The Board of Lifeline WA plays a vital role in the success of the organisation. Responsibility for day-to-day management and administration is delegated by the Board to the Chief Executive Officer, assisted by the senior management.
Lifeline WA has been deliberate in recruiting Board Members who have complementary backgrounds and skills that are aligned to the organisations strategic objectives. Individually and collectively, Board Members strive to use their experience of business and community life to add value to the organisation as well as effectively monitor its operations.
Board Members
Peter Thomas, Chair
MBA, BSc, BEcon, GAICD
Appointed September 2021
Appointed Chairperson December 2021
Peter is a board director and consultant with significant executive experience in finance, mining and construction. He has held CEO and senior executive positions at BBI, Fortescue, Novartis and Decmil. Peter has previously worked for McKinsey & Company and Lehman Brothers in the USA. Currently, Peter is a director of Decmil, the ASX listed construction and engineering group.
David Etherton, Deputy Chair
BEcons FIPAAWA
Appointed June 2018
Appointed Deputy Chair August 2021
David has 30+ years of senior executive leadership experience in the tourism, venues and events industries. David has been the CEO of VenuesWest since 2008 and oversees 14 of Western Australia’s biggest sporting and entertainment venues, including the world class RAC Arena and Optus Stadium. In 2023 David received the public service medal for his leadership in response to the COVID19 pandemic.
Rhys Taylor, Treasurer
BBus, CA, GAICD
Appointed January 2021
Appointed Treasurer August 2021
Rhys is a senior finance executive with over 20 years' experience and is currently the Chief Financial Officer at the City of Vincent. He has experience across a range of industries including retail, financial services, education, mining and the public sector and has held leadership roles at Wesfarmers, RAC and EY.
Bronwyn Kerr, Board Member
LLB (Hons), BA, FCIS, GAICD
Appointed May 2021
Bronwyn is a legal and governance professional with over 15 years’ experience. Bronwyn is currently the General Counsel and Company Secretary of ASX-listed mining investment company, Deterra Royalties Limited. Bronwyn is admitted to practice law in Western Australia and holds post-graduate qualifications in finance and corporate governance.
Paula Chatfield, Board Member
B Psych
Appointed February 2022
Paula has worked within the public Health sector for almost 40 years. For the last 15 years Paula has been working at executive level across state-wide tertiary, secondary and community-based health services. These include mental health, maternity, neonatal, paediatric, state rehabilitation services, sexual assault, community based mental health and alcohol and other drug services. More recently she has also taken on an executive role for Aboriginal Health Strategy within the Health sector which covers the rural and remote regions of Western Australia.
Steve Fewster, Board Member
BBus, CA, GAICD
Appointed February 2022
Steve is the CFO at ASX listed, BCI Minerals where he is responsible for the Finance, Sales & Marketing and IT Teams. Prior to joining BCI Minerals, Steve was the CFO at WesTrac and APM Human Services International as well as other ASX listed companies. Steve was also with Fortescue Metals Group for over six years where he managed a diverse range of portfolios. Steve was previously a member of the EY corporate finance team where he was involved in a number of mergers and acquisitions.
Ailan Tran, Board Member
B Eng. (Env. Hons. 1), GAICD FAusIMM
Appointed February 2023
Ailan has over 30 years’ experience in executive leadership, strategic project approvals and corporate affairs functions. Through her practical experience with global frameworks such as UN Sustainable Development Goals, UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Global Reporting Initiative, Ailan has gained significant expertise in environment, social and governance matters. Ailan is a Senior Policy Officer at the National Native Tile Council and National Vice Chair of the AusIMM Social and Environment Society.
Fran Lawrence, Board Member
BA
Appointed September 2023
With more than 25 years’ experience in media and corporate strategy, Fran is a Senior Director at leading WA communications firm Purple. A former commercial property editor and senior finance journalist with The West Australian, she specialises in issues and crisis management, profile raising and media relations, and provides board-level advice to a range of clients across the public and private sectors.
Executive Team
Lorna MacGregor
Chief Executive Officer
MBA, BA, DipEd, FAIM, MAICD
Lorna has been CEO of Lifeline WA since 2016. She is an experienced senior executive with a diverse and varied career predominantly in the human services sector. Lorna has held senior roles in a number of organisations including, HBF, Healthdirect Australia, Activ and Perth North Medicare Local.
Dr. Jon Pfaff
Clinical Governance Manager
PhD, MSc, BA (Hons)
Jon has over 30 years of mental health clinical and research experience, particularly in the fields of suicide prevention and clinical risk assessments. Trained as a clinical psychologist, he has previously held the position of Coordinator of Standards Monitoring in the WA Office of the Chief Psychiatrist, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the UWA School of Psychiatry, Clinical Services Manager at Youth Focus, and Senior Clinical Psychologist with the State Forensic Mental Health Service.
Brett Davey
Executive Director Crisis Support
Brett joined Lifeline WA in 2020 and has over 25 years’ experience leading teams in Operational and General Management roles. Over the past 15 years, Brett has been responsible for delivering many of Australia’s most critical telehealth services on behalf of state and federal governments including Healthdirect, Beyond Blue, Afterhours GP helpline and Nurse on Call. Developing and delivering strategies to ensure the community can access critical health and human services programs is Brett’s passion.
Natalie Martinovich
Chief Operations Officer
BComm
Previous experience as a Lifeline WA Crisis Supporter for four years has enabled Natalie to bring exceptional frontline insights to her responsibilities today as the organisation’s Chief Operations Officer. Leading its corporate and community fundraising, marketing, government funded programs and commercial training divisions, Natalie’s strategic vision helps access the funds Lifeline WA needs as it strives for a community free of suicide, deliver services to vulnerable people, and improve mental health literacy to build stronger supportive workplaces.
Gavin Douglas
Chief Financial Officer
BA (hons), ACMA, CGMA, AAICD
Gavin has been a finance professional for over 20 years, working across a variety of industries, including ICT, construction, aged care and health services. Gavin has experience working in both international listed organisations and private companies, as well as within the NFP sector. Gavin joined Lifeline WA in 2020, and is responsible for all business support functions including Finance, HR, IT and Facilities.