Dr Weller is the Chief Operating Officer of QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. As COO he leads the Services Division and delivers leadership, stewardship and partnership to enable better health and wellbeing through impactful medical research.

Dr Weller previously was the Chief Operating Officer & Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Australian Catholic University. Dr Weller led the Corporate Services Portfolio in this role, which is critical to achieving the university's strategic and operational priorities. His Portfolio included infrastructure information technology properties and facilities marketing and external relations, academic registrar and student administration human resources finance planning & strategic management, and governance and general counsel. Dr Weller was also responsible for providing effective corporate governance through the University Senate and Company as Company Secretary. Dr Weller is also the chair of HES and a director at UniSuper.

Dr Weller has more than 20 years of experience in tertiary education across six universities in three states. He holds a PhD in Organisational Justice from Victoria University a Master of Business Administration from the University of Technology, Sydney a Master of Commerce, Employment Relations from the University of Western Sydney and a Bachelor of Arts, Government and Public Administration from the University of Sydney.

Professor Helen Bartlett is an experienced leader and passionate advocate for regional education.

As Vice-Chancellor and President of USC, Professor Bartlett is leading the university during a time of unprecedented growth and expansion across the South-East Queensland corridor – a period that is expected to bring a wealth of opportunities for the university to increase its impact and engagement across the region.

Prior to starting as USC’s third Vice-Chancellor and President in August 2020, Professor Bartlett led a period of transformation at Federation University Australia, enhancing its profile as a multi-campus institution, its innovative approach to regional higher education and focus on responding to the needs of its communities.

During Professor Bartlett’s time as Vice-Chancellor and President of Federation University from 2017 to 2020, she was also Chair of the Regional Universities Network – a role in which she was able to use her experience to successfully advocate for regional universities when it came to issues of funding, research and policy development. Professor Bartlett was also Chair of the Victorian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee in the year prior to her move to Queensland and worked closely with the Victorian Government as universities shaped their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She is passionate about the role regional universities play in helping shape communities and enhancing economic, social and environmental outcomes through education, research and community engagement.

On the international stage, Professor Bartlett has held leadership roles in universities across Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Malaysia – where she was President and Chief Executive of Monash University Malaysia from 2013 to 2017.

Professor Bartlett’s diverse experience and expertise are sought after when it comes to higher education policy. She is a member of several key advisory bodies including the Higher Education Standards Panel, the Australian Government Council for International Education, and previously the National Priorities and Industry Linkage Fund Working Group.

A research specialist in health and aged care, Professor Bartlett’s career has included roles such as the inaugural Director at the Australasian Centre on Ageing at the University of Queensland, the Oxford Centre for Health Care Research and Development and the Oxford Dementia Centre at Oxford Brookes University.

Michelle is a people focused and transformative leader with deep experience across government (Commonwealth and State) and the private sector. Michelle’s experience in Senior Executive roles spans governance, service delivery, corporate, IT and program management.

Prior to joining Charles Sturt, Michelle was the Deputy Registrar of the Australian Business Registry Services at the Australian Taxation Office. In this role, Michelle was accountable for overseeing all of Australia’s corporate and business registry services, including nine million Australian Business Number holders and three million companies.

Michelle’s prior roles include:

• Deputy Commissioner, Customer Service and Solutions at the Australian Taxation Office

• General Manager, Corporate Services at Parks Victoria;

• First Assistant Secretary, Corporate Services at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet; and

• National Manager, Service Delivery Reform at the Department of Human Services.

Throughout her career, Michelle has always been passionate about promoting inclusivity and helping to create meaningful change. This includes a strong focus on supporting our First Nations staff, raising cultural awareness and improving services offerings for our First Nations Communities.

Michelle holds a Masters of Business Administration, a Masters of Human Resource Management and a Bachelor of Business (Accounting). Michelle is also a Fellow of the Certified Practicing Accountants and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Annika Danielsson is the Senior Director, Student Experience and Management at Flinders University. She has more than 18 years of management and leadership experience from positions in student and academic services (from Flinders and the University of South Australia) and has extensive experience in delivering technology, innovation and organisational change projects and initiatives in a university context.

