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, FAIM, MAICD (Appointed Chair 1 December 2003; Appointed to Trust 1 July 2003; present term expires 30 June 2011)

Greg is a non-executive Director of a number of listed and unlisted companies including Santos Limited and Energy Developments Limited. Greg is Managing Director of Murchison Metals Ltd and is a previous CEO and Managing Director of AGL with over 30 years experience in the utilities, energy and energy related infrastructure sectors in Australia, New Zealand and internationally.

Other Trustees

Mr John Egan BA (Hons), MBA, FAIM, FAICD, FIMC (Appointed 18 March 2010; present term expires 25 June 2014)

John Egan is a career management consultant, with particular interests in the alignment of strategy with organisation structure, Board governance and remuneration matters. John served on the Federal Council of the Institute of Management Consultants for a number of years, including a term as President. He served for more than 10 years on the International Student Association’s (AIESEC) advisory Board, retiring as Chairman in 1995, prior to joining the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Sydney that year, serving as Chairman from 2001 to 2010. John is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business and is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Sydney.

Professor Lesley Hughes B.Sc(Honours), Ph.D (Appointed 2 February 2009; present term expires 1 February 2013)

Lesley is internationally (and locally) recognised for her research on the impact of climate change on biodiversity, and more broadly on evolutionary ecology. She is currently the co-convenor of the Terrestrial Biodiversity Network operating under the auspices of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, and Head of Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University. Professor Hughes is a lead author on the the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Lesley chairs the Scientific Committee of the Trust.

Ms Tim Jackson Cert.Hort.UK, FAIH (Reappointed 29 May 2009; present term expires 28 May 2012)

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.

Ms Sibylle Krieger LLB (Hons), LLM, GAICD, MBA (Appointed 1 June 2010; present term expires 31 May 2014)

Sibylle Krieger has 30 years of broad commercial experience as a lawyer, company director and economic regulator. She was a partner of two major law firms for 22 years and held several management roles. She has completed an MBA at Melbourne Business School and currently serves as one of three Tribunal members on the principal NSW economic regulator (IPART), in addition to her consultancy work. She is also a non-executive director of Allconnex Water in south-east Queensland. In her leisure time she enjoys gardens, both public and private, and attends landscaping conferences. 

Mr Tom Pinzone BEng (UNSW) FIEAust, MICE, MAICD (Reappointed 18 March 2010; present term expires 25 April 2014)

Tom Pinzone is a consulting civil engineer with over 35 years professional experience. He is Business Leader Transportation for Gutteridge, Haskins and Davey (GHD) and was a Director of GHD from 2002 to 2008. 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. Tom chairs the Trust's Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee.

Ms Vanessa Priest Dip.Teach, B.Com, M.Tax, C.A (Appointed 2 February 2009; present term expires 1 February 2013)

Vanessa is a Taxation Consultant with WHK Horwarth, and has 15 years experience in chartered accounting, all of it in taxation advising and consulting. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, the Taxation Institute of Australia and has a Masters of Taxation Law. Ms Priest’s client base includes large family trusts and various deductible gift recipients, and she has a particular interest in the tax issues associated with not-for-profit organisations. She is a regular presenter for various institutes and media outlets.

Trust Committees

Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee

Mr Tom Pinzone (Chairperson), Ms Sibylle Krieger, Ms Vanessa Priest, Ms Janice Pullen (Secretary) 

Botanic Gardens Committee

Ms Tim Jackson (Chairperson), Professor David Mabberley, Ms Judy Fakes, Mr Adrian McGregor, Mr John Egan, Mr Simon Leake, Professor Peter Martin, Ms Colleen Morris, Mr Mark Savio, Mr Bernard Proctor (Secretary)

Scientific Committee

Professor Lesley Hughes (Chairperson), Dr Jeremy Bruhl, Professor David Mabberley, Dr Dan Faith, Dr Murray Henwood, Dr Klaus Koop, Dr Brett Summerell (Secretary)

Bicentennial Advisory Committee

Mr John Egan (Chair), Professor David Mabberley, Ms Sybille Krieger, Mr Nicholas Playoust, Ms Debbie Mills.