Richard Leder OAM – Chairman

BEc LLB (Hons)

Richard Leder OAM is the Head of Commercial Litigation at the law firm Wotton + Kearney. He specialises in commercial litigation and media law. He represents a range of media institutions including Channel 7 Melbourne and acted for the actress Rebel Wilson. He also advises the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and represents corporate and professional organisations and community welfare groups.

Richard was appointed Chair of the RCH Foundation in October 2022 having previously held the position of Deputy Chair since 2003. He serves on the Executive and Finance, Investment, Remuneration and Grants Committees of the Board. He also sits on the RCH1000 committee.

Richard was the Deputy Chair of the Mt Buller and Mt Stirling Alpine Resort Management Board from 2018–2022 and serves on the boards of Australian Friends of Asha, The Conversation Media Group and the Melbourne Press Club.

In June 2019 he was awarded a Medal of the Order (OAM) of Australia for his contribution to the community, recognising in particular his long contribution to the RCH Foundation.

RCH Foundation Director since 1998 and Chairman since 2022.

Dr Gillian Sparkes AM – Deputy Chairman

PhD MBA FAICD FIPAA MRACI

Dr Gillian Sparkes AM has a distinguished career that spans the private, public and not for profit sectors having worked three decades in industries that interface with the environment and community, before senior public service. Gillian held senior roles with both the Australian and Victorian Governments including Deputy Secretary Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, Chair Sustainability Victoria and held the role of Victoria’s Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability – an independent statutory role that reports and advises government and the community on the environment – for a decade, before stepping down in June 2024.  Gillian is currently the ministerial appointed member of the Monash University Council, Chair of FrontierSI (formerly the CRC for Spatial Information), a board member of the Industry Capability Network, Victoria and a Trustee of the Royal Society of Victoria.

Gillian holds a PhD in Applied Science, a Master of Business Administration, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a National and Victorian Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, has an Honorary Doctor of Science from Swinburne University of Technology and is an Honorary Fellow of Monash University. Gillian was recognised as one of the Top 50 Victorian Public Sector Women in 2020 and appointed as a Member of the Order (AM) in the General Division of the Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours for significant services to environmental sustainability, and to public administration.

RCH Foundation Director since 2015 and Deputy Chair since 2022.

Professor James Angus AO

Professor James Angus AO is an Emeritus Professor and Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Doherty Institute and Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS), University of Melbourne.

In July 2013 he completed a 10 year term as Dean of the Faculty of MDHS at the University of Melbourne. Before becoming Dean, he was Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of MDHS. At the University of Melbourne, James has been President of the Academic Board (2000-2001), Pro Vice-Chancellor (1999-2001) and member of University Council (1999-2001).

James was awarded the Gottschalk Medal of the Australian Academy of Science (1984), is a Fellow of the Academy (FAA) and has been a member of its Council. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

In 2003 he was awarded Australia’s Centenary Medal for contribution to Pharmacology and the Community. James was a First Vice-President of the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR) and was President of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists. From 2009-2011 he was President of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand.

His current roles include Lieutenant Governor of Victoria from November 2021; Director, Jack Brockhoff Foundation; Director, RCH Foundation; Chair, Campus Council at RCH; member, Melbourne University Publishing Advisory Board and Chair, Governance Board Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics.

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2010 for distinguished service to biomedical research, particularly in the fields of pharmacology and cardiovascular disease, as a leading academic and medical educator, and as a contributor to a range of advisory boards and professional organisations both nationally and internationally.

RCH Foundation Director since 2020.

Peter Blunden AM

Peter Blunden AM is the Executive Editor of News Corp Australia. In a career spanning more than 47 years with the company, Peter has held senior editorial positions with several of Australia’s biggest newspapers, including The Australian, the Herald Sun and the Adelaide Advertiser. Peter has served as editor, editor in chief and managing director of the Herald and Weekly Times in Melbourne, which has been his home for the past 25 years.

Peter was Victorian Managing Director for eight years with responsibility for all News Corp print and digital mastheads in Victoria including the Herald Sun, Sunday Herald Sun, the Weekly Times, Leader Community Newspapers and the Geelong Advertiser Group, before which he served five years as managing director of the Herald and Weekly Times and eleven years as editor and editor in chief of the Herald Sun.

Peter edited the Adelaide Advertiser for more than five years, held various senior positions with The Australian, and was founding editor of The Australian’s colour magazine in 1988. His career with News Corp Australia has taken him from Sydney to Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne. Peter was inducted into the Victorian Media Hall of Fame in 2014, and was awarded a Centenary Medal for services to the media industry in 2001.

Peter is a Director of the Herald and Weekly Times, the RCH Foundation, the Good Friday Appeal, and a committee member of the Moonee Valley Racing Club.

RCH Foundation Director since 2012.

Wendy Norris

Wendy Norris is the Chief Executive Officer of OneFortyOne, a forestry and wood products company with 500 employees across Australia and New Zealand.

Previously Wendy spent 13 years in the investment team at Future Fund, most recently in the role of Chair of the Investment Committee for the $250 billion sovereign wealth fund. Prior to this Wendy was Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Private Markets at Future Fund, responsible for leading investment strategy and implementation for the Infrastructure and Timberland, Private Equity and Property asset classes.

Wendy holds an applied science degree from the University of New South Wales, a graduate management diploma from the Australian Graduate School of Management and has completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD.

RCH Foundation Director since 2022.

Tiffany Fuller

Tiffany Fuller is an experienced independent, non-executive director with over 10 years’ experience in public, private and philanthropic board roles.

Tiffany’s prior executive roles spanned careers in chartered accounting, corporate finance, funds management and investment banking with Arthur Andersen and Rothschild, both in Australia and globally, where she developed extensive skills across corporate and strategic advisory, management consulting, private equity and mergers and acquisitions.

