Michael Lavarch and John Lindsay join Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Board
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) Limited welcomes two new members to its Board of Directors in February 2017, following a recruitment process that began in September 2016.
Professor The Hon. Michael Lavarch AO will join as an Independent Director with not-for-profit governance experience, replacing Independent Director Ms Philippa Smith AM who is retiring from the TIO Board.
Mr John Lindsay GAICD will also join the TIO Board in the role of Director with industry experience, a position currently held by long-standing Director Mr Iain Falshaw who is also retiring.
Ms Catriona Lowe has been re-appointed as a Director with consumer experience.
Two TIO Board positions, one held by Ms Teresa Corbin (Director with consumer experience) and the other by Mr Bradley Kitschke (Director with industry experience), will cease to exist in February 2017, completing the third year of a phased transition process that commenced in 2014. Ms Corbin and Mr Kitschke will both retire from the Board.
“I welcome Michael and John as new members of the Board of TIO Limited, and thank Philippa Smith, Iain Falshaw, Teresa Corbin and Brad Kitschke for their significant and valuable contributions to the TIO,” Board Chair Patricia Faulkner said.
“Michael has extensive board experience and will assume the role of Independent Director with not-for-profit Governance Experience on the TIO Board, while John will bring considerable experience and insight gained from more than two decades in telecommunications to the position of Director with industry experience,” Ms Faulkner added.
Michael Lavarch has held senior roles in government, including serving as Australia’s Attorney-General (1993-1996). He has also held the roles of Secretary-General of the Law Council of Australia and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Queensland University of Technology.
Michael is currently a Commissioner for the Australian Skills Quality Authority, Chief Adjudicator of the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code adjudication panel and the Independent Chair of the Board of Australia’s Financial Ombudsman Service. In 2012, Michael was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to law, education and human rights.
John Lindsay is a company director and consultant. He is a director of UltraServe Internet Pty Ltd, an enterprise ecommerce hosting company and NanoNouvelle Pty Ltd, a nano-material R&D startup.
He has over 22 years’ experience building and managing ISPs including Chariot, Internode and iiNet Ltd. His consulting clients are largely focused on internet and telecommunications, ranging from small ISPs to government agencies.
As required by the TIO’s company constitution, formal recruitment processes were undertaken for all three Board vacancies.
The Board of TIO Limited is chaired by an independent Director and comprises a balanced mix of Directors with industry and consumer experience, an Independent Director with not-for-profit governance experience and an Independent Director with commercial governance experience.