Last night, Tuesday 1st December, SUFC held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the impressive KPMG Offices overlooking Barangaroo. The meeting brought about a reflection on the season past, but equally focused on an exciting new direction for the Club for 2016 with the appointment of a number of new members into the SUFC Executive Committee.
However, on what will mark a significant day in SUFC history, the meeting was opened with an address by David Mortimer AO, Club President for some 15 years, who announced his retirement from the position going forward.
David’s guidance and experience has been a truly invaluable asset to the entire organisation. He is an extraordinary businessman, but also a true gentleman and clubman. It is safe to say that the success of the Club since his involvement as Club President has been as a result of his great leadership and support week in week out. David will always be remembered as a vital part in the development of SUFC into the premier rugby club it is today, and the entire SUFC community cannot thank him enough for his generosity and passion towards the Club. He will be greatly missed in his role, but has promised he will still be around to support the boys in the Blue and Gold hoops!
Following on from David’s resignation, and a standing ovation by AGM attendees in appreciation of his profound contribution to SUFC, the election of the SUFC Executive Committee saw changes to the Presidency position, as well as some new faces as Vice-Presidents.
SUFC is pleased to announce the following appointments for the 2016 SUFC Executive Committee:
President: Angus Stuart
Chairman: Phil Harry AM
Vice-Presidents: Jude Bolton
James Dorney
Angus Jackson
Alison Keller
Jane Neale
Andrew Wennerbom
Committee Members: Andrew Coorey
Dr. Andrew Keegan
The Club would like to congratulate and welcome all members of the SUFC Executive Committee, and in particular would like to introduce our newest members.
Angus Stuart
Angus is a University of Sydney alumnus (BE/BCom) and SUFC past player (Colts and Grade from 1993 to 1997). In recent years he co-founded and chaired SURPASS, the networking, mentoring and learning and development hub for current and past players.
Along with his passion for the Club and the development of its players, Angus brings the business and management skills and disciplines applied in his role as director at Wolseley Private Equity, and associated portfolio company board roles. Previously Angus held senior operational roles at Pacific Brands and started his career at Bain and Company in strategy consulting.
Jude Bolton
Jude played 325 games for the Sydney Swans, during which he held the record for most tackles in a career and still holds the record for most tackles in a game. He played a critical role in two of the Swans’ AFL premiership winning teams.
Jude had a keen focus as a senior player to teach the younger players a commitment to developing the whole man, and a maniacal focus on high performance culture. He will bring a wealth of experience in these areas to the Club, will provide a different perspective on performance and learnings from a fast growing code and will be a great mentor to SUFC’s coaches and players.
He is a University of Sydney alumnus (Post-graduate Commerce), a loyal supporter of Sydney University Sport and attendee at many Blue and Gold functions over the years.
Alison Keller
Alison is one of Australia’s leaders in creating fan experiences that generate sponsor engagement and returns in sport, through clever event activations.
Alison currently works at St. George Banking Group where she manages its sponsorship portfolio, including the St. George Illawarra Dragons NRL team and Super Rugby’s Queensland Reds. Alison has previously worked on the sponsorship and marketing campaigns on other major Australian sports including, most recently, for Vodafone with its Cricket Australia sponsorship (essentially running every day at every test) and HSBC on the NSW Waratahs and Hawthorn Hawks in the AFL.
Alison’s allegiances to SUFC reach as far back as the Club’s 1942 Minor Premiership winning 1st Grade team in which her grandfather Walter Keller was a member.
Jane Neale
Jane has 20 years experience in the advertising industry, including three years as Managing Director of, at the time, Australia’s largest advertising agency George Patterson where she was involved in both the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and the 2003 Rugby World Cup campaign, amongst many others. More recently, Jane co-founded and is the Managing Director of the executive search firm Hattonneale, focussing on senior executive and Director placements.
Jane has her finger on Australian business board movements and is passionate about good governance, will mentor our younger board members and assist in further board evolution at the Club.
Jane has a strong rugby pedigree with her grandfather representing Australia from 1922-28 with a total of 21 caps, whilst her husband played at Sydney University Football Club from 1982-1987.