News Archive

Perth Festival is delighted to announce the appointment of three new Directors to its Board.

The Festival welcomes to its leadership team Rio Tinto Chief Financial Officer, Iron Ore, Rowena Albones , Linc Property Director Ben Lisle and Chevron Australia Manager, Aboriginal Employment Strategy, Rishelle Hume AM .

Perth Festival Chair Tim Ungar said the trio brought a wealth of diverse experience and expertise to the Festival as corporate and community leaders in Western Australia. They have been appointed for three-year terms and replace former Board directors Tania Chambers , Grant Robinson and Chair John Barrington , whose terms have expired.

“I thank our departing Board members for their significant contribution to the State through Perth Festival and look forward to working with Rowena, Ben and Richelle as the Festival continues its mission to build a creative community and enhance the State’s vitality,” Mr Ungar said.

Ben Lisle said: “I have very much enjoyed my involvement with the Festival over the past few years and have witnessed its ability to bring people together and create a sense of community.   I am excited to have an opportunity to work with the Board to grow the Festival’s resources so it has a strong, stable base in order to invest in the growth of Perth’s arts sector whilst engaging as many of the community as possible.”

Rishelle Hume AM said: “ I am thrilled to join the Board of Australia’s longest running arts festival which originated more than 65 years ago.  The Festival continues to celebrate this incredible corner of the world and the stories that make it unique, including Indigenous culture as the bedrock of the Festival on Noongar Boodjah which is close to my heart (Koort).

Rowena Albones said: “I am really excited to have the opportunity to work with the Perth Festival team and see how I can contribute to Australia’s longest running and most diverse international arts festival.”

BIOGRAPHIES

Rowena Albones

Rowena has had a series of leadership, financial and commercial roles at Rio Tinto since joining the company as a Commercial Analyst for Hamersley Iron in 1999. She was appointed Chief Financial Officer for the Iron Ore group in June 2018. In this role, she leads the finance function with strong focus on decision making and commercial governance. Before joining Iron Ore, Rowena was Chief Financial Officer Growth & Innovation where she established PACE consulting to provide management consulting and data analytics services to the business and governance and financial oversight of Oyu Tolgoi as a Board member since 2013. Rowena holds a Bachelor’s degree majoring in Economics and Finance and a Masters in Business Administration, both from Curtin University, Australia.

Ben Lisle

Ben is a Director and founder with Linc Property, Western Australia’s largest locally owned private industrial land developer. Ben was previously a Director and co-founder of Azure Capital and a Director of Poynton and Partners. His philanthropic interests include the prevention of youth suicide, aboriginal development, the arts and education. Ben and his wife Gina are involved with a range of not-for-profit organisations including Christchurch Senior Grammar School, Youth Focus and the Ride for Youth, the Black Swan State Theatre of WA, the Noongar Charitable Trust and the SAS Resources Fund. Ben studied mechanical engineering at the University of Western Australia, where he graduated with first class honours and as the top student in his year. Ben has since completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment at the Financial Services Institute of Australia.

Rishelle Hume AM

Rishelle is the Manager, Aboriginal Employment Strategy at Chevron Australia. A Noongar woman with traditional ties to the Whadjuk, Ballardong and Gnaala Karla Booja peoples, she has over 25 years of experience working across Aboriginal engagement in employment, education, justice and health. Her roles include Chairperson of the Mandjah Boodjah Aboriginal Corporation; Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the WA Aboriginal Leadership Institute;  Noongar Charitable Trust Advisory Council Member; Ambassador of the EON Foundation; director of AUSPIRE Australia Day Council WA;  director of Ronald McDonald House Charities WA; Ambassador of Helping Little Hands; WA Football Commission Aboriginal Advisory Board Member; director of Little Athletics WA; and UNESCO Commissioner of Culture for Australia. Rishelle was the Western Australian of the Year (Aboriginal Category) in 2016, inducted into the 2017 Little Athletics Australia Roll of Excellence (Hall of Fame) in the Achievers Category, and an inaugural inductee on the 2018 WA Roll of Excellence in the Achievers Category for Little Athletics WA. Rishelle was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2018 for significant service to the indigenous community of WA, particularly developing opportunities, promoting leadership and preserving culture. In March 2019, she was inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame for service to the Aboriginal community. She holds a Curtin University Bachelor of Commerce degree with a Double Major in Human Resource Management.

Media references

Stephen Bevis (Perth Festival Communications Manager)                      08 6488 8618/ 0448 927 281

Simone Hewett (UWA Media & PR Adviser)                                                               08 6488 7975