Tiffany currently sits on the boards of Computershare Limited, Washington Soul Pattinson and Company Limited and Australian Venue Co Limited where she is also either Chair or member of a number of Board Sub-Committees, including Audit, Risk and Remuneration.

Tiffany has held multiple philanthropic roles including at the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund and the Snowdome Foundation.

Tiffany holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne and is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors.

RCH Foundation Director since 2020.

Andrew Anderson MAICD

Andrew Anderson is the Director of Broadcast Operations at the Seven Network. He followed his passion for television at age 16 beginning a 45 year television career at Channel 7 in Melbourne in 1978. Andrew has worked on Seven’s biggest telecasts as a technician, operator, manager, and television executive including the Olympic Games, AFL, Supercars, Horse Racing, the Australian Open Tennis, Seven News and Sunrise.

Starting as a technician, Andrew moved through various operational areas. He became Seven Melbourne’s first programming and presentation manager in 1987 which was part of the transformation of the Seven Network from a series of local stations to a network based operation. Andrew also took an active role in the development of the revival of local live comedy and variety television resulting in the hit shows, Fast Forward and Tonight Live.

In 1992 Andrew was promoted to Network Presentation Manager at Sevens’ Sydney HQ. He led the transition to full automation introducing operational efficiencies in 1994 across Australia. He then spent two years as Director of Programming on the OptusVision movie channels for the then start-up of PayTV in Australia.

Andrew returned to Seven in 1998 to helm the technical project design and implementation of the Melbourne Broadcast Centre which transitioned the Seven Network to digital and centralised all channel playout to Melbourne, a first for Australian commercial television. He led the creation of the Martin Place television facility (Brekky Central) and more recently the project to relocate the operations to Eveleigh, the centralisation of Sevens’ regional Queensland channel operations to Melbourne, the introduction of multichannel operations in 2010 and the introduction of high definition broadcasting.

In 2019 Andrew was part of the team which formed NPC Media, a joint venture with the Nine network. He managed the project that consolidated all of Seven and Nine channel playout to one facility in Sydney. Andrew is a current Director of NPC Media PTY LTD, he has completed his AICD training and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

RCH Foundation Director since 2023.

Sameer Kumar

BBus FCA

Sammy Kumar is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sayers Group. He has over 35 years’ experience across strategy, deals, digital, financial effectiveness, and operations. Sammy served on the Board of the RCH from July 2012 to July 2015 and was reappointed in July 2018.

RCH Foundation Director since 2015.

Felicity Green

Felicity is the Co-founder and Director of for-purpose strategy firm, Ensemble Strategy. She has dedicated her career to helping bold leaders create strategies for a better world. Springboarding from corporate management consulting at Grant Thornton Australia, Felicity was an early entrant to the for-purpose advisory market, helping to launch Spark Strategy. She has spent the last decade advising clients across the not for profit, government and philanthropy sectors, running social impact consulting teams from the helm as Chief Executive Officer.

With an MBA from Peking University, multiple not for profit board positions and recognition in the Telstra Business Woman of the Year Awards, she has a proven track record of innovative strategic thinking that drives tangible impact. With particularly deep experience in gender equity, the arts and philanthropy, Felicity is known for her ability to craft crisp strategic narratives and facilitate powerful partnerships.

An avid public speaker, she’s also made guest appearances on leading podcasts and is widely published. Felicity is a key advocate of the B Corp and Shared Value movements and founding member of Women in Impact, the Impact Circle and League of Intrapreneurs.

RCH Foundation Director since 2023.

Tiffany Lucas

Tiffany has a background in law and not-for-profit management. She is currently a Special Counsel at CIE Legal practicing corporate and commercial law with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions and corporate transactions.

Tiffany holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and English (Summa cum laude), a Juris Doctor in Law (Magna cum laude) and a Masters of Bioethics from Monash University. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was a participant in the Victorian Government’s Women’s Board Leadership Program.

Tiffany is the current President of the RCH Auxiliaries. She also holds several other philanthropic leadership roles including Director and Vice-President of Arts Project Australia (APA) and Chair of the APA Foundation.
She previously served on the Development Board of the RCH’s Children’s Bioethics Centre, the RCH Clinical Ethics Committee, as a Director and Secretary of Dancehouse Inc, as a Director of the Northern Rivers Performing Arts Centre (NORPA), as a Director and Head of Legal at TEDxMelbourne and was President of the American Women’s Association.

RCH Foundation Director since 2022.

Chris Pidcock

Chris Pidcock has over 30 years’ experience in equity markets and superannuation funds.

He is currently a Consultant to Australian Super on Private Equity Investments and his previous roles have included Director, Australian Equities at Super Investment Management (SIM), the wholly owned in-house asset manager for the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (REST), Equity Strategist at Goldman Sachs and Head of International Research at JBWere in New York.

Chris also sits on a number of Investment Committees at not-for-profit organisations, as well as being the Chair of the Province Finance Advisory Committee for the Loreto Sisters in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical, Honors), Graduate Diploma in Accounting, Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment, and is a Fellow of FINSIA.

RCH Foundation Director since 2024.

Ryan Brown – Chief Executive Officer
The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation

Ryan Brown is the Chief Executive Officer of the RCH Foundation, a position he was appointed to in 2024. Ryan joined the organisation in 2017 and in this time has held senior leadership positions including as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the Director of Fundraising. He has played a key role in leading strategic philanthropic growth, building strong connections both across campus and with our donor community.

Ryan has over 20 years leadership experience, and has spent the past 12 years in the public health sector, including at the Northern Health Foundation, CARE Australia and Variety, the Children’s Charity. He currently holds non-executive board positions with Omeo District Health and Gippsland Primary Health Network.