TP05/026
The Panel welcomed the announcement by the Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello MP, of the reappointment of nine members to the Takeovers Panel and the appointment of seven new members to the Panel.
The President of the Panel, Mr. Simon McKeon, (who was himself reappointed as President of the Panel) welcomed the appointments and said that the Panel's success is due largely to the time and expertise contributed by its members, who are busy and distinguished professionals.
Mr. McKeon expressed his gratitude to those members of the Panel whose terms were finishing in 2005, each of whom had made a substantial contribution to the Panel during their terms, by sitting on matters and by taking part in the development of policy. He wished them well in the new endeavours that took them away from the Takeovers Panel.
Mr. McKeon said that the Panel and the Government are concerned to ensure that all members of the Panel are able to sit on sufficient matters each year to maintain an appropriate level of involvement in Panel activities and, in particular, consistency of decision-making. He said that the increased workload of the Panel has required the Government to increase the numbers of the Panel this year.
Mr. McKeon said that the Panel's success had depended heavily on the skills and abilities of the senior professionals and business leaders who had given their time to the Panel. He said he had been very pleased by the commitment of the Panel's members to make the Panel's peer review model work in Australia's corporate environment.
The appointments were made by the Governor-General for a period which will end on 7 March 2008, on the recommendation of the Treasurer.
The Panel now has 47 members, all of whom are appointed on a part-time basis.
Panel Members Reappointed
Each of the following members has been reappointed.
Simon McKeon (President)
Michael Ashforth
Meredith Hellicar
John King (NZ)
Andrew Lumsden
Alice McCleary
Simon Mordant
Peter Scott
Nerolie Withnall
New Appointments
The following new members of the Takeovers Panel have been appointed:
Stephen Creese
Hamish Douglass
Susan Doyle
John Fast
Alastair Lucas
Peter Mason AM
John O'Sullivan
Nigel Morris
Director, Takeovers Panel
Level 47, 80 Collins Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Ph: +61 3 9655 3501
New Appointments
Mr Stephen Creese is Vice President and General Counsel for Rio Tinto Limited. He is a very respected and experienced corporate lawyer who has been involved in a wide range of very significant takeovers. His knowledge of the resources industry will assist the Panel greatly.
Mr Hamish Douglass is Co-Head of Global Corporate Finance Australia and New Zealand of Deutsche Bank AG. He is a senior and well respected member of the Australian takeovers community.
Ms Susan Doyle is Chairman of the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme and of the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme. She has many years experience in the area of superannuation and investments. She is currently also a Director of SA Water Corporation and Chairman of its Audit Committee.
Mr John Fast is Chief Legal Counsel and head of External Affairs for BHP Billiton Limited. He is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board to The University of Melbourne Law School's Graduate Program and a member of the Markets Policy Group of Securities Institute of Australia. Before joining BHP Billiton, he was the Senior Commercial Partner at the law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler.
Mr Alastair Lucas is Vice-Chairman and Chairman of Corporate Finance and Equity Capital Markets, Goldman Sachs JB Were Pty Ltd. He has very broad experience in investment banking and capital markets. Mr Lucas was previously Chairman of Macquarie Bank's investment banking division.
Mr Peter Mason AM is Chairman of the JP Morgan Chase Bank group in Australia. He has over 30 years' experience in investment banking. He is currently a director of AMP Limited, a member of the Council of the University of New South Wales and Chairman of that Council's Finance Committee. He is a member of the Order of Australia.
Mr John O'Sullivan is Chief Solicitor and General Counsel of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Limited. He has previously been a senior partner in Freehills since 1983 and has advised on many of Australia's leading corporate finance transactions.