Board of Directors
SYO is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.
This group of dedicated people come from a variety of professional backgrounds, and ensure that SYO meets its governance and compliance obligations, guide the strategic direction of the company, and are among SYO’s strongest advocates in garnering support for the organisation and for our young musicians.
Andrew was a practising intellectual property and technology lawyer for over 40 years. He built his reputation through his work for high-profile international and domestic clients across many industries in the areas of copyright, patents, trade marks, designs, confidentiality and many more. In doing so, he developed a unique blend of litigation and commercial legal skills, making him one of Australia’s leading music industry lawyers. He acted on international landmark music industry litigation and commercialisation matters. Sony Music, Sony/ATV Publishing, Sony Pictures, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Youth Orchestras and Australian Brandenburg Orchestra together with a variety of international and local artists, managers and others in the entertainment business have sought Andrew’s advice and representation. Clients also seek Andrew’s drafting and negotiation skills and experience and guidance for their general commercial contracts, distribution agreements and other commercial arrangements.
Andrew is committed to protecting artists that are vulnerable in respect of their legal rights and is dedicated to meeting the needs within Australia’s arts community for practical legal advice and education and other resources to support artists’ rights. Andrew was a partner of Allens for 28 years. In addition to his Chair role with SYO, he is Chair of The Bible Society of Australia Inc, Vice President of The Arts Law Centre of Australia and on the boards of Documentary Australia and Life Education Australia.
Tim’s career has focused on the finance sector including investment banking and private equity. During this time he has been a director of a number of public and private companies and Not For Profit organisations for over 40 years. Tim has Bachelor of Commerce and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of Finsia.
Anne has over 30 years of experience in the cultural sector, after an early career in banking at BNP. She has worked in and for national, state & local government bodies, including the Australia Council, NSW Ministry for the Arts (now Create NSW) and in arts organisations, including the Australia Music Centre, the Music Council of Australia and Musica Viva Australia where she was Director of Development.
At Musica Viva she successfully forged innovative and enduring partnerships across the business community, and with government, trusts, foundations and individual supporters. Anne currently runs a consultancy ArtsLeadershipConnect, and is passionate about the importance of creativity and the role of a vibrant, impactful arts sector for all ages and in all communities across Australia.
Anne has over 25 years’ experience on not-for-profit Boards, including holding the roles of President or Vice President of Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra (KPO) for over 25 years and as Chair of TOAN (The Orchestral Association of NSW which became The Orchestras of Australia Network) 1993 – 2002. She is currently a Director of Orange Music Foundation Ltd, Bach Akademie Australia & the Sisters of Charity Foundation.
She wrote The Community Music Handbook: a practical guide to developing music projects and organisations (1998) for the Music Council of Australia.
An active community musician, Anne has played violin in the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra since 1985 and regularly plays chamber music.
In 2003 Anne was awarded an OAM for Services to the Arts. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds a BA (UniSyd) & AMusA (piano).
Wallis has had over 20 years of experience in finance, including funds management, corporate finance, investment banking and private equity. She is currently a Director of Servcorp Limited, Whitehaven Coal, the Wenona School, Wenona Foundation, Garvan Research Foundation and the John Brown Cook Foundation. Wallis holds a BA in Economics Modified with Mathematics from Dartmouth College in the United States.
Christopher’s career has encompassed broadcast and print media, studio recording, and arts administration over more than five decades.
He has worked as a producer/presenter on ABC Radio (Radio National, Local Radio and Classic), BBC TV, ABC TV and the Ovation Channel. The Swoon CD collections that evolved out of his ABC Classic breakfast program are the highest-selling classical compilations ever released in Australia, exceeding 500,000 units and achieving three Platinum and three Gold album awards.
Christopher’s books about music — including Swooning, Swing Symphony and Symphony of Seduction — have been published in Australia, the US, UK, Hungary, China and Russia. As a recording producer, he has received three ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) Awards for Best Classical Recording, the 1989 International Emmy from the US television industry, and the Editor’s Choice award at the Cannes Classical Awards in France.
His executive and directorial roles have included Artistic Director of Musica Viva Australia, Executive Producer of Music (Arts) on ABC TV, and Artistic Director of the Sydney Youth Orchestras. He has also served on the boards or committees of the Van Diemen’s Band Association, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival, and the Spring Bay Mill development on Tasmania’s east coast.
In 1999 Christopher was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Communications from the University of Central Queensland and is also the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship.
Navleen Prasad is a corporate executive with more than 25 years’ experience, primarily in corporate affairs roles spanning government and public affairs, reputation and issues management, stakeholder engagement, media relations, CEO and internal communications.
In August 2022, Navleen was appointed CEO of the Australian Investment Council, the peak body for private capital. Prior to this appointment, she worked for Macquarie Group where, over 19 years, she held roles primarily in Corporate Affairs, including leading their Government and External Relations function. Navleen began her career in client-facing roles in the taxation consulting divisions of Deloitte and PwC.
Navleen has extensive experience across the spectrum of sectors making up the Australian economy, particularly financial services, infrastructure, energy and decarbonisation, commodities, and agriculture. She has also previously been an active member of community and semi-professional arts organisations as a flautist, saxophonist and theatre improviser.
Daniel is an accomplished manager with experience across public service and private companies. Having achieved a Master of Arts Management, Daniel is committed to better measuring and articulating the value of the arts and its benefits to young people.
Daniel underpins the business of SYO by providing high-level administrative support to the Chief Executive Officer, secretariat duties to the SYO Board, overseeing business systems and processes, and managing the Marketing and Development team.
Patron
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales is the 39th Governor of New South Wales, commencing her five year tenure on 2 May 2019. Prior to her appointment as Governor, Her Excellency enjoyed a long and distinguished law career spanning 43 years, during which time she served as a role model for women in law at both the State and national level. Her Excellency brings her deep commitment to education, youth leadership, human rights and social justice to the role in service of the people of New South Wales.
