Prospective Australian Athletics board members announced

Athletics Australia (AA) and Coles Little Athletics Australia (LAA) have established the prospective members of the inaugural Board of Australian Athletics.

Australian Athletics is the vision of AA and LAA to unite into one National Sporting Organisation; one that is set to deliver clear and logical pathways for athletes, coaches and officials throughout their life in the sport.

The appointment of directors to the prospective inaugural board, subject to Member approval, is critical to the success of establishing the new unified organisation, ensuring effective leadership, particularly in its first year of existence. Both Little Athletics Australia and Athletics Australia have committed to ensuring the governance of Australian Athletics meets the Sport Australia Governance principles.

The Board will comprise of 10 directors with equal representation from both organisations. Jan Swinhoe, current Deputy Chair of Athletics Australia has been appointed by the prospective directors to the position of Chair of Australian Athletics and Colin Segota, current director of LAA, has been appointed as Deputy Chair. 

“This is an exciting time for athletics in Australia. Growing up in country NSW, I saw the impact of sport in creating vibrant and inclusive communities. My three children have all been involved in Little Athletics (UTS/Norths Club) and my now 24-year-old daughter stayed in Little Athletics until she was 17. My twins, now 22, transitioned to seniors during high school and still compete for the same club. I have always felt that Little Athletics is the best youth sport branch in the country and the Australian Athletics board will do everything possible to protect and promote it in the future. We want more kids getting into Little Athletics and staying involved in the sport for life,” said Swinhoe.

“I am honoured to be appointed as the inaugural Deputy Chair of Australian Athletics alongside a group of outstanding individuals who are committed to delivering on the potential of the unification of athletics in Australia. This is an exciting time for athletics across Australia and my fellow Directors and I look forward to working with our Member Associations to continue to deliver opportunities for everyone in Australia to participate in athletics.” said Segota

“Announcing the first directors for Australian Athletics is a true milestone in the unification of athletics in this country,” said LAA President Andrew Pryor.

“The first Board of Australian Athletics will lead the transition of both AA and LAA across to the unified body, and also recruit Australian Athletics’ first Chief Executive Officer. Ongoing collaboration with State and Territory Member Associations will be also be a critical priority for the board to ensure the unification achieves the intended outcomes.” 

“This is an historic day for athletics in Australia. A unified national board, led by Jan Swinhoe & Colin Segota will provide the leadership required to bring the sport together and unlock benefits for our many participants. By putting this prospective board in place now, we provide certainty and continuity for the athletics community, in this time of transition. Jan and Colin are honourable & decent people, with a deep commitment to our sport. I would urge all the state member associations to support the new team as we transition to a unified sport,” said AA President Mark Arbib. 

“An independent Nomination Panel, which included representatives from AA and LAA and respective member associations, has undertaken a robust process to appoint ten directors, comprised of members from the Boards of AA and LAA, all of whom have knowledge, skills and experience across a range of different industries to propel our sport forward and achieve the purpose of Australian Athletics.” 

The Australian Athletics Board will commence operation, subject to State and Territory Member associations approval later this year, with the AA and LAA boards continuing to operate until a full transition has been made.

Director Profiles 
Jan Swinhoe - Chair
Jan was appointed to the Athletics Australia Board of Directors in 2014 and became Senior Vice President the following year. Her contributions have included being a co-author of The Glasgow Review in 2014 post the Commonwealth Games in that year, current membership of the Audit Risk and Finance Committee, People and Culture Committee, Board Nomination Committee and Chairing RunWest Limited (a joint venture between Athletics Australia and ANSW) which aims to encourage recreational running in the Western Suburbs of Sydney and showcasing some of the wonderful public spaces in that area. Further, Jan oversaw the AA Healthcheck commissioned in late 2020 to delve into the culture of the sport at all levels with a view to creating a more accountable and transparent culture. She is passionate about athletics and the massive positive and enduring impact it can have on individuals and communities for their physical and mental wellbeing. Jan believes in athletics for life and supports the role of elite athletics as well as recreational running. Prior to commencing her non-executive career in 2011, she held senior leadership positions in Institutional and Private Banking, Insurance and Superannuation. She has led large global teams and is committed to high standards of risk and governance. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) majoring in pure mathematics and is an Associate of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, as well as a Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors. Today, she sits on the Board of Directors of several institutions including Mercer Superannuation Australia Limited (Chair), Swiss Re Australia and New Zealand, IMB Bank and Australian Philanthropic Services. 

Colin Segota – Deputy Chair
Colin was appointed to the Little Athletics Australia Board in November 2020. Colin has been involved with Little Athletics for over 15 years from being actively involved with Little Athletics at a Centre, Region, State and National Level. 
At a National level Colin has been a Board Member since 2017 and has been an active contributor to the Board in the areas of development, maintenance and deploying of the LAA Strategy, and a member of both the Audit Risk and Finance and IT committees. 
Currently a Senior Program Manager at Lion Pty Ltd Colin is an experienced leader that brings a broad range of commercial and business experience and capabilities. He loves a challenge & has a strong desire to effect positive change and ultimately to make a difference. Colin is also a former Little Athlete starting at Dandenong Little Athletics Centre and has more recently been involved with Brighton Little Athletics centre when his children competed in Little Athletics.

