President

Dr Michael Stanford AM

CitWA, MBA, MB BS, FAICD

Michael commenced as Independent President and Board Chair of Diabetes Australia on 6 April 2020. He has had a distinguished career in healthcare leadership and management with 23 years’ experience as a Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of healthcare organisations, and Non-Executive Director experience across health services, aged care, higher education, the arts, and industry bodies. He has had long involvement with research, and nine years on the Council of Curtin University including overseeing its establishment of a Medical school. Michael is a non-executive director with Virtus Health, a leading Assisted Reproductive Services provider; and Nucleus Network – Australia’s leading Phase One Clinical Trial Centre. He is a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the health care sector and tertiary education.

Directors

Arthur Koumoukelis

Arthur was appointed to the Board of Directors in April 2020. He has served as Vice President of Diabetes NSW & ACT since December 2007. Arthur is a partner of Thomson Geer since 2018 and was formerly a partner of Gadens Lawyers Australia in Sydney, focusing on health and aged care and retirement village industries. He has a deep understanding of administrative law, charities and the processes of government. He is a public notary, Fellow of the Taxation Institute of Australia and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Craig Beyers

BEng (Environmental Engineering), GradCert Bus (Philanthropy and Nonprofit), MAAS

Craig was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2015. He has served as President of Diabetes Queensland since 2015, following his initial appointment to the Board in 2011. Craig is Manager of Air Quality, Acoustics and Vibrations at Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd. He has extensive experience working on local, national, regional and international level projects. He has lived with type 1 diabetes for more than 30 years. He is a member of the Diabetes Australia Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee.

Brett Fenton

BN, RN, Grad Cert DiabEd

Brett was appointed to the Diabetes Australia Board of Directors in 2018 and ADEA Board 2016. He is Manager of Diabetes Services at Central Coast Local Health District in New South Wales. Brett is a Credentialled Diabetes Educator and has had type 1 diabetes for 30 years. Brett is a member of the New South Wales Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) – Diabetes Taskforce, he has been an associate investigator on a number of studies regarding management of type 1 diabetes, he is co-author of “Flex IT” – Flexible insulin therapy and coordinated a national diabetes prevention program “Reset Your Life”. He is Immediate Past President of the Australian Diabetes Educators Association.

Associate Professor Glynis Ross

MBBS FRACP

Associate Professor Ross was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2016. She is a Senior Medical Advisor to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and was previously President of the Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society. Glynis is Lead Endocrinologist for Diabetes and Pregnancy services at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and a Senior Endocrinologist at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital. She is a member of the NSW Diabetes Taskforce and NSW ACI Endocrine Network Executive. She was previously president of the Australian Diabetes Society.

Kathryn Arndt

BBus(HRM), Grad Dip (Bus) MAICD

Kathryn was appointed to the Diabetes Australia, Board of Directors in June 2022.  She has served as director of Diabetes Victoria since 2007. With over twenty years of diverse leadership experience including as a CEO, senior executive and a non-executive director across a number of sectors, Kathryn has an understanding of high standards of governance, accountability and performance whilst managing strategic risks and delivering outcomes within budget constraints.  Kathryn is the CEO of the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA), and a member of the Victorian Government’s Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions’ Gender Equality Advisory Committee.   She is Company Secretary of the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club, and a member of the Welcoming Cities Advisory Committee.  Kathryn was a Member of the inaugural Victorian Ministerial Council on Women’s Equality which concluded its term in mid-2020. Kathryn advocates for transparency, integrity and cross-collaboration between government, business and NFPs, in order address complex issues in service delivery and social justice. 

Linda Manaena

MMktg, DipFS

Linda was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2021. She has been on the Diabetes Tasmania Board since 2015 and was elected President in 2020. Linda is the Co-CEO of LeaderLab Global, specialising in leadership coaching and professional facilitation. With a vision to amplify humanity in leadership she is an accredited practitioner in eDISC behaviour profiling, emotional intelligence, resilience, and psychological safety.  Linda has held leadership roles in the State Government, Government Business Enterprise, the Corporate Sector, and is a member of the International Coach Guild. She served on the Finance, Risk, and Quality Committee, and is the Chair of the Governance Committee with Diabetes Tasmania. Type 1 diabetes has been in Linda’s family for more than 30 years.

Gordon Bunyan

BA, LLB

Gordon has returned to the Board of Directors, after serving for five years in the late eighties, and subsequently as Honorary Legal Counsel for Diabetes Australia from 1990 to 2004. He has been a respected and committed advocate for the diabetes community for forty years, and is currently on the Board of the Diabetes Australia Research Trust, a role he has held since 2004. Gordon was a Director and Vice President of the International Diabetes Federation for eight years to 2014, and a Diabetes Australia Delegate (’89 – ’09) and the first non medical/scientific Chair of the Internal Diabetes Federation – Western Pacific Region in 2006. He has also been a Governor of the Kellion Diabetes Foundation since 2016

Dr Zena Burgess

PhD (Organisational Psychology), MBA, Master Education, AICD Fellow, Non-Executive Director

Dr Burgess was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2021. She is a highly experienced Non-Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, who has contributed to public, private and social enterprises in health, education, emergency services regulatory bodies and agriculture. She was CEO of the Royal Australian College of General practitioners for over 15 years and has strong experience of government funding and policy in primary care. She is currently CEO of the Australian Psychological Society while serving on a number of Boards.

Andrew Rutherford

B Comm, MBA, Grad Dip Fin Plan, Grad Dip App Fin, GAICD, FCPA, SFFin, FGIA, FCG, JP (NSW)

Andrew was appointed to the Board of Directors in September 2023. He brings a wealth of experience from a 38-year career that includes a variety of leadership roles within the finance and accounting fields. His past experience includes various COO/CFO roles across a number of industries and countries. He currently holds numerous non-executive positions including Non-Executive and Independent Director of BT Funds Management Group, Non-Executive Director/Chair at Pitcher Partners Sydney Wealth Management and Non-Executive Director and Chair of ASX listed company LiveHire Ltd. Andrew is an accredited CPA and holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management as well as a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and a Senior Fellow of FINSIA.