Board of directors

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Board of directors

Mr John Schaffer

B Com (hons), FCPA, FAICD Chairman of the Board

Notable achievements & placements

  • 1972: Joined Schaffer Corporation.
  • 1974: Appointed Operations Manager of Schaffer Corporation.
  • 1988: Appointed Chairman and Managing Director of Schaffer Corporation.

Across more than 45 years, Mr Schaffer has accrued extensive experience in managing both private and publicly listed companies. His involvement has contributed to their corporate expansion across the globe, in industries ranging from manufacturing and equity investment to property and development.

Mr Schaffer is passionate about the work Ear Science Institute Australia contributes to the West Australian community. His particular interests relate to Ear Science’s Gift of Hearing initiative: an annual appeal and charity dinner which enables the Institute to provide ear-related therapies and treatments to worthy individuals across the state, and to establish and grow new avenues of research.

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Winthrop Professor Marcus Atlas

MBBS, FRACS Director

Garnett Passe Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation Chair of Otolaryngology,
The University of Western Australia
Director, Ear Science Institute Australia

Notable achievements & placements

  • 2000: Inaugural Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology at The University of Western Australia.
  • 2001: Founding Director of Ear Science Institute Australia.
  • 2006: Joined the Court of Examiners, and the Royal Australian College of Surgeons.
  • 2011: Recipient of the Australian Medical Association Award and the Deafness Council’s Dr Harry Blackmore Award.
  • 2013: Recipient of the Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery medal.
  • 2014: Western Australian of the Year finalist in the professional category.
  • 2015: Western Australian finalist, Australian of the year.

Professor Marcus Atlas is a surgeon and scientist specialising in ear and hearing disorders achieved by his commitment to clinical surgery as well as translational scientific research. Professor Atlas was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1990. In 1991 he was awarded the Athelstan & Amy Saw Medical Scholarships to continue his academic and clinical work in Cambridge, United Kingdom, followed by Pittsburgh, USA and then Sydney, Australia. In 2000 he became the Inaugural Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology and in 2001 the founding Director of ESIA. ESIA is now an acknowledged leader in clinical and translational research in ear and hearing health.

Ear Science has prospered under Professor Atlas’ directorship, particularly through his work to define three major research groups – clinical research, computer and information science and molecular and cellular otolaryngology. Professor Atlas’ other area of scientific interest has centred on researching and bioengineering the tympanic membrane at both molecular and cellular levels.

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Mr Peter Millington

B.Sc(Hons), M.Env.St, M.Sc, FAICD Board member

Notable achievements & placements

  • 1992-2006: Director for Policy and Operations at WA’s governmental Fisheries Department.
  • 2006-2008: Appointed acting Chief Executive Officer for the Department of Fisheries.
  • Chief Executive Officer at chemical and forensic science services provider, Chemistry Centre WA.

From his work in ChemCentre and the Department of Fisheries, Mr Millington has accumulated extensive experience in the management and translation of scientific research. He has served on a number of West Australian and Commonwealth boards and committees – including as a Director on the Board of the WA Marine Science Institution, and agencies with interests in marine science and its application to policy outcomes.

Mr Millington brings a wealth of experience to Ear Science’s Board of Directors, covering both scientific research and corporate strategy. He looks forward to seeing the positive effects Ear Science’s health aims will bring to the West Australian community.

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Jamie Cullen

B.Com, CA, F.Fin, FGIA, FAICD Board member

Jamie has over 30 years of business experience spanning a range of industries in Australia and the US. Jamie is currently Chief Executive Officer of energy infrastructure developer, Pacific Energy Ltd, and was previously CEO of two other listed companies, both of which were acquired pursuant to takeover offers.

Prior to 1995, Jamie was a financial executive in the motion picture industry in Los Angeles and spent his early years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Perth and Los Angeles.

The activities and initiatives of Ear Science Institute Australia are particularly close to Jamie’s heart, after he lost most of his hearing in his right ear as a child due to cholesteatoma. He underwent reconstructive surgery in 1992 which partially restored hearing functionality.

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Professor Lyn Beazley

AO FTSE Board member

Notable achievements & placements

  • 2006-13: Chief Scientist of Western Australia.
  • 2009: Awarded Officer of the Order of Australia.
  • 2009: Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
  • 2011: Inducted into the Western Australian Women’s Hall of Fame.
  • 2013: Inducted into the Western Australian Science Hall of Fame.
  • 2015: WA Australian of the Year.

A neuroscientist, educator and science ambassador, Professor Lyn Beazley’s stellar career has seen her advising the West Australian and Australian Governments at a senior level on the fields of science, innovation and technology.