Darren Black - Director
Darren is a current director of Australian Men’s Health Forum and on the Advisory Board of Mental Health Australia. He is a former Army Officer, UN Peacekeeper and holds strong governance and leadership experience, demonstrated through his roles as
CEO of purpose driven community service organisations, including Outward Bound Australia, NSW PCYC and most currently OzHelp Foundation, a mental health and suicide prevention organisation. Darren is an Australia and Institute of Company Directors Graduate and holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science HR and Psychology Majors. 

Jeff Cook -  Director
Jeff was appointed to the Athletics Australia Board of Directors in October 2019.
Jeff is a Chartered Accountant, a Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia (FINSIA).  Jeff is a current Partner of KPMG specialising in ethics, independence and risk management and has over 30 years experience in the fields of financial statement auditing, company valuation, the provision of due diligence services in connection with acquisitions, divestments and capital raisings, and the design and implementation of risk management policies and processes.
Jeff has Board level experience in the sporting environment having served on the Board of Dragon Boats NSW.
Jeff is a passionate follower of Athletics and a regular park runner

Jill Davies - Director
Jill was appointed to the Athletics Australia Board of Directors in March 2021 and has been involved with the Olympic Games since Sydney 2000. A company director and a management consultant for two decades, Davies joins Athletics Australia with expertise in the event management and event bidding space. She has held senior roles in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Organising Committee and the bidding teams of Olympic projects in London, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Krakow and Budapest and was a key member of the team that recently secured the rights for Australia and New Zealand to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Davies has also served on the boards of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority (SOPA) from 2012 – 2020 and Place Management NSW from 2017-2020.

Teresa Finlayson - Director
Teresa was appointed to Little Athletics Australia in 2019. With a focus on cultural change, Teresa has deep expertise in technology, strategy, transformation, change management, people leadership, working in the public sector and private enterprise. Teresa has been at the forefront of product development, new market entry customer acquisition, experience and retention.
Teresa is currently the Chief Information Officer, additionally she leads student services at Monash University and a board director of Monash University Indonesia. Teresa has been a volunteer at Little Athletics Frankston Club since 2018. 

Jayne Ferguson - Director 
Jayne has a track record in driving customer-centric business transformation and transitioning traditional organisations in rapidly changing environments. She has extensive operational, digital, financial management and strategic experience built over 20 years in Senior Executive positions for some of Australia’s largest media companies, including Bauer Media and News Ltd. Jayne has served on several boards and committees for not-for-profits, public and private companies, specialising in digital innovation, brand and marketing strategy and business development. Jayne currently consults to organisations on brand and digital strategy and is a Non- Executive Director of Commonwealth Games Australia. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Media Studies and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Jane Flemming  - Director
Jane was appointed to the Athletics Australia Board of Directors in 2019 and has been enthusiastically involved in athletics across her life and remains the Commonwealth Games Heptathlon record holder (set in 1990). Jane Flemming is Managing Director and proprietor of the sponsorship and marketing company, Flemming Promotions (“FP”), is a founding Director of a community health initiative, LIVE LIVE GET ACTIVE (“LLGA”) and is a regular expert commentator on all things sport and sponsorship. Jane devotes a significant amount of her time to charities including as director of the “Humpty Dumpty Foundation” (since 2006) and as an ambassador for the “The National Breast Cancer Foundation” (since 1998) and is a director of the Sydney North Health Network. Jane was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to Athletics and the community in 2014.  

Tracey May -  Director
Tracey was appointed to the Little Athletics Australia Board in November 2021. Tracey is an accomplished HR Director with proven experience leading organisational change, driving strategic growth and building capability across businesses through innovative people, performance and culture initiatives. Tracey was an Independent Director on the Little Athletics Victoria Board for 3 years actively contributing to the area of HR; revised employment contracts, improving governance and compliance, implementing & revising policies and ensuring LAVIC were adopting best practice. Tracey’s most recent role was Head of Human Resources at Powerwrap where she was responsible for development and implementation of the HR strategy and overseeing HR governance and compliance. Working to support the design and implementation of the corporate business strategy and ensuring the workforce was aligned to improve growth, profitability, productivity and market competitiveness while simultaneously influencing the behavioural changes, building capability and supporting the cultural transformation of the business. Tracey thrives on tough challenges and translates visions and strategies into actionable, value-added goals.

Brian Miller - Director
Brian was appointed to the Athletics Australia Board of Directors in February 2021. Brian is an experienced board director who has a long association with athletics from grass roots to high performance levels as an athlete, coach and sport psychologist. This includes Brian’s role as Team Psychologist for the Australian athletics team from 1984-1988 and again from 2013-2016. During his career as a team psychologist Miller has worked with athletes across 10 Olympic Games, 8 Commonwealth Games and more than 20 world championships and world cups across 7 different sports. Perth-based, Brian is CEO of ASX-listed technology firm, K2fly, which focuses on delivering Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solutions to some of the world’s largest resource companies including Rio Tinto, FMG, Glencore, South 32 and Roy Hill.