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Our team
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Brian Tyson, Managing Partner Australia/New Zealand, Sydney-based
Brian Tyson’s expertise is in strategic issues management with specific skills in political consultation and financial transactions. From complex government relations issues to contested M&As, his 20 years of experience has seen work on some of the most high profile media and public affairs issues in Australia. He has a strong network of media and government contacts and is involved with a number of leading industry associations including the TTF, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, Sydney Chamber of Commerce and the PCA. He is a Director of the Committee for Sydney and is co-founder and senior advisor to the market and social research business, GA Research.
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Felicity Allen, Deputy Managing Partner Australia/New Zealand, Melbourne-based
Felicity Allen has extensive expertise in financial and corporate communications, and issues and crisis management, gained over more than 20 years as a communications professional. She has advised clients on numerous financial transactions, including demutualizations, listings and takeovers. She has particular expertise in change management and restructuring.
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Feyi Akindoyeni, Partner, Office Head, Canberra-based
Feyi Akindoyeni has over 15 years´ experience as a corporate strategist with experience in market and social research, and marketing strategy specialising in the education, youth and IT sectors. Bringing with her a wealth of professional experience, Feyi has worked closely with some of the most senior Ministers in the Federal Cabinet and is well known at the adviser level.
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Jodie Brough, Partner, Sydney-based
Jodie Brough brings to Kreab Gavin Anderson comprehensive experience in media and communications, particularly focusing on strategic issues management in the public sector. Jodie has worked extensively in the motorway, transport and energy sectors, specializing in major infrastructure projects, stakeholder relations, communications strategies and organizational reviews.
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Sandra Eccles, Partner, Canberra-based
Sandra Eccles has almost 20 years of high-level experience in government relations and public affairs at the federal and state levels. She has held several senior advisory roles including chief of staff in the Hawke-Keating Government and senior advisor to a State Premier. More recently, she has been at the forefront of lobbying on climate change policy. Sandra is experienced in industry policy and the range of regulatory and policy issues affecting the ICT industries and online commerce.
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Armon Hicks, Partner, Sydney-based
Armon Hicks is one of Australia’s leading corporate communications advisors specializing in financial communications, public affairs and issues management. With a political heritage developed from his time with State and Federal MPs, Armon has advised on projects involving government and contentious high profile public policy issues such as climate change, energy and taxation.
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Nick Maher, Partner, Melbourne-based
Nick Maher has more than 30 years’ experience as a journalist, senior political advisor and consultant. He is a former Chief of Staff to a Victorian Treasurer and has worked on a wide range of industry restructuring in the public and private sectors, specializing in energy and transport across Australa. Nick has advised many of Australia’s leading energy companies on a range of public policy issues, including regulatory, financial (both M&A and IPO), and environmental.
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Michael Sharp, Partner, Sydney-based
Michael Sharp is one of the most experienced financial and corporate communications practitioners in Australia. He began his professional life as a solicitor before working as a journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald and as a consultant with Gavin Anderson. Over the past ten years he has held three senior in-house roles: General Manager Corporate Affairs at Westfield, Head of Corporate Communication at Qantas and Vice President Corporate Affairs at Brambles. Michael returned to Kreab Gavin Anderson as a Partner in early 2010.
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Sue Vercoe, Partner, CEO of GA Research, Sydney-based
Sue Vercoe has more than 15 years’ experience as a market researcher, research buyer and communications consultant in the corporate, financial, issues and political arenas. She is a qualitative research specialist and an experienced group moderator. She also oversees quantitative research for many clients. Sue previously spent three years as a Research Director of UMR Research working on a wide range of political and issues projects for clients.
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Senior Advisors
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Geoff Brennan, Senior Advisor, Canberra-based
Geoff brings a decade of high level consulting in the national capital and his former skills as a senior trade envoy/diplomat to his role at Kreab Gavin Anderson. He joined the firm in 1995, and has unique skills in strategic analysis, issues management and negotiating. Geoff had previously served as the senior trade official in the Australian Embassy in Tokyo and Washington. He is currently an adviser to the Australian members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC.
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Colin Parks, Senior Advisor, Canberra-based
Colin is one of Australia’s most experienced public affairs and government relations practitioners. A former journalist, he worked extensively in Australia and in Asia for newspapers, radio and television. Then followed nine years as a media and political adviser to the Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, and senior ministers.
