Company Directors

The current Directors of Equity Trustees are as follows:

J A (Tony) Killen OAM (Chairman)
Robin B O Burns (Managing Director)
David F Groves (Deputy Chairman)
Kevin Eley
Alice J M Williams
The Hon Jeffrey G Kennett AC
Anne M O'Donnell

J A (Tony) Killen OAM

BA, FAICD, FAIM

Chairman – Appointed 30 August 2007
Non-Executive Director – Appointed September 2002
Member of Equity Trustees’ Remuneration & HR Committee since September 2004

Tony is Chairman of CCI Investment Management Ltd and Sisters of Charity Community Care Ltd.  He is also a non-executive director of listed company Templeton Global Growth Fund Ltd and Catholic Church Insurances Ltd. Tony is a former Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd, having had a 36 year career with the National Mutual/AXA group. He was also Chairman of Australia’s largest not-for-profit health services provider, Sisters of Charity Health Service Ltd. Tony was also a non-executive director of listed company IRESS Market Technology Ltd.

In 2010, Mr Killen was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.

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Robin B O Burns

DipAcc, FAICD

Managing Director – Appointed March 2010

Robin Burns was appointed Managing Director of Equity Trustees on 1 March 2010. Before joining Equity Trustees he was, from 2002, Chief Executive Officer of Equipsuper Pty Ltd, the trustee company for the Equipsuper multi-employer superannuation fund.  Robin is a non-executive director of the Financial Services Council.

Robin previously worked for AXA Asia Pacific, where he held the positions of General Manager, Corporate Affairs and Chief Executive, Risk Insurance and for the stockbroking firm Prudential-Bache Securities (Australia), where he was Managing Director, having joined the firm as Chief Financial Officer.

Robin has 26 years of experience in the financial services industry. He gained his initial professional qualification as a chartered accountant in the UK in 1981.

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David F Groves

BCom, MCom, CA, FAICD 

Deputy Chairman – Appointed December 2007
Non-Executive Director – Appointed November 2000
Chairman of Audit & Compliance Committee – Appointed January 2003

David is a director of Tassal Group Ltd,  Penrice Soda Holdings Limited, Pipers Brook Vineyard Pty Ltd and Kambala, a leading Australian girls' school in Sydney. He is a member of MIR Management Limited Advisory Council and also an executive director of a number of private companies involved in viticulture and investment. David is a former director of GrainCorp Limited, Mason Stewart Publishing, and Camelot Resources NL, and a former executive with Macquarie Bank Limited and its antecedent, Hill Samuel Australia.

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Kevin Eley

CA, F FIN

Non-Executive Director – Appointed November 2011
Member of Equity Trustees' Audit & Compliance Committee since November 2011

Kevin is a Chartered Accountant and was a director and CEO of HGL Ltd from 1985 to October 2010, at which time he stepped down as CEO but remains on the Board as a non executive. He has experience in the financial services industry and in addition to his role at HGL currently serves as a non executive director of Kresta Holdings and previously MMC Asset Management. Kevin has over 10 years experience in management consulting, financing and corporate advice at a major international chartered accounting firm and two investment banks. Kevin is also appointed as the non executive director of Milton Corporation Limited effective 1 December 2011. 

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Alice JM Williams

BCom, FCPA, FAICD, ASFA AIF, CFA 

Non-Executive Director – Appointed September 2007
Member of Equity Trustees’ Audit & Compliance Committee since September 2007
Member of Equity Trustees’ Remuneration & HR Committee since July 2011. Appointed Chairman in August 2011.

Alice has over 25 years senior management and Board level experience in the corporate and Government sectors specialising in investment management, corporate advisory and equity fundraising.
 
Other non-executive directorships include; Djerriwarrh Investments Ltd, Defence Health, Guild Group Holdings Limited and Strategic Analytics (Australia) Pty Ltd.  Alice is also a council member at the Cancer Council of Victoria.

Alice was formerly a director of Victorian Funds Management Corporation, Avion Technology Pty Ltd, State Trustees, NM Rothschild and Sons (Australia) Limited, Director of Strategy and Planning for Ansett Australia Holdings Limited and a Vice President at JP Morgan Australia.  

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The Hon Jeffrey G Kennett AC

Hon DBus (Ballarat) 

Non-Executive Director – Appointed September 2008
Member of Equity Trustees’ Remuneration & HR Committee since September 2008

The Hon Jeffrey Kennett AC was an Officer in the Royal Australian Regiment, serving at home and overseas. He was a Member of the Victorian Parliament for 23 years, and was Premier of Victoria from 1992 to 1999.

Mr Kennett is currently Chairman of Open Windows Australia Proprietary Limited, CT Management Group Pty Ltd and beyondblue, the national depression initiative. He is also Chairman of the Board of Management of PFD Food Services Pty Ltd and a Director of Jumbuck Entertainment Limited. 

He is President of the Hawthorn Football Club and patron of a number of community organisations.

In 2005, Mr Kennett was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia.

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Anne M O'Donnell

BA (Bkg & Fin), MBA, FAICD, F Fin 

Non-Executive Director – Appointed September 2010
Member of Equity Trustees’ Audit & Compliance Committee since December 2010

Anne has some 30 years’ experience in the finance sector. She is an experienced executive and non-executive director in the listed, not-for-profit, and mutual sectors.

Anne is the former Managing Director of Australian Ethical Investment Ltd. Anne was formerly a director of The Investment and Financial Services Association Limited, The Centre for Australian Ethical Research Pty Ltd, and the ANZ Staff Superannuation Fund.

Current directorships include: Community CPS Australia Ltd, Eastwoods Pty Ltd and The Grain Growers Association Ltd. Anne is also an external member of the UBS Global Asset Management (Australia) Ltd Compliance Committee and a member of IP Australia Audit and Evaluation Committee.

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Past directors

Read the names of some our distinguished past directors.