AIEF - Australian Indigenous Education Foundation - The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF)

Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales (Patron-In-Chief of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation)

Professor Bashir is the first woman to be appointed Governor of NSW. Born in Narrandera in the Riverina district of NSW, and educated at the Narrandera Public School and Sydney Girls High School, Marie Bashir gained her bachelor degrees in medicine and surgery in 1956 from the University of Sydney. Dr Bashir taught at the Universities of Sydney and NSW, increasingly working with children’s services, psychiatry and mental health services, and Indigenous health programs. At the time of her appointment as Governor of NSW, she was Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney; Area Director of Mental Health Services Central Sydney; and Senior Consultant to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern and to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Kempsey. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 for her services to child and adolescent health, and was invested by Her Majesty, the Queen, with the insignia of a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 2006.

The Hon Sir William Deane AC KBE (Patron of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation)

Sir William Deane AC KBE was educated at St Joseph’s College and Sydney University where he graduated in Arts and Law. He subsequently embarked on an outstanding legal career working in the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, as a solicitor and barrister in Sydney, as a judge in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of NSW and the Federal Court of Australia, as President of the Australian Trade Practices Tribunal and as a Justice of the High Court of Australia. He was appointed a Knight of the British Empire in 1982, a Companion in the Order of Australia in 1988 and sworn in as Australia’s 22nd Governor-General in 1996.

Andrew Penfold (Chief Executive)

Andrew Penfold is the CEO of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and a member of AIEF’s Investment Committee. A former finance lawyer and investment banker with 20 years’ experience working in leading international firms in Sydney, London and Hong Kong, Andrew left the business world in 2004 and spent five years working on a fulltime but voluntary basis as Founder and Chairman of the St Joseph’s College Indigenous Fund and a range of other non-profit and charitable organisations, before establishing AIEF in 2007 to replicate and scale the work commenced at St Joseph's College on a larger, national basis. Andrew is also a former director of the ANZ Stadium Club at Homebush, a former director of the South-West Inner Sydney Housing Cooperative in Redfern, Secretary and Trustee of the Hong Kong Rugby Bali Fund, and participated in the Indigenous stream of the Australia 2020 Summit in Canberra in April 2008. Andrew received a Leadership Award from the Prime Minister at the Australian Davos Connection in 2008, was one of the 2009 True Leaders in the annual Australian Financial Review Boss Magazine awards, was a finalist for Australian of the Year in 2010 and was nominated by The Australian newspaper for its Australian of the Year award in 2012.

Ann Sherry AO (Deputy Chair)

Ann Sherry is Deputy Chair of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Ann is the Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Australia, a division of Carnival Corporation, the leading cruise company in Australia. Before this, Ann was with Westpac for twelve years in a variety of roles which included Group Executive and CEO of Westpac New Zealand and CEO of the Bank of Melbourne. Prior to this, Ann was First Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Status of Women in Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Ann also currently holds the following Directorships: Director and Chair, Public Service Commission of Queensland; Director, Tourism and Transport Forum Australia Ltd; Director, Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships; Director, Australian Maritime Museum and Board Member, Australian Sports Commission.

Michael Lindsay (Director)

Michael Lindsay is a Director, Company Secretary and Treasurer of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and is a member of AIEF’s Investment Committee. Michael is also Director and Group Company Secretary of the Olbia & Tenix Group, a leading provider of Infrastructure Asset Services and Parking and Traffic Solutions to clients in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Island and the USA. Michael trained as a Mining Engineer and began work in a variety of operational roles in underground and open cut coal mines with BP Coal in the Hunter Valley. He then completed an MBA at the AGSM before rejoining the mining Industry working in a variety of executive roles with Energy Resources of Australia, North Ltd and Resource Finance Corporation before joining Tenix in 2003. Michael is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, Eng Exec Engineers Australia and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries. Michael is also a Director of the Tenix Foundation.

Ray Martin AM (Chairman)

Ray Martin is the Chairman of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Ray’s lifetime in journalism has included a decade as the ABC’s North American Correspondent, before becoming the public face of the Nine Network. An original member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, he was also Chairman of the Fred Hollows Foundation, before becoming Chairman of AIEF in 2008. Ray was named as a Member of the Order of Australia on Australia Day 2010.

Robert Coombe (Director)

Rob Coombe is a Director of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Rob was formerly Group Executive at Westpac Retail and Business Banking with responsibility for all Westpac's retail, small-to-medium enterprises and commercial customers in Australia. Prior to this, Rob was CEO of BT Financial Group. Rob has over 28 years experience in banking, finance and wealth management. Prior to joining BT, Rob accumulated ten years of experience in commercial banking, property investment and funds management. Rob is also a Director of BT Investment Management Limited, Director of Ascalon Capital Management, a member of the Advisory Board to the UTS Faculty of Law and Director of Surfing Australia. Rob was also recently awarded the UTS Chancellor's Award for Excellence 2011.

