Those members of the Council who are also members of the Australian Red Cross Board are marked with a *

Chairman, NSW

Chairman, NT

The 15 members of the Board are the key policy-makers of Australian Red Cross.

Greg Vickery AM - Chairman

Mr Vickery was first elected Chairman in 2003 and has extensive legal, education and Red Cross experience. Mr Vickery has served on the Queensland Divisional Board, including the role of Chairman (1998-2002), on the ARCBS Board and previously as a member of the Australian Red Cross Board and Council. Professional he is a Senior Partner and Brisbane Chairman of Deacons Lawyers. He also holds positions as Adjunct Professor in Law at the University of Queensland and member of the National Companies and Markets Advisory Committee. He is also a court-appointed mediator and arbitrator, member of the Key Centre for Ethics Law Justice and Governance and Chairman of the Queensland Law Society Company Law section and Vice Chairman of the Law Council's Corporations Committee.

Michael Legge - Vice Chairman

Mr Legge was elected Vice Chairman in 2003 after joining Australian Red Cross in 1986. He has been a member of the Australian Red Cross Tasmanian Division Council and Finance Committee and was Deputy Chairman of the Division in 1998 and Chairman in 1999. Mr Legge has been a member of the ARCBS Board since 2001 and manages a diverse agricultural and mining business. He is also a Director/Chairman of several organisations.

Ross Pinney - Chairman, Audit & Risk Management Committee

Ross was elected as Chairman of the Audit and Risk Management Committee and Board member on 1 March 2007, after being a member of the Victorian Division Board since 2005. He has a distinguished background in both public and private sectors. Most recently, he worked for fifteen years as a senior manager at National Australia Bank, working as Executive General Manager in the Office of the CEO, CEO Europe, and Executive General Manager, Products and Services. Prior to that, he was Chief General Manager, Operations at the Accident Compensation Commission in Victoria, and served in a number of positions including Controller, Revenue at the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, after starting his career as an accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co. His other board appointments include Superpartners Pty Ltd. Ross has an MBA from RMIT, a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

Kaye Hogan AM PSM - Chairman, ACT


Kaye Hogan joined Australian Red Cross in 1981 and was elected Chairman, ACT in 2006, served as Deputy Chairman 1999-2003 and was appointed to the ARCBS Board in 2003. She has extensive nursing and health management experience and has undertaken ICRC missions in Thailand/Cambodia and Pakistan. She is a Management consultant - health services policy and operations and a Surveyor for The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. Previous roles include Executive Director of Nursing Woden Valley/The Canberra Hospital and Board member Royal College of Nursing Australia. Kaye is a currently a Member, Department of Veterans Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee. She is a member of professional organisations including the Australian College of Health Service Executives, The Australian and New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion and the Australian Infection Control Association.

John Fries - Chairman, NSW

John Fries joined the board of Australian Red Cross NSW in 2000 and was Honorary Treasurer from 2003. He was elected as Chairman in 2007. He is also the Chairman of Fox Invest Limited and is a Director of Strathfield Group and Viscopy Limited. His last full time employment was as Finance Director of Vodafone Australia Ltd. With a background in finance and administration, John has held director positions with public listed companies including Tribeca Learning Limited, McIlwraith McEacharn/Oakbridge and Great Northern Mining N.L. John holds an Honours degree in Commerce, is a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants, and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Devendra Patel - Chairman, NT

Deven’s involvement with Red Cross dates back to 1978, when he was a junior auditor with KPMG doing the audit of the NT Division.  He became the engagement partner for the audit in 1986.  During this period he was impressed by the work of the Red Cross and started volunteering as a driver during doorknock appeals and generally supported Red Cross by attending auctions and fundraising events.  KPMG’s appointment as auditors was terminated in 1992 when auditors were appointed nationally.  This opened up an opportunity for Deven to join the Council in 1992.  On the retirement of the then treasurer in 1994 Deven was elected as the honorary treasurer, the position that he continued to hold till 2006 when he accepted the position of deputy chairman.

Paul Shinkfield- SA Divisional Representative on Red Cross Board 

John Hood holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Melbourne University. He has spent most of his working career as a management consultant having joined PA Management Consultants in 1969. In 1987 he joined Amrop International, a leading International Executive Search consultantcy and has spent the last 20 years in this profession. John is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers. He joined the board of the Red Cross Victoria in 1995, was elected Deputy Chairman in 2006 and became Chairman in 2007. John is also involved in the Aged Care industry and is Deputy Chairman of MECWA, a leading provider of aged care services in the South East of Melbourne.

Ian Anson - Chairman, WA

Mr Ian Anson took over the Chairmanship of Australian Red Cross WA in November 2004. Ian originally joined Red Cross in 1993, and has served on a number of committees before being elected as Deputy Chairman in 1998. For his service and dedication to the service and principles of Red Cross, Ian received a Distinguished Service Award in 2003.

Kate Carnell AO – Appointed Board Member

Best known for her successful term as Chief Minister of the ACT from 1995-2000, Ms Carnell held the Treasury, Health and Community Care, Information Technology and Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander Affairs portfolios among others. Currently the CEO of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, a Patron of UNIFEM among other organisations and chair of CRC Forestry Ltd. Ms Carnell also holds Directorships of Institute of Technology Australia and National Institute of Clinical Studies. Ms Carnell has been Chair of Red Cross ‘Caring Across Canberra Appeal’ for the past three years.

Dr David Hamill - Appointed Board Member

The Honourable Dr David Hamill served on the Queensland Divisional Board of the Australian Red Cross Society from 2003 to 2007. A  member of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Board since 2004, he was appointed Chairman in April 2007. David Hamill is a professional company director and serves as either Chairman or Director  on the boards of several companies including the ASX-listed Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Limited. An Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland, he is a Fellow of both the Australia Institute of Company Directors and the Chartered Institute of Transport. David served six terms in the Queensland Parliament as the Member for Ipswich from 1983 to 2001, and was a Minister in both the Goss and Beattie governments. His Ministerial appointments included Minister for Transport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Economic and Trade Development from 1989 to 1995; Minister for Education from 1995 to 1996; and Treasurer of Queensland from 1998 to 2001. David received a Centenary Medal in 2001 for 'distinguished service to the community and the public sector'.

Robert Tickner took up the position of the Secretary General – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in February 2005. Prior to taking up this appointment he was the CEO of Job Futures Ltd. Robert served as Federal Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs from 1990-1996 and is Australia’s longest serving Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. Before being elected to the Federal parliament, he was a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the Institute of Technology as well as the Faculty of Business Studies. He later served as Principal Solicitor to the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service. Between 1977 and 1984 he served as a Councillor on the Sydney City Council including a very brief period as Acting Lord Mayor. Robert holds Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Economics degrees and has undertaken the first stage of an Executive MBA. Robert is committed to ensuring that Australian Red Cross remains a leader in the not-for-profit sector in transparency and accountability and in delivering even greater efficiencies in its humanitarian work.

Michael Tomlinson - Board Secretary *

(* not a member of the Board but attends meetings)

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