Sydney Probus Management Committee

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President

Peter James

With degrees in science and commerce from Sydney and business studies at INSEAD France, Peter spent 19 years at CSR in sugar, insulation and coal including 8 years in London.

He then established an office in Australia for British Steel to facilitate purchasing of coking coal for Britain, Netherlands and India and also a company which audits loading of coal, grain, wood pellets etc for overseas buyers. He semi-retired in 2018.  

Peter played a lot of cricket at a high level, but now enjoys golf, theatre, music together with his wife Robin, 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren.  

He has travelled to almost 100 countries, including about half of them for work.

Role

The President provides leadership and direction and has the overall responsibility for the smooth operation of the Club. He chairs Committee meetings, General meetings and the Annual General Meeting. He is a key liaison person with Probus South Pacific Limited (PSPL).

Vice President

John Doherty

BA (New England), BE (Sydney), Harvard Business Administration Alumnus, FIEAust, FAusIMM, FCPA, FGIA.

Steel industry coke and iron construction and operating experience at BHP Port Kembla, Newcastle, and Whyalla. Coal mining operations, underground and open-cut, in New South Wales and international marketing of coal. Involved in the establishment of the Australia-Japan Coal Conferences and the Newcastle ‘Coal Chain’. Part ownership and operations director of an open-cut coal mine, Lidsdale, NSW. 50 years in commercial cattle and sheep grazing.  Application of mathematical programming to provide the variable nutritional feed requirements of young, weaned cattle.  RAAF (Reserve) – Flying Operations – Radio & Radar. Sometime sailor from RANSA at Rushcutters Bay. Widower – three children, seven grandchildren.

Role

The Vice President is seen as the President-in-waiting. In the absence of the President, he acts in his role and assists with the smooth operation of the Club and the succession planning for the Committee. With the assistance of the current President he ensures that a smooth handover to the new Committee appointed at the March AGM.

John

Immediate Past President

John Carter

John was a Consultant Endocrinologist. He was President of the Australian Diabetes Society and Chairman of the Commonwealth Ministerial Advisory Committee on Diabetes. He was awarded an AO in 2000. John is a Director of two organisations that provide services for intellectually disabled people. He is married to Merren, has four children and three grandchildren and plays golf and tennis.

Role

Having had considerable experience in the club, the Immediate Past President brings experience and a depth of knowledge about club affairs. He supports President and Vice President and may stand in for other committee roles at short notice if necessary.

Secretary

Chris Luget

Chris, born in the UK, moved to Australia with his Australian wife Judith in 1984. His early career began at Kodak UK/USA then evolved to managing operations of other international companies such as Itek International and Heidelberg, providing leading-edge technologies to the photographic, graphic arts, printing and allied ‘colour’ industries. In 1999 Chris left the ‘mainstream’ to establish his own consultancy focussing on business and executive development for SME’s (small-to-medium enterprises).  He also worked with The CEO Institute providing executive mentoring support for business leaders.

Role

The Secretary works with the President to ensure the Committee functions smoothly and ensures meeting agendas are organised and minutes circulated. He should be familiar with the Constitution, by-laws and standing resolutions and is responsible for the administrative functions of the club and he is the Public Officer. He handles all correspondence.

Treasurer

Wayne Jones

Wayne prior to retirement was a Fellow Chartered Practising Accountant (FCPA) and also a Fellow of Chartered Governance Institute (FCGA) and was Finance Director of Kimberly-Clark Australia before assuming general management responsibilities as Managing Director Australia and New Zealand and then President South Asia for Kimberly-Clark Corporation.

Wayne enjoys travel with his wife Iley with Hawaii being a favourite destination over many years and more recently cruising in Europe and Asia, taking long walks and the occasional social golf. Time in Australia is split between Sydney and Terrigal and Iley and Wayne have one daughter and two grandchildren who all reside in Sydney.

Role

The Treasurer is responsible for the maintenance of all financial records and ensures all funds are accounted for. An Annual Budget is prepared and there are monthly reconciliation reports for the Committee. He manages the bank accounts.

Guest Speakers

Geoff McWilliam

Geoff, after graduating from UNSW with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), spent 23 years of his working life at Lendlease Corporation. Over this time he worked in Sydney, Adelaide, Singapore, Malaysia and in London working for the Chairman Dick Dusseldorp. In 1996 he left Lendlease and was CEO Property for Colonial First State for ten years which included all property owned by the Commonwealth Bank. He retired in 2006 and has held various independent directorships since.

He is married to Barbara, has three daughters and nine grandchildren. Barbara and Geoff have travelled extensively having visited all five continents. He is an enthusiastic member of Killara Golf Club.

