New Appointments to the Takeovers Panel

Release number

TP04/030

The Takeovers Panel welcomes the appointments as members of the Panel of Mr Norman O’Bryan SC, Barrister of Victoria and Mr Graham Bradley, Company Director, Mr Guy Alexander, Partner Allens Arthur Robinson and Mr Byron Koster, Partner Blake Dawson Waldron, all of New South Wales.

Mr O’Bryan is a leading commercial and company law barrister in Melbourne, having previously been a partner in Minter Ellison. He has previously advised the Panel, particularly on the conduct of Panel conferences.

Mr Bradley is the Chairman of Film Finance Corporation. He recently retired after almost a decade as Managing Director of Perpetual Trustees Australia Limited. Before that Mr Bradley was the National Managing Partner and chief executive officer of Blake Dawson Waldron and a partner in the international management consulting organization, McKinsey & Company.

Mr Alexander and Mr Koster are leading commercial lawyers with particular experience and expertise in takeovers under Chapter 6 of the Corporations Act. Each of them has frequently acted for parties to Panel proceedings. Mr Alexander is also a member of the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.

These appointments increase the range of skills and experience available to the Panel, ensuring that the Panel has appropriately qualified members to deal with the differing issues which are raised in applications.

“All the new members bring skills that the Panel needs, but I am especially happy to have the fund management industry experience of Graham Bradley and the advocate’s insight of Norman O’Bryan available to the Panel”, said Panel President, Simon McKeon.

The appointments were made by the Governor-General for a period which will end on 7 March 2007, on the recommendation of the Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Treasurer, Hon Ross Cameron MHR.

The Panel now has 43 members, all of whom are appointed on a part-time basis.

Simon McKeon,
President, Takeovers Panel
Level 47 Nauru House, 80 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: +61 3 9655 3500
takeovers@takeovers.gov.au