Our story - SVI Foundation Board
SVI Foundation Board
Dr Susan M Alberti AO HonLLD
Chair, SVI Foundation Board
Dr Alberti AO is co-founder and Managing Director of DANSU Group and associated companies. She has a strong commitment to fundraising and promotion of juvenile diabetes and is the National President of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Australia and also International Patron and member of the Board of Chancellors of JDRF International. She is an SVI Board Member, Victoria University Foundation Board member and also the Patron and Board member of the Western Bulldogs and Co-Chair of the Western Bulldogs Forever Foundation.
Mr Benni Aroni
Co-Vice Chair, SVI Foundation Board
Mr Aroni is a qualified legal practitioner having been the managing partner of his own legal firm between 1982 and 1998. He has been a developer of Eureka Tower from 1998 to date. He now chairs Stralliance Developments, a property development and construction group. He was Vice President of JDRF Victoria between 1993 and 1998 and National Vice President from 1995. Subsequently he has focused his charity work on the SVI Foundation. He is and has been a Board member of several companies, listed and unlisted.
Mr Anthony Burgess
Co-Vice Chair, SVI Foundation Board
Mr Burgess is Chief Executive Officer of Flagstaff Partners, an independent corporate finance advisory firm based in Melbourne. He has 30 years experience in corporate finance in Melbourne, London, and New York, and has advised on many major M&A and ECM transactions. Mr Burgess holds an MBA (with Distinction) from Harvard Business School (1985) and a Bachelor of Commerce (with First Class Honours) from the University of Melbourne (1981). He is a member of CPA Australia and the Financial Services Institute of Australia. He is a Director of the listed investment company, Diversified United Investments Limited, and is a member of the Advisory Board to the Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Melbourne.
Ms Simone Carson
From March 2010
Ms Carson helped to found a dynamic not-for-profit called SecondBite 5 years ago. She remains on the Board of SecondBite with a special interest in volunteers and the relationships between Donors and Recipients. She is a member of AICD having completed a Company Directors' Course in 2009. After leaving school Simone completed her Nursing training at The Royal Children's Hospital, gained a certificate in Paediatric Intensive Care and a Bachelor of Education at La Trobe University. Apart from her work in PICU at RCH, she also undertook part-time work helping to co-ordinate a research project for the Infectious Diseases Department.
Mr Brian Cooney
Mr Cooney is a leading member of the Australian sports marketing industry. Specialising in sponsorship and event management, Mr Cooney has been responsible for some of the biggest commercial arrangements in Australian sport.
As Senior Vice President of the world’s largest sports marketing company, IMG, he has vast experience in dealing with senior figures from Government and corporate Australia.
Ms Jeni Coutts
Prior to starting her own Corporate Affairs consultancy in 2003, Ms Coutts held senior positions in Corporate Affairs with some of Australia’s leading corporations including Transurban, Siemens, Hoechst and CitiPower. Her experience is wide ranging and has covered all facets of corporate affairs from issues, crisis and media management through to Government, Stakeholder, Community and Investor Relations. She holds degrees in Public Relations/Politics and Law.
Mrs Maria Foti
During the past 20 years Mrs Foti has been the co-founder and Managing Director of National Educational Advancement Programs (Neap) Pty Ltd and its associated companies. Neap is an education services provider and educational publisher to the senior secondary school market. With a background in teaching and design, she has also been involved in a number of family-owned businesses, most notably owning, operating and designing garments for a wholesale ladies' high fashion label and boutique.
Mr Bruce Guthrie
Mr Guthrie has been a journalist and editor for more than 35 years, occupying some of the most senior positions in the Australian print media in that time. He has edited both of Melbourne’s major daily newspapers, The Age and the Herald Sun, and co-founded then later edited The Sunday Age. He has been a reporter and writer in Australia and the United States, a regular commentator and broadcaster on 774ABC and is the author of a memoir, Man Bites Murdoch. Mr Guthrie has also worked in senior positions in the magazine industry here and abroad. His publications have won prestigious PANPA Newspaper of the Year and MPA Magazine of the Year awards. Educated at La Trobe University and RMIT, he is married with two teenage children and lives in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn.
Mr James Hatzimoisis
Mr Hatzimoisis is a Licensed Estate Agent and Accredited Auctioneer. He is a Director of 8 Offices within the Barry Plant Real Estate Network and has been instrumental in the growth of the Network particularly throughout Melbourne’s Western Suburbs. His primary focus is training, mentoring and skill development of Sales Teams within the group. Outside of work, his interests include conducting many Charity Auction events annually; he has been actively involved with the Bluey Day Foundation, Convoy For Kids, the MS Society and most schools in Melbourne's Western suburbs and is a foundation Shareholder of the Melbourne Victory Football Club.
