Board of Directors
Laura Anderson
Board Chairman
Chairman, SVI Global
Laura Anderson is Chairman of the Melbourne Fashion Festival (MFF). She is Chairman of SVI Global (a private investment company) and is an independent Company Director and Corporate Advisor. She was the National Partner in Charge of Strategy and Development for KPMG. She was on the Board and Chairman of the Risk Committee at the Just Group (900 retail stores across 7 brands). She has extensive interests in the philanthropic sector and is involved on advisory boards furthering the advancement of education, health and economic development. Her interests are global, embracing cultural diversity and international trade. She loves fashion. Laura was appointed to the MFF Board as Chairman in August 2008.
David Briskin
CEO, sass & bide
David completed a double degree in law & economics at Monash University, utilizing his education as a commercial lawyer at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. In the mid to late nineties, David become a co-owner & MD of Mimco - one of Australia’s leading accessories brands. In his time with Mimco, David managed the rollout of 18 retail boutiques & established a strategic partnership with David Jones, before selling the brand to Gresham Private Equity in September 2007. In 2008 David invested in & became CEO of sass & bide, an iconic Australian fashion brand with international distribution. Over the last 5 years David has managed the growth & restructure of the business, including the rollout of 20 retail boutiques throughout Australia & New Zealand and the opening of 18 concession stores in Myer. In May 2011 David joined the Board of Make-A-Wish Australia. In August 2012 David joined the Board of L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. David has 2 sons, Blake (15) & Indiana (9) & lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Colette Garnsey
Core Brands Director, Premier Investments
Colette is recently appointed Core Brands Director at Premier Investments, commencing in September 2012. Colette was most recently Group General Manager at Pacific Brands Underwear Group overseeing the iconic underwear and hosiery brands. Colette has over 30 years of retail experience, including 20 years with Australian department store retailer David Jones, where she most recently held the position of Group General Manager for Apparel, Cosmetics, Footwear and Accessories. Colette has been a director of the Melbourne Fashion Festival since 2006, is a director of Australian Wool Innovation since 2011 and is a member of the TCF Innovation Council and Chief Executive Women. Colette’s work with MFF includes chairing the Remuneration and Nomination sub-committee.
Leonard Hamersfeld
Director, Buzz Products
Leonard is Co-Founder and Director of Buzz Products, an internationally recognised product development company. Leonard's credits include being the founder and director of Room Interior Products (which he sold in 2003) a ground breaking funky homeware company with retail stores on most continents. Originally an architect, his design credits span such projects as the Witchery flagship stores and Cinema Nova. Leonard’s entrepreneurial flair for combining innovative design, marketing and business makes his tenure as Chair of the Digital and Commercial sub-committees a worthy contribution. Leonard joined the MFF Board in September 2002.
Launa Inman
CEO, Billabong
In 2012 Launa Inman was appointed CEO of Billabong. The iconic Australian-listed company has more than 500 stores and 6000 employees globally. Ms Inman joined Billabong from Target Australia. Appointed as Managing Director in 2005 under her leadership Target grew its sales to $3.8 billion annually. Launa holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and a Masters of Commerce in Strategy and Economics. She also completed the Advanced Executive Program at Wharton Business School in 2004. Launa is an Independent Non-executive Director of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, sits on the Board of the children's charity The Alannah and Madeline Foundation and is a member of the World Retailing Congress Advisory Board.
Tony Kendall
Tony Kendall joined News Limited in August 1989 as Sales Executive on The Sunday Telegraph (Melbourne). In March 2003 Tony was appointed to the position of Deputy Group Advertising Sales Director, News Limited. Tony moved overseas in 2005 to take up the position of Senior Vice President, Sales at the New York Post before returning to Australia in 2006 as Group Advertising Sales Director, News Limited. In early 2007, he was appointed the Chief Executive Officer, News Magazines, after the acquisition of the Federal Publication Company. Tony joined the MFF Board in May 2010.