Warren Mundine (Director)

Warren Mundine is a Director of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. A Bundjalung man, Warren is CEO of NTSCORP Ltd and Chairman of Indigenous Investment Management and an advocate for empowering Indigenous people to break the poverty cycle and building a strong Indigenous economy. Warren also holds several Chairmanships such as the Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, NASIDA Ltd, the Healing Circle at Southern Cross University and he is a member of the Macquarie University Council and the Indigenous Business Advisory Policy Group. Previous roles held by Warren include the National President of the Australian Labor Party, Chair of NSW Country Labor and member of the NSW Attorney General’s Juvenile Crime Prevention Committee, NSW PCYC State Board and IAG’s Expert Community Advisors Committee. Warren has also had considerable involvement in local government through a number of roles including Deputy Mayor of Dubbo, President of the NSW Local Government Aboriginal Network, Executive member of the Local Government Association of NSW and as a commissioner with the NSW Local Government Grants Commission.

Andrew Penfold (CEO of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation)

Andrew Penfold is the CEO of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and a member of AIEF’s Investment Committee. A former finance lawyer and investment banker with 20 years’ experience working in leading international firms in Sydney, London and Hong Kong, Andrew left the business world in 2004 and spent five years working on a fulltime but voluntary basis as Founder and Chairman of the St Joseph’s College Indigenous Fund and a range of other non-profit and charitable organisations, before establishing AIEF in 2007 to replicate and and scale the work commenced at St Joseph's College on a larger, national basis. Andrew is also a former director of the ANZ Stadium Club at Homebush, a former director of the South-West Inner Sydney Housing Cooperative in Redfern, Secretary and Trustee of the Hong Kong Rugby Bali Fund, and participated in the Indigenous stream of the Australia 2020 Summit in Canberra in April 2008. Andrew received a Leadership Award from the Prime Minister at the Australian Davos Connection in 2008, was one of the 2009 True Leaders in the annual Australian Financial Review Boss Magazine awards, was a finalist for Australian of the Year in 2010 and was nominated by The Australian newspaper for its Australian of the Year award in 2012.

Greg Cooper (CEO of Schroder Investment Management Australia)

Greg Cooper is a member of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation’s Investment Committee. Greg is the CEO of Schroder Investment Management Australia Ltd. His Investment career commenced in 1992 with Towers Perrin in Sydney and from 1994 to December 1999 he was Head of the Actuarial and Asset Consulting practice for Towers Perrin Asia, based out of Hong Kong. He joined Schroders in 2000 and has held various senior positions prior to being appointed CEO in 2006 including – Head of Distribution for South Asia and Head of Product Strategy for Asia Pacific in Singapore; Head of Distribution in Australia; and based in London, Product Manager for Schroders Japanese equity product. Greg has a Bachelor of Economics (Actuarial Studies) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and the UK.

John Schaffer (Co-founder of Intech Asset Consultants)

John Schaffer is a member of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation’s Investment Committee. John graduated with degrees in commerce and law in 1979 at the University of New South Wales and his career has spanned tax consulting (Arthur Andersen, KPMG) corporate finance (Citibank) and financial research (Davey & Associates). In 1989, he co-founded asset consultants, Intech, which grew to become one of Australia's leading institutional investment advisory consultancies. More recently, John founded Catallyst Advisors which provides institutional third-party marketing services.

Michael Lindsay (Director and Group Company Secretary of the Olbia & Tenix Group)

Michael Lindsay is a Director, Company Secretary and Treasurer of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and is a member of AIEF’s Investment Committee. Michael is also Director and Group Company Secretary of the Olbia & Tenix Group, a leading provider of Infrastructure Asset Services and Parking and Traffic Solutions to clients in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Island and the USA. Michael trained as a Mining Engineer and began work in a variety of operational roles in underground and open cut coal mines with BP Coal in the Hunter Valley. He then completed an MBA at the AGSM before rejoining the mining Industry working in a variety of executive roles with Energy Resources of Australia, North Ltd and Resource Finance Corporation before joining Tenix in 2003. Michael is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, Eng Exec Engineers Australia and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries. Michael is also a Director of the Tenix Foundation.

Robert Coombe (Former Group Executive at Westpac Retail and Business Banking)

Rob Coombe is a Director of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Rob was formerly Group Executive at Westpac Retail and Business Banking with responsibility for all Westpac's retail, small-to-medium enterprises and commercial customers in Australia. Prior to this, Rob was CEO of BT Financial Group. Rob has over 28 years experience in banking, finance and wealth management. Prior to joining BT, Rob accumulated ten years of experience in commercial banking, property investment and funds management. Rob is also a Director of BT Investment Management Limited, Director of Ascalon Capital Management, a member of the Advisory Board to the UTS Faculty of Law and Director of Surfing Australia. Rob was also recently awarded the UTS Chancellor's Award for Excellence 2011.