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The Hon Phil Honeywood
CEO, International Education Association of Australia
Convener of the Expert Members of the Council for International Education
Appointed: 18 October 2016
Mr Honeywood is Convener of the Expert Members of the Council for International Education. He has been CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) since November 2011. IEAA is a not-for-profit peak body that represents all sectors of international education in Australia. Mr Honeywood brings extensive experience in international education. This includes serving on education boards, such as the Victorian Government International Education Advisory Committee, the StudyNSW International Education Advisory Board, the StudyPerth Board of Directors, the Higher Education Standards Panel and the New Colombo Plan Steering Group.
Mr Honeywood was the Member for Warrandyte in the Victorian State Parliament from 1988 to 2006. During this period, he served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition (2002 to 2006), Minister for Tertiary Education, Training and Multicultural Affairs (1996 to 1999) and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier (1992 to 1996). From 2009 to 2011, Mr Honeywood was CEO of Cambridge International College.
Professor Linda Kristjanson AO
Former Vice Chancellor
Appointed: 28 November 2019
Professor Linda Kristjanson AO retired as Vice-Chancellor and President at Swinburne University of Technology in 2020. She is currently a non-executive Director at Seek. She is an experienced former Vice Chancellor with a history of working in the higher education industry. She was also National Telstra Business Woman of the Year 2003. In an academic career spanning three decades, Professor Kristjanson has received competitive research funding from national bodies in Canada (National Cancer Institute of Canada), USA (NIH) and Australia (NHMRC), and has published more than 300 refereed publications. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.
Professor Helen Bartlett
VC and President, University of the Sunshine Coast
Appointed: 28 November 2019
Professor Bartlett commenced as the third Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) on 17 August 2020. She brings extensive international experience, having held various leadership roles in universities across Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Malaysia. A research specialist in health and aged care, Professor Bartlett has been inaugural Director at the Australasian Centre on Ageing at the University of Queensland, the Oxford Centre for Health Care Research and Development and the Oxford Dementia Centre at Oxford Brookes University. Professor Bartlett was conferred the title of Emeritus Professor at Monash University in 2017. She was Chair of the Regional Universities Network and is a member of the Australian Government’s National Priorities and Industry Linkage Fund Working Group.
Professor Michael Wesley
DVC-I, University of Melbourne
Appointed: 28/11/2019
Professor Wesley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor International at The University of Melbourne. He has extensive experience in international strategy and relations and has worked in higher education, government and the private sector. He has published on Australian foreign policy, Asia's international relations and strategic affairs, and the politics of state-building interventions. Previously, Professor Wesley was Professor of International Affairs and Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University, Director of the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at ANU, the Executive Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University, and Assistant Director-General for Transnational Issues at the Office of National Assessments. He has a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews.
Mr Derek Scott
CEO and Principal, Haileybury
Appointed: 18 October 2016
Mr Scott has been Principal of Haileybury since December 2007. He is a Director of Haileybury International and the Chairman of Haileybury International School in China. Haileybury is the largest independent school in Australia, with four campuses in Victoria and a campus in Wuqing, China. Mr Scott has a strong focus on international engagement and curriculum development. He has worked on curriculum development for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and has published on the issues of globalisation and international studies. Mr Scott is a board member of the International Education Association of Australia.
Ms Kathleen Newcombe
CEO, Sarina Russo Group of Companies
Appointed: 12 December 2018
Ms Newcombe has thirty years of experience in the higher education, vocational training and employment sectors in both Australia and the USA. She also spent three years in leadership roles in the insurance industry where she managed a health insurance business catering to the international education sector. Ms Newcombe is currently Chair of the Icon Cancer Research Foundation. She was also a member of the ITECA QLD State Committee and a Director of the International Education Association Australia.
Mr Malcolm Baigent
Executive General Manager
University Partnerships Australasia, Navitas
Appointed: 28 November 2019
Mr Baigent is the Executive General Manager, University Partnerships Australasia at Navitas. Mr Baigent has over fifteen years’ experience working in the higher education sector. He has developed knowledge and expertise working in senior management roles, in a diverse range of functions that include HR, finance, faculty management, business development and international education. Mr Baigent was previously College Director and Principle at Edith Cowan College (ECC). He currently serves of the StudyPerth Board of Directors.
Ms Janelle Chapman
Executive Director, Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC)
Appointed: 28 November 2019
Ms Chapman is Executive Director, APTC (Australia Pacific Training Coalition) where she heads the international business activities across the Pacific. APTC is the largest DFAT donor funded project in the Pacific region, initiated in 2007 and is implemented by TAFE Queensland.
With 30+ years of experience working in Vocational Education and Training, predominantly within international, Ms Chapman has always been a strong advocate for the industry. She has also held positions within the school international education sector and in ELICOS and worked in both the public and private sectors.
Ms Chapman is the President of IEAA, the peak body which represents all four sectors of Australia’s international education industry, a VET Expert member on the Council for International Education since 2019 and a member of the Ministerial Advisory Council for Skilled Migration (MACSM) since 2021.
Mr Tomas Johnsson
CEO, UniLodge
Appointed: 10 June 2021
Mr Johnsson joined UniLodge in September 2018 as the Chief Executive Officer. He has over 25 years’ experience in senior management roles in the tourism industry specialising in accommodation. He is currently serving on the board for Asia Pacific Student Accommodation Association.
Prior to joining UniLodge, Mr Johnsson was the Chief Operating Officer of the Mantra Group, and was responsible for Operations, Sales, Marketing, Revenue, Distribution and Digital functions across the Group. He has also held senior management roles with General Property Trust including Sheraton Four Points Darling Harbour, Ayers Rock Resort and Voyages Resorts, as well as Mirvac and Rydges Hotels.
Mr Johnsson successfully completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2016 and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mr Oscar Zi Shao Ong
President, Council of International Students Australia
Elected CISA President: 10 October 2021
Mr Ong is the National President at the Council International Students Australia (CISA), the national peak student representative organisation for international students studying at the postgraduate, undergraduate, private college, TAFE, ELICOS and foundation level. Currently a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide (UofA) from Malaysia, Oscar has a deep passion in representing students from different backgrounds and has held a range of leadership positions over his six years of study at the University. He is also the UofA Student Representative Council (SRC) President for 2020-21 and an Adelaide University Union (AUU) Board Director, and was the AUU Board President in 2019. He has also been a UofA Academic Board member since 2019.
Mr Mel Koumides
CEO, Academia International Institute
Appointed: 28 March 2022
Mr Koumides has 17 years of experience in the Vocational and ELICOS training sectors. Holding prior roles as council / board member of both state, federal and industry associations, plus an extensive North Asian regional knowledge as APAC lead for a multinational IT organisation prior to establishing Academia International, Mr Koumides brings an extensive knowledge in international education. Mr Koumides is the current chair of ITECA's International Policy Committee.