Our Board

Seven directors sit on the GESB Board, overseeing the strategic direction and management of a global investment portfolio of $15 billion. The Board is led by John Langoulant who was appointed as Chairman in March 2011.

Under the State Superannuation Act 2000, the GESB Board has responsibility for the management of the GES Fund and administration of the GESB's schemes. It monitors achievements against declared objectives and ensures that GESB complies with superannuation related legislation and policies. The Board sets high standards of governance, with a focus on risk, return, diversification, liquidity and sustainability to meet the needs of members.

GESB's operational scope includes investment management, in-house administration of the defined benefit, accumulation and retirement schemes. This requires a high and varied level of Board expertise and experience, gained across diverse industry and government environments.

In order to achieve the best practice operating standards outlined by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA), the Board undertakes continuous education, ensuring that they meet and maintain educational and technical competencies that enable them to effectively discharge their duties in a knowledgeable and prudent manner.

Our Board members

As at July 2012

Members of the Board include an independent Chairman, three Employer Directors appointed by the Governor of the State of Western Australia, and three Member Directors, who are appointed via elections conducted by UnionsWA. Currently, all the Board Directors are non-executive Directors, appointed for a maximum of five years and eligible for reappointment.

John Langoulant - Chairman

   

Mr Langoulant was appointed to the Board as Chairman in March 2011, for a term of five years.

He has more than 35 years experience in government and the private sector, including as a former Under-Treasurer of Western Australia.

He is the Chief Executive Officer of Oakajee Port & Rail. His previous Chief Executive positions were at Australian Capital Equity and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia.

Mr Langoulant is also Chairman of the Board of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, a Senator at the University of Western Australia, member of the Council of Australian Governments' Reform Council, Chairman of the Board of Leadership WA, and a member of the Boards of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA, the Committee for Perth and the West Australian Ballet.

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Matt Farrell - Deputy Chairman & Member Director

   

Mr Farrell was first elected to the Board in 1996 and is serving his sixth three-year term as a Member Director which will expire in February 2014. Mr Farrell is currently Deputy Chairman of the GESB Board.

He is a former Vice-President and industrial advocate of the State School Teachers' Union of Western Australia. In 2001, he was made a life Member of the Australian Education Union.

Mr Farrell retired in 2004 after a long career as a lecturer of mathematics in Technical and Further Education (TAFE).

Mr Farrell holds a Bachelor of Science degree, a Diploma of Education and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Applied Physics. He also holds a Company Directors Course Diploma, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Physics.

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Glen Townsing - Member Director

   

Glen Townsing was appointed to the Board as a Member Director in July 2012, for a period of three years.

Mr Townsing is a Senior Developer at the Department of Transport, where his experience extends across systems analysis and design, application development, database administration and design and capacity planning.

Mr Townsing has over 20 years experience in Information Technology (IT) and has designed, developed and implemented a range of computer systems while at the Department of Transport, including the Private Boat and Mooring Registration system and its associated revenue management system.

In addition to his role at the Department of Transport, Mr Townsing is a serving Community & Public Sector Union / Civil Service Association Councillor, is Chairman  of the Civil Service Association's Superannuation Committee and serves on the Public Service Appeals Board.

Mr Townsing has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from Curtin University.

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Robert Lewtas - Member Director

   

Mr Lewtas was first elected as a Member Director to the GESB Board for a term of three years commencing in August 2006. His second three year term will expire in August 2012.

Mr Lewtas is currently the Finance and Administration Manager of the WA branch of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union.

His executive experience includes a 20 year career in TAFE administration and nine years in facilities management at Murdoch University before joining the Union in 2005. While at Murdoch University he was also a small business owner/operator.

Previously he has served on boards for the South Coast Regional Chamber of Commerce (past President), the South Coast Business Development Organisation and Rockingham Community Financial Services Limited Board which owns and operates the Rockingham Community Bank Branch, a franchise of Bendigo Bank Limited.

Mr Lewtas has completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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Richard Alder - Employer Director

   

Mr Alder was appointed to the GESB Board for a term of five years until 26 February 2013. Mr Alder has 36 years experience in the securities industry.

He was Managing Partner in the Perth office of JB Were and Son for 16 years until his retirement in 2003.

Prior to this, he spent six years in JB Were's London office providing him with an extensive global understanding of investments.

Mr Alder is a consultant to Australia's largest listed investment company, Australian Foundation Investment Company Limited. He has also been active within Perth industry associations, including ASFA, Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and the Securities Institute of Australia (now the Financial Services Institute of Australasia). Mr Alder is also active in honorary roles at the Murdoch University Foundation, the Murdoch Veterinary Trust and the Lions Eye Institute.

Mr Alder is currently a Director of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Western Operations, a Trustee of the JP Stratton Trust and an Advisor to the Endowment Committee of Scotch College.

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Scott Ellis - Employer Director

   

Mr Ellis was appointed to the Board in October 2010 for a period of three years.

Mr Ellis is a Barrister at Francis Burt Chambers specialising in commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Mr Ellis commenced practice as a Lawyer in 1983 and was a Partner at Freehills for more than a decade. 

He holds a Bachelor of Jurisprudence, a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws from the University of Western Australia. He also holds a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration from Queen Mary College, University of London.

Mr Ellis is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a National Councilor of the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia.  He has been a Member of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal since 2005 and is a Senior Sessional Member of the State Administrative Tribunal.

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Catherine Nance - Employer Director

   

Ms Nance was appointed to the Board in March 2011 for a period of five years.

Ms Nance is a Partner and Actuary at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), where she heads the national Retirement Incomes and Asset actuarial consulting group.

She has over 20 years professional experience advising governments, companies and superannuation funds in superannuation, employee benefits, investment consulting, aged care and finance and investment-related work. 

Ms Nance is a Director of Community CPS Australia Limited and a Director, and Chair of the Audit Committee, of the Western Australian Treasury Corporation.

Ms Nance has a BSc in pure and applied mathematics and physics and a BA in statistics from the University of Queensland. She is an Affiliate of the Institute of Actuaries (London), a Member of the CFA Institute, a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

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