Our weekly appointments wrap includes Dale Page, Eugene Koltasz, Francesca Lefante, Clayton Higham, Karen Hyde, Mark Fitzpatrick, Gordon Trewern, Ante Golem and Karen Brown.
The state government has appointed five members to its Development Assessment Panel after further reforms to the system. Dale Page, Eugene Koltasz, Francesca Lefante, Clayton Higham and Karen Hyde have been appointed as the state's first cohort of fixed-term, full-time DAP members, and would be joined by an additional 12 sessional members. Ms Page has more than three decades of experience in urban and regional planning and development, including stints as City of Perth general manager planning and economic development and CIty of Joondalup director planning and community development. Mr Koltasz has more than 40 years' experience in town planning, urban design, property development and project management and recently served as a commissioner of the Western Australian Planning Commission. Former City of Bayswater chief executive Ms Lefante brings more than 25 years of local government and private sector experience to the DAP. Mr Higham has more than 35 years of experience town planning, urban design and environment including a stint as Shire of Kalamunda director development and infrastructure. Ms Hyde has 30-plus years of expertise in strategic and statutory planning in urban and waterfront regeneration, greenfield developments and built form assessment in both Australia and the UK.
Telethon Speech and Hearing chief executive Mark Fitzpatrick will move to human services provider PeopleKind Group as chief in November, taking over from Gordon Trewern. Mr Fitzpatrick has more than two decades of experience in the not-for-profit sector, including his current role at Telethon Speech and Hearing, which he commenced in early 2017. Before this, he spent five years as chief executive of St Vincent de Paul Society. Mr Fitzpatrick additionally has a range of board experience and currently serves as a Child Australia board member, Deafness Council of WA vice president, a Disability Assembly WA council member, and First Voice chair.
Herbert Smith Freehills Perth partner Ante Golem has been named as the global law firm’s dispute resolution lead for Australia, commencing October 1. He has been a partner at the firm’s Perth office since 2014 and will continue his current position as joint global head of construction and infrastructure alongside his new appointment. Mr Golem is a past president of The Law Society of Western Australia, a member of the Society of Construction Law Australia, and a Fellow of Leadership WA. He was named 2023 lawyer of the year by the Best Lawyers directory, and has extensive experience in energy, mining and infrastructure disputes.
One-time high-profile WA Labor electoral candidate Karen Brown has been appointed by the state government to chair Lotterywest and Healthway, replacing the retiring Peter Klinken. Ms Brown has an extensive background in media and business and has served as a Lotterywest board member since December. She has also sat on the boards of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, South Metropolitan Health Service, Edge Employment Solutions, The Pinnacle Foundation and communications firm Purple.
