Our governance board
DCA has a governance Board of Directors with extensive experience in the fields of business, HR, law, management and accounting. Our Directors are:
Mark Ney, Acting Charperson
Federal Agent Mark Ney APM joined the Australian Federal Police in February 1984 and has a broad operational police background developed whilst working in general duties, Surveillance, the Australian Securities Commission, the Criminal Investigations Branch, the Drug Squad and the Bureau of Criminal Intelligence, in Queensland, the Northern Territory and the ACT.
In January 2002, he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner, and was appointed to the position of General Manager, Northern Operations, Brisbane. In May of 2003, Mark was transferred to the position of National Manger for Human Resources, based in Canberra. In November 2006 Mark took over the role of National Manager Protection. This Portfolio includes protection of National Infrastructure and key Commonwealth Establishments. This includes the Close Personal Protection of members of government, high office holders, diplomats and dignitaries. The protection portfolio also provides the capacity for the Australian National Witness Protection Program.
Mark was recognised for his service to policing in the 2006 Australia Day Honours List. He was awarded the Australian Police Medal for distinguished service, particularly in the field of furthering law enforcement relationships both nationally, internationally and the indigenous community.
Mark has a Graduate Certificate of Business (Banking) from Monash University (1995) and a Graduate Certificate in Police Management from Charles Sturt University (1999).
Kathleen Bailey-Lord, Non-executive Director
Kathleen Baliley-Lord is General Manager, Shared Services at ANZ. Kathleen has a depth of business leadership experience across major organizations and multi-national firms. She has held senior executive positions in IBM in sales and professional services; in Phillips Fox in marketing; in PMP as Managing Director of the Media Solutions Division and was Chief Executive Officer of Fordham Wealth Advisors.
Kathleen’s diverse career has been built on her ability to transform and build businesses. She is known for her enthusiasm, strong and inclusive leadership style, communication skills and her integrity. She creates value for shareholders, customers and staff through her passion for win/win outcomes and through her total commitment to delivering the best service to clients.
A State Finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Award in 1998, Kathleen is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the Victorian Women’s Trust (an organisation dedicated to improving the status of all Victorian women).
Kathleen holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science and History from the University of Melbourne. She has also completed short courses at Harvard Business School, Macquarie Graduate School of Management and Monash University.
Elaine Connor, Non-executive Director
Elaine Connor is the Group Legal Counsel and Company Secretary of Veda Advantage Limited. Prior to this appointment she held a number of other senior legal positions. She has had a varied and dynamic career, previously holding positions including Tribunal Member of the NSW Guardianship Tribunal; guardian/advocate at the Office of the Public Advocate in Victoria; Director of Work-Link Employment Training Centre; and psychologist at the Dandenong Psychiatric Centre.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts (Honours Psychology), University of Melbourne, Master of Psychology (Clinical), La Trobe University, Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Monash University, Member, Australian Institute of Company Directors and Law Society of NSW
Katy McDonald, Non-executive Director
Katy McDonald is Head of Employee Relations, Diversity & Policy at Westpac. Katy graduated in Law (University of Sydney) and Arts (University of Melbourne) in 1989. She developed an interest in human rights law and employee relations while working as an associate, a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and at the time, also President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Katy worked in private practice in a medium and then a large law firm in Sydney where she practised in commercial litigation and then employment law. She became the Director of Equal Opportunity at the University of Sydney in 1996. She joined Westpac in 1999 where she spent five years heading up Employment Relations Legal.
Robert Orth, Non-executive Director
Robert Orth joined DCA’s Board in 2006. He is the Director of Human Resources for IBM Australia/ New Zealand. In this position he is responsible for the Human Resources functions across the business including: learning, professional and management development, leadership development, organisational culture and change, performance management, compensation and benefits, Occupational Health and Safety, Diversity, Workforce Management, Recruiting, employee relations and industrial relations. Over the past 25 years he has held various management positions in IBM; 16 years of these in line management positions in Sales and Marketing. Prior to joining IBM, he was a serving officer (Flight Lieutenant) in the Royal Australian Air Force.
He holds a number of Board directorships, including the Board of IBM Australia and Chairman of the Board of The Leadership Consortium.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Science Degree, University of Sydney, Diploma of Education, University of Sydney.
Graeme Russell, Non-executive Director
Graeme Russell joined the Board in 2006. He is an Associate Professor in Psychology at Macquarie University. He is an internationally renowned researcher and industry consultant on work/family balance – especially from the perspective of fathers, industry-based work and family strategies (including the impact that work/family conflict has on work performance and personal wellbeing), organisational change, equal employment opportunity and workplace flexibility.
Graeme has considerable experience in conducting work and community based training programs on fatherhood, gender equity (at work and at home), work and family (e.g., with senior managers and their partners), negotiating change and managing diversity. He is the convenor of a bi-annual conference at Macquarie University on Men, Relationships and Change. He is the author of two books and over 50 research papers on fatherhood, gender and work/family issues. Work and Family Projects have been conducted for: Caltex, NRMA, Alcoa, Ampol, Australia Post, Esso, Yellow Pages, Nestlé, Coles Myer.
Jodi Swinburne, Non-executive Director
Jodi Swinburne joined the DCA Board in 2006. She is National Finance Manager for Stockland - Residential. She was the General Manager, Finance for Australian Pharmaceutical Industries. Jodi joined API in August 2006 during a period of significant organisational upheaval. Prior to this latest challenge Jodi has worked for PMP, AMP and Reuters (London and Singapore) in senior finance roles. Jodi chairs the DCA Board’s Audit and Compliance Committee.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce, Australian CPA.
Katriina Tahka, Non-executive Director
Katriina Tahka is Head of Workforce Management for AMP Limited. She is responsible for ensuring that AMP is able to attract and retain the talent that it needs to achieve its business strategy, both now and in the future. That is, build and maintain a sustainable pipeline of talented employees and future leaders; including people from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences.
Katriina has a legal background and many years experience providing strategic advice to major corporate clients, as well as individuals, on all aspects of employment law and workplace relations with a particular focus on EEO and anti-discrimination issues. Katriina is the Vice-Chair of the National Diversity Think Tank. Katriina is able to draw on her legal, corporate and industry knowledge and experience to find commercially sound win-win solutions to complex workplace problems.