In her current position at Flinders, Annika is responsible for overseeing the end-to-end student experience from a services, planning and administration perspective. This includes overseeing the divisions in the portfolio of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students) that provide student administration (from admissions to graduation), student services including Health, Counselling and Disability services, student progress and success initiatives, and activities of the Finders University Student Association. Annika also plays a key role in overseeing Flinders interactions with Commonwealth and State agencies on matters relating to student administration and legislative compliance.

As a member of many internal governance and advisory boards, Annika contributes to institutional planning and the overall direction of the University by providing strategic advice and leadership on student services and student experience related matters. In addition to her role with HES, Annika is an active member of sector wide initiatives and has established a broad network of contacts, particularly through her involvement with the Heads of Student Administration Board (HoSA) where she is currently the Chair. Annika holds a Master of Social Science (International Relations) from the University of Lund, Sweden, and she is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Annika Danielsson joined the HES Board in April 2022.

Renee Hindmarsh is the Deputy Chief Executive of Universities Australia, where she leads the policy development and data functions on behalf of Universities Australia’s 39 member universities. 

Renee has held executive leadership roles across the higher education, vocational education and training, and public sectors. In her previous role as South Australia’s inaugural Skills Commissioner, Renee was responsible for delivering workforce and development policy for South Australia and the regulation of South Australia’s Apprenticeship and Traineeship system. Renee is a member of numerous Advisory Councils, Committees and Boards related to regulation, workforce, and higher education.

Geoff had a 32-year career with major accounting firm Ernst & Young and retired as a Partner in December 2009 to pursue a new career comprising board non-executive director and Audit Committee positions in the private and public sectors.

He is currently Chairman or non-executive director of six private-sector companies and is also Chair or Independent Member of the Audit and Risk Committees for twelve government departments. His particular skills are in financial reporting and analysis, risk management, corporate governance and internal audit.

Geoff is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and has been a Registered Company Auditor since 1995. He is Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and a member of the Australian Institute of Management. He holds a Bachelor of Economics from ANU.

Trevor Woods holds the position of Vice President (Services) at Monash University. He’s previously held executive roles at The University of Sydney, Monash University, and two Canadian universities, Alberta and Lethbridge.

Trevor joined Monash in January 2023 as the Interim Chief Digital and Student Services Officer after holding the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) at The University of Sydney. Trevor had previously served as Monash University’s CIO from 2015 to 2019.

Throughout his career, Trevor has cultivated a strong reputation across the higher education sector for service excellence and executing large-scale and innovative projects and operations.

Trevor has led significant organisational transformation projects. He’s driven improved collaboration and significantly reduced the time-to-benefit realisation while delivering enhanced levels of service, satisfaction, and improved outcomes. His focus on people, and a consistent and repeatable management approach, develops sustainable organisational cultures that are resilient and adaptable. He creates teams that embrace innovation across boundaries to deliver outcomes in a more contemporary, and collaborative way, particularly within challenging and rapidly changing contexts.

Professor Joanne Wright is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) at The University of Sydney. She has extensive experience in senior academic roles, most recently as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at The University of Queensland and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Acting Vice-Chancellor at the University of South Australia.

She has chaired all major University committees relating to teaching and learning, quality and the student experience. She has led major capital works projects and successfully led efforts to improve student satisfaction in teaching and the wider student experience.

At the national level, Professor Wright is a Ministerial appointee to the Higher Education Standards Panel, making recommendations to the Minister on new or amended standards for Higher Education. She chaired the Australian Universities Quality Assurance Agency Board and oversaw the transfer of some of its roles to TEQSA. She is also a member of a Universities Australia Working Group for AQF.

Prior to her roles at the University of South Australia, Professor Wright also served four years at the University of Sussex as Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Education. Professor Wright has served on several Boards and the Higher Education Standards Panel that drew up the Higher Education Threshold Standards. She was also the final chair of the Australian Universities Quality Assurance Agency and oversaw its closure. 

Professor Wright has Joint Honours (in Politics and Government, and History) from the University of Kent at Canterbury, an M.Litt in Strategic Studies from the University of Aberdeen, a PhD in International Relations from the Australian National University, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.