Role

As interesting Guest Speakers are one of the most important activities of our Club, the Speakers Program Officer ensures there is a Guest Speaker available for each monthly General Meeting. He liaises with them to make sure they are familiar with the venue and that the necessary facilities are available. He introduces the speaker, arranges for a vote of thanks and arranges for them to join members at luncheon.

Membership

Hugh Hopkins

After graduating from UNSW (B. Com, M. AppSc) Hugh spent most of his working life in the Wool and Exotic (Cashmere, Camel Hair, Alpaca etc) fibre industries. One of the many highlights of his career being a 7 year stint in the USA as General Manager of the Forte Cashmere Company. In retirement Hugh enjoys keeping “Bees”, social tennis, theatre and is a Life Member of the Sydney Beefsteak and Burgundy Club. Married to Belinda with 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren.

Role

The Membership Officer maintains an up to date register of members and oversees the processes related to new member induction. He reports to committee of activity in relation to meeting attendance, new members, potential members and guests.

System Administrator

Tony Andrew

Tony was a GP in the Cremorne Area for 35 years. Previously he worked at Roche Pharmaceuticals and completed an MBA at UNSW. With two other GPs he founded an accreditation organisation for assessing general practice against national standards and consequently has visited approximately 800 general practices throughout Australia. He has five daughters and nine grandchildren and enjoys travel with his partner, Lynne Hurley and reading. He joined Sydney Probus in 2013.

Role

Maintain the Wild Apricot Membership Management System, oversee the Club Website and archives. Assist Committee Members with the usage of the Management system.

Activities Coordinator

Ted Brogan

Sydney Uni graduate in Arts and Law. After initially practicing as a Commercial Solicitor became General Counsel of Export Finance and Insurance Corporation.
 Appointed Head of Project Finance for Barclays Bank in Aust. and then 2 years as a Vice President of Barclays Bank in North America, based in New York.
On return to Australia joined AIDC Ltd as Director Project Finance specialising in advising Governments and Developers on Privatisation.
Married to Judy, 2 sons and 2 granddaughters.

Role

Regular events are arranged between meetings to visit organisations or destinations of particular interest. The Activities Coordinator manages bookings and confirms payments are made. He oversees functions to ensure seamless operation and reports to the Committee on future and past activities.

Newsletter Editor

Adrian Pilton

Adrian was an architect and landscape architect, a founding partner of Johnson Pilton Walker. He has worked on important projects including the National Portrait Gallery and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the Australian embassies in Beijing and Tokyo and Barangaroo Headland Park. He has been National President of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and President of Sydney Rotary Club.  He has four grandchildren and enjoys music, writing and cooking.

Role

The Newsletter Editor compiles the monthly newsletter which advises of upcoming meetings and events, reports on past meetings and events and includes ancillary material such as book reviews and a humour section. Committee members are responsible for supplying the required content for publication.

IT Services

Bill Cheshire

After graduating from London University in 1965 Bill joined Beecham Research, UK, where he was part of the team that discovered Augmentin. He then carried out veterinary vaccine research in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. In 1998, due to the closure of the research department, he retrained as a computer programmer and worked for Statistics NZ for six years. In 2006 he was appointed manager of Fort Dodge vaccine R&D in Australia until his retirement in 2012. His interests include photography, bushwalking, gardening, painting and swimming. Bill is married to Lynne, has a daughter, two granddaughters and four great grandchildren.

Role

IT Services liaises with the website contractor to ensure that the website is kept up to date. Manages the Newsletter distribution and circulates group emails of urgent messages or announcements to members. Also maintains the Archival Database. IT Services also assists Club Services with laptop and projector purchasing, software and operation and assists members with I.T. issues

Robert

Club Services

Robert Warburton

Robert was raised in Goulburn NSW. At age 16 he joined the Royal Australian Navy, completing his training at HMAS Leeuwin in Fremantle West Australia. After 24 years he joined the staff of The Union Club Sydney. During his 24 years with the Union Club he had several positions culminating in Floor Manager when he retired in April 2014. Retirement enabled Robert to catch up with travel and assist with the administration of his son’s business. Robert has two sons and four grandchildren.

Role

The Club Services Officer ensures that the General Meeting Room, Registration Desk and Social table are ready for meetings and equipment is functional. This includes layout, sound equipment, computer and data projector. Liaises with Speakers Program Officer to see that all is in readiness for the speaker. Liaises with the Union Club generally and specifically regarding morning tea, luncheon numbers and payment.

Assistants

Appointed Club Members

Role

Most committee officers have an Assistant appointed by the Committee Officer and ratified by the committee. The aim is to have a member able to attend committee meetings to represent an officer in their absence and who may well step into their role as the officer moves on. Attendance at committee meetings with their officer is at the discretion of the officer, however it offers enhanced insight into the activities of the role and the workings of the committee. The Officer may choose to delegate some responsibilities to their assistant.