Sue Lloyd-Williams AO
Company Director
Ms. Lloyd-Williams joined the MFF Board in November 2011. She is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Tertiary education was undertaken at RMIT in Business, Marketing & Real Estate. She and has an extensive background in business and administration. Ms. Lloyd-Williams retired from the Victoria Racing Club end of November 2011 after 32 years of continuous service and a career that commenced in 1979. In 1988 she became General Manager Marketing and in 2002 she was appointed Deputy Chief Executive, a role she successfully held until retirement. She has been long recognised as a pioneer for women in the Racing Industry and is also acknowledged for her exceptional contribution to the VRC and the integral role she played in the growth of the international standing of the Melbourne Cup Carnival as a world-class event. Her significant achievements have received the highest accolades. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours; Committee for Melbourne Achiever Award 2003 and the Jo Miller Award 2004.
Sue Morphet
Sue is recent past Chief Executive of Pacific Brands, Australia’s leading marketer of everyday essential brands. An ASX-200 company, Pacific Brands is best known for some of its leading brands which include Berlei, Bonds, Clark’s, Hard Yakka, Hush Puppies, Holeproof, Sheridan and Tontine. It has a workforce of over 4,000 people and generates close to $1.4 billion in sales annually. Prior to her appointment as CEO in January 2008, Sue was Group General Manager for Underwear & Hosiery at Pacific Brands, the largest operating group within the business. She joined Pacific Brands in 1996 as General Manager of Tontine – the first female GM within the business – before taking on the role of General Manager of Bonds in 1999. Her strengths are in marketing and brands, and under her leadership, the team at Bonds relaunched the icon brand which is now one of the Top 10 most recognised brands in Australia. Sue’s working life commenced in school teaching before moving to run a number of family businesses. From there she worked in marketing roles within a number of large food and fashion companies. Sue joined the MFF Board in May 2007.
Jacquie Naylor
Strategic Retail Advisor
Jacquie is a Business Strategist with over 30 years of Retail Industry experience, including owner/director of ‘Husk Corporation’ boutique lifestyle stores, and 25 years with Just Group Pty Ltd where she held the position of Group Merchandising Director responsible for 5 iconic brands including Just Jeans, Portmans, Jay Jay’s, Dotti and Jacqui E comprising 800 stores in Australia, New Zealand & South Africa. Jacquie has also acted as strategic retail adviser for major brands including Saba, Sportscraft, Bra’s n Things & Willow. Jacquie has been a director of the Melbourne Fashion Festival since 2006, and is the chair of the Fashion & Creative Committee.
Nia Stavropoulos
Managing Director, Sigma 23 Corporation
Nia is the Managing Director of Sigma 23 Corporation, a Strategic issues, management and communications firm. She has extensive experience in working with State and Federal governments and providing strategic advice to private companies. Previous positions she had held include: Fashion Features Editor of The Canberra Times; Executive Director of the Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia; Senior Industry Advisor to the Federal Minister of Industry, Science and Tourism and Chief of Staff to the Chief Minister of the ACT. Nia served as senior industry representative on the Course Advisory Committee for Fashion Design at RMIT for three years and has served on the MFF Board since 2000. She is currently on the Audit Committee of MFF and Chair of the MFF Business Events sub-committee.
Wai Tang
Director, W Advisory International Pty Ltd
Wai has more than 25 years of working experience in retail and wholesale manufacturing industries. After leaving the Just Group in June 2009, she started her own corporate advisory services as well as a specialty retail concept in confectionery called Happy Lab. Her corporate advisory service ranges from boardroom representation as a non-executive director to providing strategic advice to many prominent retailers. In May 2010, she joined the MFF Board as a non-executive director and has since also chaired the Audit Committee. She has held numerous board, advisory board, audit committee and remuneration committee positions, including her first public company board position as a non-executive director of Specialty Fashion Group in 2010.