Governance

Jennifer is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and a Trustee Fellow of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia. She has a well-established career forged in the Hunter Region, including over 14 years as the inaugural Managing Director of Pitcher Partners Newcastle and Hunter Wealth Management from which she retired in 2019. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and Diploma of Financial Planning. She is also a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Newcastle Permanent Building Society Ltd. As well, Jennifer is an Independent Member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee of Hunter New England Heath, a member of the University of Newcastle’s Alumni Advisory Committee and a sessional academic at the Newcastle Business School.

Kurt is a three-time Paralympic Gold Medallist in wheelchair racing and has had marathon wins in 10 countries including the prestigious New York, London, and Chicago marathons multiple times.

Kurt is a passionate disability advocate and devotes himself to a number of national and Hunter-based charitable initiatives. He is a Director of the Australian Paralympic Committee, a former Director of Australian Volunteers International, and was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2018 Queen’s birthday honours. As a qualified Physical Education teacher, Kurt travels throughout NSW teaching high-school students in small and large communities. Kurt’s exploits both in and out of sport saw in recognised as the 2009 NSW Young Australian of the Year and the 2019 NSW Australian of the Year.

Jane is a health industry executive whose career has contributed to improved patient care and outcomes in regional communities. Jane was the Executive Director of Partnerships, Innovation and Research for Hunter New England Health until 2020. She holds current positions as a non-executive director on Boards including Rural and Remote Medical Services, the University of Newcastle Students Association (UNSA) and Rigpa Fellowship Inc. Jane has previously held director roles for Hunter Medical Research Institute and Hunter Post Graduate Medical Institute and was deputy chair of the Committee for the Hunter. Jane is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts (Communication). She has extensive experience in organisational culture, innovation and research, customer relationship management and building partnerships to deliver results.

Bernadette joined Newcastle Permanent on 1 July 2019 as CEO. Bernadette has over 20 years’ executive leadership experience in Financial Services. She has been a successful business leader in retail banking, wealth management, and insurance, and has held senior executive roles across core corporate services functions at both major and regional organisations. Bernadette also has extensive experience across a broad spectrum of Board appointments including arts, education, real estate, infrastructure and financial services. Her involvement has also extended to a number of community engagements including being a Director on the Westpac Foundation Board and a member of the Royal Hospital for Women and Chief Executive Women Scholarship fundraising committees.