Firstly, I would like to thank all the members who expressed interest in the current vacancies on the Board of Directors at Mona Vale Golf Club.
The Board had a specific set of skills in mind and is confident that the successful appointments reflect the desired attributes needed to maintain a balanced and effective Board.
I would also like to express our appreciation to those members who showed interest but were not appointed at this time. Your interest and efforts were highly valued and we encourage you to continue your involvement in the club. I am pleased to announce the following appointments.
Below, you will find a brief biography of each newly appointed Director.
Andrew Davies
Personal Information:
- MVGC member since 2017 & resident of Golf Ave
- Originally from the UK & moved to Sydney in 2011 with my wife Suzanne and we are honoured to be Australian citizens.
- We have a yellow Labrador called George, who is known to many of you.
- I’m a keen weekend golfer & also enjoy playing club tennis.
Professional information:
- Experienced corporate leader in technology & procurement. Have worked internationally across various industries and portfolios, working for IBM, Accenture & Linde Plc.
- I’m currently the Head of Procurement for an Australian Telco.
- I will bring a pragmatic perspective to this position, which is backed by my professional background & experience.
Kris Walesby
Personal Information:
- 25 handicapper trying to get to sub 20 by the end of the year, bad back willing.
- Divorced, new partner and three children from marriage (g, g, b)
- CEO of two AU fund managers until made redundant in Oct 22
- Now a full-time personal /family office investor
- Born and raised in London but Mum (now RIP) was from South Sydney, so I had a full dual nationality raise.
Professional information:
- Twenty-five years in various finance positions
- Last seven years were spent as CEO of two small/medium fund managers.
- The first one was built from the ground up.
- Started with $7m of FUM (Oct 2015) and five staff, which grew to $3.2b of FUM and 20+ staff by the time I left (Oct 2020).
- The second I brought together a new fund manager from Korea with the old company by way of acquisition.
- The acquisition, ironically, made my position redundant (Oct 2022)
- From Oct 2023 – I have been teaching myself how to run my personal investments.
- I’m fairly good at pushing businesses forward without much budget.
Phiroze Devitre
Personal Information:
- Married with 6 children and 5 grandchildren (plus another one on the way).
- Currently retired.
- Started playing golf in December 2023, when my wife and I joined MVGC.
- Have ridden motorbikes for over 50 years.
- Play the guitar (badly!)
- Sailed across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Martinique – just two of us in a 55 foot yacht.
Professional information:
- Australian Chartered Accountant, qualified in 1981.
- Extensive senior commercial experience at the Corporate Head Office and Project levels, particularly in the Property and Infrastructure area.
- Strengths lie in the financial, strategic, and commercial analysis of businesses, companies and projects, including financial feasibility studies, financial due diligence, business valuations, business and strategic planning and setting up of new businesses.
- Experienced dealing at Board level and at senior Government/Political levels.
- Conducted and implemented business turnaround and performance improvement opportunities, including private financing of major infrastructure projects.
- Provided financial and commercial advice to the Managing Director, including represented Kumagai Australia on the Operations Committee for the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
- Developed a Governance and Management System Framework that integrates process maps of activities across all core and support functions with the Corporate Risk and Control Framework, Document Library, Training Materials and Corporate System Applications.
- Completed Cert III in Engineering Mechanical Trade (Fitting & Turning).
Kind regards,
Andy Hugill
General Manager