melb), GAICD
Adj A/Prof Elizabeth Kennedy has been a practising lawyer for over 40 years and was General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Corporate Counsel of Epworth Healthcare, The Royal Women’s Hospital and The Royal Children’s Hospital. She was the inaugural in-house lawyer of Southern Healthcare Network from its formation in 1998.
Elizabeth specialises in health and medical law.
Elizabeth is a currently a non-executive director of North Western Melbourne Primary Health Care Network and the Australian Psychological Society, and is the legal member of the Victorian Pharmacy Authority. She has held a number of not for profit Board appointments throughout her career, including Monash Medical Centre, Alzheimer’s Victoria, Family Planning Victoria, and the Victorian Cytology Service.
Adj A/Prof Elizabeth Kennedy is the Chair of the Audit and Governance & Remuneration Committees.
Appointed July 2020
Ben Davison
BA, MBA, GAICD
Ben Davison is a professional director and consultant with over 20 years’ experience in leadership roles across the for-purpose sector. In addition to being a director of Western Health, Ben is currently Chair of BGT Jobs and Training and is a trustee director of Australian Super where he also serves on the Finance and Audit, Investment, Risk and Compliance and the Investment Review Committees as well as the Technology Working Group of the Board.
Ben has previously served as the Chief of Staff, Director of Operations and Director of Communications at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and as CEO of Southport Uniting Care, following a period in the leadership team at Diabetes Australia-Vic.
Ben’s working life - coupled with his formal education - allows him to bring a broad range of general management, ethical governance, public policy, marketing, financial management, member engagement, campaign/project management, crisis management and corporate affairs experience to all of his endeavours.
As well as his board service, Ben provides management and governance consulting services to values-aligned clients. He runs a successful podcast with his partner and is active in a range of local community groups and organisations.
Ben Davison is a Member of the Finance and Community Advisory Committees.
Appointed July 2022.
Deborah Cole
BDS GradDipHlthAdmin MBA GradCertLead&CathCult FAICD GAIST(Adv)
Dr Deborah Cole is an experienced Non-Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer predominantly in the health sector.
Deborah is the Chair of AusHealth and a Non-Executive Director of Frontier Advisors. Deborah is the immediate past Chair of Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association and the previous CEO of Dental Health Services Victoria.
Deborah has broad experience in health, public dentistry, finance, corporate governance, and local government, and has worked in both the not-for-profit and public sectors. Deborah has held CEO positions at Calvary Health Care and Yarra City Council as well as senior executive positions at Mercy Health, St Vincent’s Health Melbourne, Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and South Australian Dental Service.
Dr Deborah Cole is the Chair of the Quality & Safety Committee and a Member of the Primary Care & Population Health Committee.
Appointed July 2022.
Harvey Newnham
MBBS, FRACP, PhD, GAICD, AICGG
Professor Harvey Newnham is an Endocrinologist and General Physician with extensive board and clinical leadership experience in the acute health sector. Harvey was previously a board member of the Royal Melbourne Hospital (Melbourne Health), Bass Coast Health, and Better Care Victoria boards. Harvey chairs the board of Health Education Australia Limited (HEAL) which encompasses the Australasian Institute of Clinical Governance (AICG). He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed the AICD boardroom mastery course.
Harvey is experienced in organisational and unit review at health department, hospital and clinical unit level. Harvey’s main interests are to improve the clinical governance of acute and home-based care with particular emphasis on internal audit of clinical services, consumer engagement and interdisciplinary teamwork.
Harvey was previously Program Director of Emergency and Acute Medicine and Director of General Medicine at Alfred Health and continues to work there clinically. Harvey is an Adjunct Clinical Professor with Monash University. In his earlier career, Harvey was Director of Internal Medicine at Eastern Health and was extensively involved in education, developing both the undergraduate medical student program and the physician training program there. He was also chair of the Endocrinology Specialist Advisory Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Harvey continues to serve as a senior member of the National Examining Panel for the RACP.
Professor Harvey Newnham is a Member of the Audit and Quality & Safety Committees.
Appointed July 2023.
Dr Elisabet Wreme
MSc, DBA, FAICD
Dr Elisabet Wreme is an experienced C-Suite executive, non-executive director and chair with a passion for service and technology businesses going through change. She is a highly professional leader with a genuine understanding of digital and cyber. Elisabet’s focus is to great customer experiences and strong performance outcomes at the same time.
Elisabet is an innovator with a patent to her name. Elisabet has broad experience across a range of strategic and operational roles, primarily across financial services and health related organisations. Her previous executive roles include COO for GuildGroup Holdings and senior executive roles with Telstra and NAB.
Elisabet is the Chair of BreastScreen Victoria and HAMBS, and is a Non-Executive director at Ansvar. She has previously been on the boards of Y Victoria, Ausmaq and PWG.
Dr Elisabet Wreme is the Chair of the Primary Care & Population Health Advisory Committee and a Member of the Finance Committee.
Appointed July 2024.
Ian Meredith AM
MBBS, BSc(Hons) Ph.D, FRACP, FCSANZ, FACC, FAPSIC
Professor Ian Meredith AM is currently a Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow at Monash University and a non-executive director serving on boards of private and public US and Australian Healthcare and life science companies. Currently he also serves on the Boards of Breakthrough Victoria and MTPConnect.
In mid 2023 Ian retired as the Executive Vice President and Global Chief Medical Officer at Boston Scientific in Massachusetts, USA - a fortune 100 global medical device and technology company. While in that role, he focused on driving a vision of transformative clinical science and innovative care for all patients with chronic non-communicable diseases through critical clinical input into the company’s new business development plan, M&A strategy and Venture portfolio.
Prior to joining Boston Scientific in 2017, Ian was Professor and Director of MonashHeart, the internationally recognised cardiology service within Monash Health, a position he held for 12 years, practicing as an interventional cardiologist for over 25 years. In 2003 Ian conceived and led the development of the Victorian Heart Hospital, Australia’s first dedicated heart hospital.
Ian has also served on numerous professional, state and federal government committees and advisory boards, including the Department of Human Services Cardiac Services Review and the Federal Government Department of Health & Aging Cardiac Prostheses Advisory Group.
Professor Ian Meredith is a Member of the Finance and Quality & Safety Committees.
Appointed July 2025.
