John was one of the founders of Melbourne Forum. He lead the charge in 2009 to have the Athenaeum Club open membership to women. Having lost that battle, he and others did not give up on forming a new forum where all Melburnians could get together. John was the first chair of Melbourne Forum. For many years, he led the communications strategy practice for The Clifton Group. John has had a range of community involvements and is currently on the board of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Draws on experiences as founding principal of The NED and Talent Advisors and with investment bank Goldman Sachs JBWere, where she was an equity partner. Dianne is skilled at guiding executives to be more astute when navigating to non-executive directorships or corporate appointments. Experience at c-suite, partner, executive, partnership committee and diversity council levels means she has a real understanding of which actions succeed in complex, networked businesses. Her focus is on improving business and leader impact by helping others prepare for the next-level, to take stock of that new role, to jump-start change, to avoid transition pitfalls, to rethink their managerial leadership, to capitalise on the advantages of diversity. She works with both individuals and organisations such as ASX and SME businesses and as an associate for the Melbourne Business School. She has been on coaching or mentoring panels with Australian Institute of Company Directors, Governance Institute (pro-bono), Women on Boards and Leadership Victoria. In her spare time, she can be found in recital centres, concert halls, galleries, theatres and discussion forums.

Dr Jonathan Spear is Infrastructure Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. He has previously held senior leadership, policy, strategy and legal roles with the Department of Premier & Cabinet, Department of Justice, Victoria Police and Slater & Gordon Lawyers. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Bachelor of Laws (Hons), Master of Laws, Executive Master of Public Administration and Doctor of Philosophy (History). He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Williamson Community Leadership Program. Jonathan is an experienced Company Secretary and holds a Victorian Legal Practising Certificate.

Justin Bokor is a senior consulting professional with 20 years experience in strategy, growth and business transformation.

He has extensive international experience, having led strategy and growth programs in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the UAE and the Philippines.

Justin is actively involved in the community and not-for-profit sector, including the Melbourne Forum, the Balibo House Trust and World Vision Australia.

Nina Christesen is Director of CQL that develops algorithmic trading systems for financial markets and Director and Investment Manager of CBlue (Aust) that manages a number of private, family-based investment funds.

In her spare time, for over 10 years, Nina produced social issue documentaries for not-for-profit organiasations in Australia, PNG and Asia.

Prior to this Nina had over 20 years’ experience as a consultant and educator in leadership, change management and innovation. In this capacity Nina designed and managed large scale corporate change programs driven by new technology and the largest corporate culture change program in Australia involving over 90,000 employees.

In addition to directorships of companies in which he has a personal interest, James is President of Bicycle Network, Australia’s largest bike riding advocacy organisation with close to 50,000 members. Previously CEO at measurement and advisory firm Insync, James continues his executive role there leading the government and utilities practice. He is a graduate of the AICD and Williamson Community Leadership Program, and was formerly an Australian Volunteer Abroad in Solomon Islands.

Honorary Professorial Fellow in Higher Education at the University of Melbourne; independent member of the Board of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and Board Member of Médecins sans Frontières; Strategic Adviser to Deloitte Consulting. He has previously held several senior positions in universities; was Chief Executive of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and of the Victorian State Board of Education. He has been Managing Director of a Consulting company specialising in higher education and health. He has been a member or Chairman of several health Boards. Decorations / Awards / Honours : BA, PhD, FAICD, Hon FATEM

A governance professional, and board director. I have had extensive experience as a senior executive in various roles primarily in the areas of public administration, health and human services. I have a BA, B Com (Hons) and MA from the University of Melbourne. I am a Fellow of the Australasian College Health Services Management, a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Secretaries, a Fellow Governance Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. I have been a Director of not for profit and public entities since 1988 in the arts, mortgage finance, community health, mental health, health information management, child protection, children services, higher education and training, as well as advisory committees in defence, public sector governance and university sectors. I am currently the chair of Westside Circus Inc, and a board director of Federation Training, Neami Ltd, and Mental Health and Wellbeing Australia Ltd, Alpine School for School Leadership, and the Vic Defence Reserves Support Council. I am a facilitator for the Aust Institute of Company Directors’ Company Directors’ Course.

A corporate governance lawyer with over 18 years’ experience, Amanda has held a number of executive leadership roles in federal, state and local government, including three consecutive years as the Mayor of the City of Port Phillip. She is a highly experienced board member serving on numerous boards including chairing the South Melbourne Market for four years, member Audit and Risk Committee City of Port Phillip, member Gasworks Arts Park Board, member We Ride, a national not for profit.

Helen Sykes is the Director of Future Leaders, President of the Trust for Young Australians, Vice President of the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Council Member of the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation, Member of the Future Justice Executive, Summit Governor of the Hillary Institute and Board Member of the Public Interest Journalism Foundation. She has published and edited many books.

Lyndall Tennant commenced as the Executive Officer with the Melbourne Forum part time in May 2013. She now organises an average of 70 events per year with the Melbourne Forum and attends all committee and board meetings as the Executive Officer.

Lyndall is present at every event and balances her time between the Melbourne office and her home office. Due to the varying hours of events, she is always available via email or mobile to assist our members (and potential members) at any time.

Previous leadership roles include Deputy Vice Chancellor at Swinburne University and as Councilor and Mayor of Hawthorn City Council. The past 10 years have included work as an education consultant in universities and colleges, both nationally and internationally. Current activities include positions as non-executive director for two higher education providers, one as chair. In addition, she has extensive involvement with arts organizations in both visual and performing arts.