Professor Thomas WH Kay
Professor Kay is Director of SVI. He holds a Professorial appointment within the Department of Medicine, St. Vincent’s Hospital and The University of Melbourne. He also holds the position of Honorary Endocrinologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Professor Kay’s research interests are in the area of autoimmunity, particularly of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes.
Ms Suzan Morlacci
Ms Morlacci has spent the better part of her life involved in her family business. She has put her hand and mind to all aspects of the business from Concrete Batching to Shipping. She currently manages the Credit and Personnel departments of the business. Ms Morlacci has managed to find time to not only attain a diploma as a Spa Therapist and a degree in the Arts Legal Studies, but is also involved in event management, fundraising activities. During 2008, prior to becoming a board member of SVI Foundation, she was a committee member of YSVI. She has experienced first hand the miracles that the specialists and doctors of St. Vincent’s Hospital can achieve.
Mrs Claire O'Callaghan
Chair, SVI Support Group
A St. Vincent's Hospital trainee, Mrs O’Callaghan returned to part-time nursing once her five children were in full-time education. She has chaired a number of fundraising and educational organisations including the original Noah's Ark Toy Library for Handicapped Children and is currently Chair of the SVI Support Group.
Mrs Karen Plant
Co-Vice Chair, SVI Foundation Board
Mrs Plant is a qualified interior decorator. With her husband, she helped establish Barry Plant Real Estate which has over 70 offices throughout Victoria and Southern Queensland. They also ran their own construction company Birchbank Homes. Her foray into charity work was the refurbishing of the cancer ward at The Royal Children's Hospital. She is a board member of The Deakin Foundation, for Deakin University, as well as a member of the REIV Charity Foundation Board. She enjoys family life with her husband Barry and children Nicholas and Ayleisha.
Mr Peter Riley
From March 2010
Mr Riley was a Senior Partner/Executive Director in the Tax Consulting Division of Pitcher Partners Melbourne for approximately 19 years until 30 June 2010. In that role he had considerable experience in advising high wealth individuals, their families and their businesses, on investing in and outside of Australia, specialising in taxation and business advisory issues in relation to property development, corporate advisory, funds management, high wealth families and estate planning. He has current and past appointments with a number of professional bodies. On 1 July 2010 Peter founded Alandal Consulting Pty Ltd, a boutique firm advising high wealth families and their business arms. In addition to his role with SVI, he has a large number of roles in the not-for-profit sector.
Ms Brenda M Shanahan
Ms Shanahan has a research background in finance in Australian and overseas economies and share markets. She is Chair of Challenger Listed Investments and a non-Executive Director of Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd; DMP Asset Management Ltd and Kimberley Foundation of Australia Ltd. She is a former Chairman of St. Vincent’s Health Ltd, former member of the Australian Stock Exchange, and former Executive Director of a stockbroking firm, a fund management company and an actuarial company.
Dame Janet Spooner D.S.J.
For over 40 years Dame Janet has supported a number of charities and her dedication was acknowledged in 2004 when she was made a Dame of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (International Order Award). She has been involved with the following organisations in various roles: Royal Women’s Hospital - for mothers and babies (made Life Governor), SIDS, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Lady Mayoress Committee (made Honorary Life Member), Cabrini Special Events Committee, Bone Marrow Donor Institute, and Women at the Alfred (for prostate cancer). She is also a member of the auxiliary board of the Royal Children' Hospital and a Hummingbird Ambassador for the Bernard O'Brien Institute, acting as Honorary Treasurer.
Mrs Christine Tarascio
Co-Vice Chair, SVI Foundation
Mrs Tarascio's family company is Salta Properties Ltd. She has been a very active fundraiser over a long period of time for various causes, including the Lady Mayoress’ Charitable Fund, the Queen Elizabeth Centre, PMB (raising funds for prostate cancer research), and Pampering Patients. Mrs Tarascio is currently assisting her family company with the redevelopment of the former Mercy Hospital.
Mr Sam Tarascio Jnr
Mr Tarascio has more than 10 years formal hands-on experience in the property industry. Following a brief stint at corporate advisory firm Coopers & Lybrand, he started his career in property at Jones Lang LaSalle, gaining experience in their property management and then sales and leasing divisions. In 1999, he joined the family company, Salta Properties, first in the group's asset management business, before moving on to take an active role in the company's largest development at the time, the Victoria Gardens mixed use residential, commercial, and retail precinct. Mr Tarascio is now Managing Director of Salta Properties.