Our board - Sax Institute

The Sax Institute Board has an independent chair, three directors elected by research centre members, a nominee from each of the Universities of Newcastle, New South Wales and Sydney, four directors with other expertise, a representative appointed by the NSW Minister for Health, and the Institute CEO (ex officio).

The Sax Institute Board Charter sets out the role and responsibilities of the Institute’s Board and management and provides the overall governance framework for the organisation.

Download the Board Charter (PDF 160 KB). Updated November 2013.

Professor Ian Olver AM, Chair

Professor Olver is a cancer researcher, medical oncologist and bioethicist, and is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide. His past positions include Director of the Royal Adelaide Hospital Cancer Centre, CEO of Cancer Council Australia, and Director of the University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute. He is past president of the Medical Oncology Group of Australia and the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2011 for services to medical oncology.

Ms Kim Anderson

Ms Anderson is a Non-Executive Director of carsales.com Limited (from 2010), WPP AUNZ (Nov 2010) and Marley Spoon (from 2018), and Chair of Beem It, a fintech joint venture between CBA, NAB and Westpac (2018). A former Fellow of the Sydney University Senate, Ms Anderson has more than 25 years’ experience in various media executive positions in both Australia and the US, including Southern Star Entertainment, Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, ninemsn, Harper Collins, and Reading Room Inc, of which she was a founder and CEO.

Dr Kerry Chant PSM

Dr Kerry Chant is NSW Chief Health Officer and Deputy Secretary of the Population and Public Health Division, NSW Ministry of Health. The Division has accountabilities for a broad portfolio of issues, including tobacco control, reduction of risky drinking and obesity, the promotion of physical activity, end-of-life care and organ donation. Dr Chant has a particular interest in the response to HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B and Aboriginal health.

Professor Robert Cumming AO

Professor Cumming is Deputy Head, School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, where he is Professor of Epidemiology and Geriatric Medicine. He has more than 25 years of research and teaching experience.

Professor Stephen Jan

Professor Jan leads Health Economics and Process Evaluation at the George Institute, and is Professor of Health Economics at the University of Sydney. With over 20 years of research and teaching experience, he has worked closely with government and international agencies in Australia and overseas. He has collaborated extensively with the Sax Institute, including as a chief investigator on the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre.

Dr George Jessup

Dr Jessup is a founder and director of Start-up Australia Ventures, an institutional grade technology investment fund with top quartile returns over a period of more than 10 years. He has broad experience in commercialising technologies within start-up companies and large multinationals.

Mr Michael Lambert

Mr Lambert is a consultant with CIMB Group and has extensive experience in strategy, corporate advisory and mergers and acquisitions. He also has extensive health sector experience and sits on commercial and not-for-profit organisation boards. He is a former Secretary of NSW Treasury.

Mr Christopher Paxton

Mr Paxton is a Partner in the Strategy Consulting team at PwC. He has more than 15 years of experience working on corporate and business strategy, acquisitions and restructuring with leading companies in Australia, Europe, the US and Asia.

Professor David Preen

Professor Preen is the Chair in Public Health at the School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia (UWA) and was Director of the UWA Centre for Health Services Research from 2006-2015. He also holds honorary positions at the University of South Australia and Swansea University (UK). His current role is aimed at bridging the divide between academia and government to increase the translation of research findings to facilitate evidence-based decision making in policy settings.

Professor Peter Smith

Professor Smith has held senior academic and clinical leadership positions in Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland. He is the former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at UNSW Australia, is currently a Non-Executive Director at St Vincent’s Health Australia and is a consultant with IntegenX, California and the Association of Academic Health Centers International, Washington, DC.

Professor Johanna Westbrook

Professor Westbrook is Director of the Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University. She is internationally recognised for her research evaluating the effects of information and communication technology in healthcare. In 2014 Professor Westbrook was named Australian ICT professional of the year by the Australian Information Industry Association, and she serves as board member of the Australian Digital Health Agency.

Professor Sally Redman AO (ex officio)

Professor Redman is an international leader in driving the use of research in policy, programs and service delivery at the Sax Institute and in her previous role as the inaugural Director of the National Breast Cancer Centre. She recently led a National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence aimed at testing ways to increase the capacity of policy agencies to use research. Professor Redman’s background is in public health and health services research, and she has written or contributed to more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. In 2013, she was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for her distinguished service to public health and the promotion of relationships between researchers, policy makers and practitioners. She received the President’s Award from the National Heart Foundation in 2017.

The 45 and Up Study