Professor Beazley has served within numerous science bodies including the National Health and Medical Research Council Fellowships Committee Advisory Group; the new Technology and Industry Advisory Council; and the Australian Research Council advisory. She also serves on several other boards across the breadth of WA’s science arena, including The Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority; the Institute for Radio Astronomy Research; Scitech; the Primary Industry Centre for Science Education; and Future Directions International.

Professor Beazley’s accomplished knowledge of health and medicine and her vast network of connections has provided an invaluable platform for Ear Science to form and deepen new relationships, and to enhance its reputation as a medical forerunner within the ear science field.

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Mr Peter Abery

BSc(Eng), MSc(Eng), MBA, FAICD, MIET, ISMP Harvard Board member

Peter Abery is a business and strategy consultant, and professional director. He is also an education facilitator for the Australian Institute of Company Directors on their various public and in-boardroom courses, including the Company Directors Course, and the Role of the Chairman.

He is past non executive company director and chairman of a number of publicly listed, unlisted and private companies.  He is currently the non executive chairman of the Western Australia Institute of Sport, and a non executive director of the Fathering Project. 

He has held various Managing Director and Chief Executive roles in Australia, the UK and South Africa, and also worked in the USA.

Mr Abery joined the Ear Science Board in 2008 after previously working with Winthrop Professor Marcus Atlas on the Institute’s development. He is committed to Ear Science in its noble aim to make a significant contribution to society, and to continue its legacy as a respected not-for-profit organisation.

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Professor Michael Quinlan

LLD, MB BS, MD, FRACP Board member

Notable achievements

  • 1989: Foundation Trustee and Director, University of Western Australia. 
  • 1998: Awarded the College Medal of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
  • 1999: Foundation Dean of Health, University of Notre Dame, Australia.
  • 2003: Awarded the Federation Medal.
  • 2004: Awarded Doctor of Laws, University of Notre Dame, Australia.
  • 2006: Awarded the Hippocratic Bust by the Australian Medical Association (WA).
  • 2006: Appointed Deputy Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame Australia.
  • 2008: Appointed Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame, Australia.

Professor Quinlan is a reputable identity within Australia’s medical community. He holds many placements at health organisations and tertiary institutions across the country, including Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of Physicians; Professor of Medicine at the University of Notre Dame Australia and Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia; Emeritus Consultant Physician at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital; Director of the Medical Teaching Unit at St John of God Hospital, Subiaco; Chairman of the National Governing Board, St John of God Healthcare; Chairman of the Foundation Board,  St John of God Healthcare; Director of the Inaugural Board of the Sisters of Charity National Governing Board; Director of the Feilman Foundation; and WA Director at the Child Health Research Foundation.

Professor Quinlan’s considerable scientific and research experience has made him a valuable addition to the Ear Science Board. He believes in fostering and encouraging collaboration amongst researchers.

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Ms Michelle Prater

B.Bus, ASA, ACIS Board member

Ms Prater worked for many years as an auditor in a public practice before accepting the role of Assistant Company Secretary for the Automotive Holdings Group (AHG).

Across 10 years working with the company, Ms Prater adapted her work focus to AHG’s unique and changing requirements, including property negotiation, retail sales and service and the marketing development of the AHG brand. This culminated in being appointed executive director of the group when it publicly listed in 2005.

Ms Prater has an ongoing relationship with Ear Science Institute Australia, after a family member received significant personal assistance from the Institute. Following her placement on Ear Science’s Cheers for Ears Steering Committee, Ms Prater increased her involvement with the Institute to become a Board Member. Within this role, she has worked to enhance the Institute’s reputation as respected centre for ear health, both within the West Australian community and within the global medical sphere.

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Mr Timothy Cooper

BCom, CPA Board member

Mr Cooper is a senior finance professional and non-executive director with broad commercial and not-for-profit experience. A graduate of The University of Western Australia, he began his career in marketing before joining international financial advisory firm Deloitte, and later oil & gas producer Quadrant Energy, where he has served in a number of finance roles across major projects and operations.

Mr Cooper was inspired to become involved with the Ear Science Institute Australia after experiencing himself the effects of hearing loss, and the impact it can have on quality of life. His involvement with Ear Science began as the Chair of the Ear Science Institute Australia’s Gift of Hearing Committee for the 2012 campaign – a position he still holds.

Mr Cooper is a very strong supporter and advocate for Ear Science and the value it brings to members of the community on a daily basis. His involvement has provided an effective platform for the Institute to gain a broader and more established presence within WA’s business and finance communities.

 

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