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Directors
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Hamish Arthur, Director, Canberra-based
Hamish possesses a strong background in public policy, government relations, corporate communications, media relations and journalism. Before joining Kreab Gavin Anderson, Hamish worked for the Australian Hotels Association for six years. He is a journalist by trade and his 15-year career in this field included seven years with the Nine Network’s news department and stints with radio stations 5AA Adelaide, 2UE Sydney and Triple M Adelaide.
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Casey Cahill, Director, Office Head, Perth-based
Casey has more than 20 years experience as a communications and issues management practitioner working in the media, government and corporate sectors. Casey has worked for a variety of media organisations including Seven News, the ABC and the BBC in London. Has 10 years experience in government, working as a media advisor to ministers responsible for a range of portfolios in both Liberal and Labor state governments. Casey spent six years as senior media advisor to the Premier of Western Australia. Led the public affairs team for the ASX-listed Australian mining services provider GRD Limited, with operations in Australia, Africa, the UK and South America. He was responsible for strategic functions including media relations, crisis communications, change management and internal communications campaigns. More recently he has worked on a scheme of arrangement involving GRD.
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Claire Chadwick, Director, Canberra-based
Claire brings extensive policy and media experience to Kreab Gavin Anderson, having worked in federal politics, Australian and United Kingdom government health sectors, and private sector project management. After three years as assistant media adviser to the federal Treasurer, Claire worked as a public policy adviser at the Commission of Health Improvement in London. Since joining Kreab Gavin Anderson in 2005, Claire has served as project manager of NRMA Motoring & Services' highly successful Better Roads Campaign.
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Joanne Collins, Director, Sydney-based
Joanne joined Kreab Gavin Anderson with 14 years experience as a senior journalist in South East Asia and Australia. Since joining the firm she has worked on numerous corporate transactions including St.George Bank's merger with Westpac and MBF's merger with BUPA Australia, Rinker's defence of the $17 billion Cemex takover and Suncorp's $7 billion takeover of Promina. She is currently advising McGrathNicol on the receivership of ABC Learning and provides strategic media advice to Ramsay Health Care and APA Group.
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Kate Gisborne, Director, Sydney-based
Kate joined Kreab Gavin Anderson in February 2005, with extensive experience in political and campaign strategy, media relations, policy formulation and research. She provides strategic communications and issues management advice for clients across a broad range of industry sectors including energy, infrastructure, transport, agriculture and not-for-profit. Recent clients have included NRMA Motoring & Services, Macquarie Generation, Bankstown Airport, Cotton Australia and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
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Christine Grima, Director, Sydney-based
Christine joined Kreab Gavin Anderson with more than 10 years experience in media and communications, policy and infrastructure development. Previous experience includes service as a media advisor to senior NSW Ministers and the Premier of NSW, senior financial analyst with NSW Treasury and as a public finance analyst with an international ratings agency in the US. She also worked as a journalist and an internal communications specialist for an Australian national television network.
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Jennifer Havilah, Director, Sydney-based
Jennifer brings 20 years of media experience to Kreab Gavin Anderson. Her most recent role was Senior Media Adviser to the Leader of the NSW Opposition. Previously, Jennifer was a Producer on U.S. television program, “A Current Affair”. She has also worked as a reporter at Radio stations 2UE and 2GB and spent 3 years as a reporter for the New York Post Newspaper.
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Nada Kirkwood, Director, Melbourne-based
Nada has worked as a senior political adviser, media adviser and lawyer for the past 15 years, and has extensive experience in employment relations.
Nada was the Director of Social Policy in the Victorian Premier’s office, covering policy areas such as health, education, justice, housing and industrial relations. She was also the Chief of Staff to a Victorian minister, and a senior media and political adviser in Canberra.
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Michael Morgan, Director, Canberra-based
Michael has over a decade’s experience in international affairs and federal politics. As a former International Director of Australian Labor, he played a leading role in building dialogue with political leaders in China, Asia and the Pacific, the US and Europe. He specialises in providing general strategic counsel, international business, technology, and public affairs/government relations strategy and implementation.
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Peter Ogden, Director, Sydney-based
Peter has over 10 years' experience across a range of communications disciplines, most recently working with BHP Billiton as Manager Media Relations Australia/Asia on its proposed acquisition of Rio Tinto. Prior to this Peter worked in the UK, specialising in government relations and financial communications advising a range of pan-European clients. He was also lead/co-adviser on a large number of transactions including Japan Tobacco on its acquisition of Gallaher, Halliburton on its potential acquisition of Expro International, Staples Inc on its acquisition of Corporate Express NV, Oak Hill Advisers on its acquisition of Firth Rixon and Quicksilver on its acquisition of Rossignol.
