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FDC Board of Governors

Management of FDC is vested in a Board of Governors, which comprises a number of eminent Australians who are active in development cooperation, business and public affairs.

Mr Robert Lyon (Chairman)

Mr Lyon was appointed Chairman of FDC in September 2007.  Bob Lyon worked for ANZ Banking Group from 1965 – 2008. The last 14 years were spent in the Asia Pacific region. Following his retirement as Managing Director, Pacific in 2006, he was appointed non-executive Chairman ANZ Pacific, a position he held until 2008. As well as chairing all ANZ’s Pacific subsidiaries, Bob has held several non-banking board positions including, Chairman of Quest Ltd. (Fiji), Chairman of Melbourne City Marketing, Board member Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, President of the Australia Fiji Business Council, Vice President of the Australia PNG Business Council and President of the Australia Pacific Islands Business Council.  In addition to serving as Chair of the Board of Governors of The Foundation for Development Co-operation, Bob chairs FINTEL (Fiji International Telecommunications Ltd) and Kula Fund II (private equity) Investment Committee. He is also on the boards of the Pacific Economic Bulletin published by the Australian National University and the Pacific Leadership Foundation (PLF). Bob holds a Graduate Diploma in Organisation Development from RMIT University and is a Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute and a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. In 2005 he was awarded the 30th Independence Anniversary Commemorative Medal by the PNG Government for services to the banking industry. Bob also holds a chiefly title from Samoa. Bob and his wife Helen have one adult son and live in Fiji.

Mr Stephen Taylor (Deputy Chairman)

Mr Taylor has extensive experience as a consultant and manager in the tourism industry, both in Australia and overseas. He has acted as managing director of Tourism Potential since 1994 and was general manager of the National Centre for Studies in Tourism and Travel for two years. Mr Taylor was also involved in the development and operation of several theme attractions in Australia and the US during the 1970s and 1980s.

Professor Vijoleta Braach-Maksvytis

Professor Braach-Maksvytis is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Innovation and Development) of the University of Melbourne. Professor Braach-Maksvytis is also a Director for the Australian International Health Institute and the Ian Potter Museum of Art. She was formerly the head of the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Commonwealth of Australia and a former Director of CSIRO Global development. Professor Braach-Maksvytis has initiated debate on the implications of emerging technologies, to suggest steering their global impact on social, economic, and ethical issues, and has represented Australia in policy areas with APEC and the EU. Professor Braach-Maksvytis is also the Chair and Leader of various scientific bodies, events and working groups in Australia.

Professor Peter Coaldrake

Professor Coaldrake is Vice-Chancellor of Queensland University of Technology (QUT), a position he took up in April 2003. He previously had been Deputy Vice-Chancellor in the same institution, and prior to that served for four years as Chair (CEO) of Queensland’s Public Sector Management Commission, the body established by the Goss government to overhaul Queensland’s public sector. Professor Coaldrake is Chair of the Board of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, and himself is a dual Fulbright Scholarship recipient, as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the field of politics/public policy (1980 – 1981), and as a Senior Scholar in the field of higher education policy and management (in 2001 – 2002). Professor Coaldrake is the author or editor of a number of books and monographs, including Working the System, Government in Queensland (University of Queensland Press, 1989), and co-author (with Lawrence Stedman) of both On the Brink. Australia’s Universities Confronting their Future (University of Queensland Press, 1998), and Academic Work in the Twenty-First Century (DETYA, Occasional Paper Series 99-4). He is also a member of the Board of IDP Australia, a member of the Board of Directors of the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, and a member of the Board of Graduate Careers Australia.

Mr Ian Clarke

Mr Ian Clarke is the Chairman of Gadens Lawyers, and is the partner-in-charge of the firm’s Papua New Guinea practice. Gadens Lawyers is a top-ten national law firm in Australia with over 100 partners and more than 1000 staff. Ian graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1977. He was admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales in 1978 and in Papua New Guinea in 1980. He was made a partner in 1984. His practice includes work on many major PNG projects. He visits PNG regularly and has lived in the country on 2 occasions for a total of some 8 years. His area of specialty is corporate finance and major projects in Australia and Papua New Guinea. He acts for a wide range of banks, investment houses and financial intermediaries. Ian also serves as President of the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Council.

Mr Lim How Teck 

Mr Lim How Teck joined the boards of FDC in December 2008.  He lives in Singapore.  He holds numerous directorship in Singapore and in the Asia-Pacific region.  He is currently Chairman of Redwood International Pte Ltd (an investment & consultancy company).  Mr Lim has an in-depth knowledge of the shipping industry and the NOL Group, having been with the Group from 1979 to 2005.  Mr Lim holds a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree from the University of Singapore.  He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of UK (FCMA), a Fellow of the Certified Public Accountants of Australia (FCPA Aust), a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (FCPA ICPAS), a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and an Associate of the Business Administration of Australia (AIBA).  He is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Corporate Financial Management Course and Advanced Management Program in 1983 and 1989 respectively.   Mr Lim’s other public appointments include being Chairman of Certis CISCO Security Pte Ltd and Deputy Chairman of Tuas Power Ltd.  He is also a Board Director of PNG (Papua New Guinea) Sustainable Development Program, IFS Capital Ltd, Phillip Resources Fund Special Purpose Company, Jurong Port Pte Ltd, Lasseters International Holdings Ltd, Orangestar Investment Holdings Pte Ltd, M&C REIT Management Ltd/M&C Business Trust Management Ltd (CDL Hospitality Trusts), Rickmers Maritime, Mermaid Maritime PCL, MacarthurCook Investment Managers (Asia) Ltd, ARA Asset Management Ltd, Eng Kong Holdings Ltd and Gold Prime Holdings Ltd.  He was awarded The Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat) National Day Award in 1999, The Service to Education Medal (Singapore Ministry of Education) in 2000 and 2002, and The Good Service Medal (Singapore Civil Defence Force) in 1996.