Trust, Trustees & Trust committees

The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust is a statutory body established by the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Act 1980. The Act was amended in 1983 to increase the number of Trustees from five to seven, and in 1985 to vest additional land in the Trust. The legislation defines the powers, authorities, duties and functions of the Trust and vests certain land and property in the Trust. It also governs the Regulations relating to all three Gardens and the Domain.

Trust objectives

to maintain and improve Trust lands, the National Herbarium of New South Wales and the collections of living and preserved plant life owned by the Trust
to increase and disseminate knowledge about the plant life of Australia, and of New South Wales in particular
to encourage the public use and enjoyment of Trust lands by promoting and increasing the educational, historical, cultural and recreational value of these lands.

Chairperson

Mr Greg Martin BEc, LLB (Appointed Chair 1 December 2003; Appointed to Trust 1 July 2003; present term expires 30 June 2011)

Greg Martin joined Challenger Financial Services Group as Chief Executive, Challenger Infrastructure in May 2006 after a career spanning more than 25 years with The Australian Gas Light Company (AGL). While at AGL, Greg held a variety of senior management roles both in Australia and overseas and within a number of AGL’s associated entities. Between 2001 and 2006 he served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AGL. Greg is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a non executive director on the Board of Energy Developments Ltd and has been appointed to the Board of the newly formed Australian Energy Market Operator Limited.

Other Trustees

Mr Michael Samaras, BA (Hons) MBA (Reappointed 26 June 2006; present term expires 26 June 2010)

Michael Samaras is the Manager Media and Communications for Sydney Airport. His communications experience covers the fields of media, marketing, community and government relations. Michael is also a Director of the Auburn & Lidcombe United Friendly Society. He has experience in a number of infrastructure sectors including urban road transport.

Professor Susan Serjeantson, BSc (Hons), PhD (Re-appointed 21 December 2004; present term expires 20 December 2008)

Sue Serjeantson is a science policy consultant and until May 2008 was the Executive Secretary of the Australian Academy of Science. Her research interests have focused on human genetics, at the University of Hawaii, where she obtained her PhD, and then at the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research. Sue joined the Australian National University in Canberra in 1976, first at the John Curtin School of Medical Research and then, for four years from 1994, as Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research). Her research in molecular genetics and in improving the outcome of organ transplantation has been recognised by the National Clunies-Ross Award for Science and Technology, the Ruth Sanger Medal and by the Order of Australia.

Dr Kate Fairley-Grenot, BSc Hons, PhD (Sydney), MSc Science & Technology Policy (Sussex), FAICD (Appointed to Trust 11 November 2004; present term expires 10 November 2008)

Kate Grenot is a practitioner in the Australian life sciences industry, with interests in the role of plant science in society and in the domestic economy. Kate has a PhD in plant physiology and investigated signal transduction in plants as a research fellow at Harvard. She subsequently spent several years with Coopers & Lybrand and now works as a management consultant in Sydney. Kate is a reference committee member for the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies.

Ms Tim Jackson Cert.Hort.UK, MAIH (Appointed 29 May 2005; present term expires 28 May 2009)

Tim Jackson, former Vice President of the NSW Council of the Australian Institute of Horticulture, was President of the Friends of The Gardens from 2001 to 2003. A pioneer member of the Growing Friends, Tim was instrumental in establishing the Friends’ Artisans Exhibition in 2000 and in implementing the garden-themed Literary Lunch in conjunction with the Sydney Writers Festival in 2004. Tim, a member of the Horticultural Media Association, writes freelance gardening articles for various magazines and is still involved in the Australian Institute of Horticulture and very involved in community-based gardening.

Mr Nigel Swinn (Appointed 11 November 2005; present term expires 10 November 2008)

Nigel Swinn has worked as a brand builder for over twenty years - originally growing a successful brand consultancy in New Zealand called Designworks, then after the business was bought out by John Singleton’s STW Group, forming an Australian consultancy called Yello. Now head of Yello’s strategic services, Nigel works as a brand consultant to a number of Australian and New Zealand businesses - working closely with the senior executives of companies as diverse as Westpac and Vodafone, Camp Quality and the Cancer Council. Previously a marketing manager at Tourism New Zealand, Nigel has facilitated business and brand strategies for brands ranging from large corporates such as Air New Zealand, Rio Tinto and Wattyl Paints, to small and entrepreneurial brands like the award winning BEE eco products range, the Cape York Indigenous Enterprise community and Taronga Zoo.

Mr Tom Pinzone BEng (UNSW) FIEAust, MAICD (Appointed 26 April 2006; present term expires 25 April 2010)

Tom Pinzone is a consulting civil engineer with over 30 years professional experience. He is a Director of Gutteridge, Haskins and Davey (GHD) and leads its Transportation Business Sector. His experience includes urban and regional development, water and wastewater and transportation projects. He is the co-author of a widely quoted series of Australian Infrastructure Report Cards. Tom has a long history of service with professional and industry associations at executive and committee level including Engineers Australia, ACEA and AusCID and has served on a number of government advisory groups.

Trust Committees

Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee

Dr Kate Fairley-Grenot (Chairperson), Greg Martin , Mr Tom Pinzone, Dr Tim Entwisle, Ms Clare Hamilton (Secretary)

Botanic Gardens Committee

Ms Tim Jackson (Chairperson), Mr Michael Samaras, Dr Tim Entwisle, Ms Judy Fakes, Mr Simon Leake, Prof. Peter Martin, Mr Anton James, Ms Colleen Morris, Ms Janelle Hatherly, Mr Mark Savio, Mr Bernard Proctor (Secretariat)