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Miche Paterson, Director, Melbourne-based
Since joining Kreab Gavin Anderson, Miche has worked on a range of briefs, providing advice to clients including Central Equity, CVC, KKR, McGrathNicol, Nyrstar, Zinifex, Leighton Holdings and ConnectEast. Most recently, she was part of the team advising BHP Billiton on its proposal to merge with Rio Tinto. She continues to advise Becton in respect of its corporate and funds management strategies, and in 2008 provided pro bono advice and media and issues management support to the organisers of the Homeless World Cup.
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Rebecca Piercy, Director, Sydney-based
Rebecca has provided corporate and financial communication advice to companies – listed and unlisted - for almost ten years. She has strategically developed and implemented an extensive number of positioning strategies, stakeholder engagement programs and investor/media relations campaigns across a range of sectors. Since joining Kreab Gavin Anderson in 2007, she has advised on the demutualisation and merger of ahm with Medibank Private, provided issues and crisis management advice to Cement Australian and Medibank Private and provided positioning advice to McGrathNicol, Northern Trust, Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson.
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Matt Pollard, Director, Melbourne-based
Matt has over twenty years experience as a trusted adviser to directors and senior management on business transformation and complex stakeholder issues. He has wide executive experience in crisis and issues management, strategic communications planning, stakeholder engagement and the communications aspects of complex financial transactions. This is coupled with a strong foundation in human resources, investor relations, public affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility in the heavy industry, utilities and resources sectors.
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Associate Directors
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Clare Barrett, Associate Director, Canberra-based
Clare has extensive experience in social policy and public communications. Clare has held a range of advisory roles within the Federal Housing and Indigenous Affairs portfolios and has worked as a Departmental Liaison Officer for a Federal Minister. Clare has well developed networks in the bureaucracy and ministerial wings of Federal Government which enable her to provide tailored and strategic advice on a range of issues. Since joining Kreab Gavin Anderson, Clare has provided media evaluation, research and government relations advice to clients including Apple, AMSRO and NOPSA.
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Michael van Maanen, Associate Director, Sydney-based
Michael has extensive policy, public affairs and financial communications experience. He has expertise in regulatory affairs and developing strategic and tactical advice for companies seeking to achieve or adapt to regulatory change. Previously he provided strategic communications advice to Chi-X Global and Morgan Stanley Private Equity. Michael was a media adviser at The Australian Securities and Investments Commission and has held a range of advisory roles within the Departments of Defence, Foreign Affairs & Trade, and Prime Minister & Cabinet.
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Executive Associates
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Lucy Mudd, Executive Associate, Sydney-based
Lucy Mudd joined Kreab Gavin Anderson in May 2003 and since then has worked in media relations and corporate positioning with clients including McGrathNicol, Cement Australia, Alesco Corporation, NRMA Motoring & Services and ABAC (APEC Business Advisory Council). She was part of the team advising BHP Billiton on its bid for Rio Tinto and continues to provide strategic communications advice to the operators of Sydney’s M5 South West Motorway and Cross City Tunnel.
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Associates
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Alex McCabe, Associate, Melbourne-based
Alex provides public affairs and strategic communications advice to companies in the financial and professional services sector. Prior to joining Kreab Gavin Anderson, Alex worked as a corporate lawyer in Australia and the United Kingdom specialising in financial transactions, regulatory issues and strategic head office advisory matters including director’s duties, corporate governance, continuous disclosure, board spills and company reporting obligations.
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Boronia Morison, Associate, Canberra-based
Boronia’s specialist functions include media evaluation, executive and research support and event coordination for clients. She has assisted with Government Relations and project work for Apple, Google, APMG-Australasia, Unisys and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Boronia holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Australian National University and is undertaking a Masters in Organisational Communication at Charles Sturt University.
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Michael Thorneycroft, Associate, Melbourne-based
Michael specialises in media relations and corporate positioning projects for a range of clients in addition to providing research and consultant support. Michael has assisted with implementing a number of client projects including AWB’s proposed merger with ABB, and various activities for companies such as Mitsubishi, Becton Property Group and Nyrstar. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts from RMIT University and is currently completing his Masters in Communication.
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