Our People

Board of Directors

Jennifer Acton

Chair

LLB(Hons), LLM, BEc, MEc, GAICD
Appointed: 1 December 2015
Committees: Member – Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, Member – Investment Committee.

Experience: The Honourable Jennifer Acton is the Chair and a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Jennifer is also the Chair of the Port of Hastings Development Authority, a member of the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and a consultant. She has previously been a Director in the transport, water and education industries.

Jennifer is a leading proponent of ethical and evidenced-based decision making underpinned by sound corporate culture.

She has demonstrated expertise in strategic development, continuous improvement, stakeholder engagement, collaborative conflict resolution, workplace relations and sound governance. She has been a leader in many areas, with more than 20 years’ experience as a Presidential member of industrial tribunals and in the area of national economic policy.

In her work she has championed State Trustees public benefit strategy and sustainable fee reductions, overseen contracts for port growth, instituted technological solutions to operations, lectured in employment law, facilitated major industrial outcomes and productivity improvements for the infrastructure, services and manufacturing sectors and conducted peer review of decision making.

Jennifer was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for her significant contribution to Australian society.

Mark Toohey

MAppFin, BBus (Acctg), FCA, FCPA, GAICD
Appointed: 1 December 2015
Committees: Chair – Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, Member – Investment Committee, Member – Remuneration Committee

Experience: Mark Toohey is a Non-Executive Director of the Company.

Mark was previously Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary for ANZ Terminals Pty Limited, Chief Financial Officer for Chandler Macleod, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer for GE Capital in Asia and Australia, and held executive finance roles at ANZ Banking Group. He is currently a Councillor and the Finance and Investment Committee Chair for Victoria University, Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at V/Line Corporation and the Department of Treasury and Finance,  and member of the Department of Health Audit and Risk Management Committee. He was a Director of OC Connections, a not for profit provider supporting individuals with intellectual disability.

Mark has a Masters of Applied Finance and Bachelor of Business (Accounting). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia, a Fellow of CPA Australia and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Helen Hambling

BA, MPubPol
Appointed: 21 February 2017
Committees: Chair – Remuneration Committee, Member – External Stakeholder Engagement Transformation Committee.

Experience: Helen is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Helen has worked as a senior executive for the Australian Government in areas including disability, housing, homelessness, Indigenous affairs, childcare, gambling, child protection and family services

Helen has also worked as Chief of Staff for several Commonwealth Ministers and has extensive experience in Australian public policy. More recently Helen has provided policy and communications advice as an independent consultant to governments and not for profit organisations.

From 2013 until 2016 Helen was the independent advisor to the inaugural Chair of the Board of the National Disability Insurance Agency, Dr Bruce Bonyhady AM.

Angela Emslie AM

BEc, MBus, FAIST, MAICD
Appointed: 18 May 2020
Committees: Chair – Investment Committee, Member – Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.

Experience: Angela is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Angela is an experienced non-executive director and has a wealth of expertise in governance, strategy, superannuation and investments having served on a range of superannuation fund and related boards for over 25 years.

Angela is Chair of affordable housing developer Assemble Communities, Chair of Frontier Advisors and a Non-executive Director at RGA Reinsurance Company of Australia.

As Chair of Suicide Prevention Australia, Angela is an advocate for national leadership in suicide prevention. She also extensive experience as a management consultant to the health and community services sector.

Angela is a former Independent Chair of HESTA Super Fund, where she actively fostered a strong member focused culture and a commitment to responsible investment, and a past Director of the UN supported global investor group Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

She holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Business. In 2021 she was honoured with a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her contribution to the superannuation sector.

Tony Clark

Bsc (Hons), MA (Comms), GAICD
Appointed: 18 May 2020
Committees: Member – Remuneration Committee, Member – External Stakeholder Engagement Transformation Committee.

Experience: Tony brings extensive communication and stakeholder experience across a range of sectors including not for profit, disability, government and the community. As an executive within the State Government Tony has worked with community to deliver complex and challenging major infra-structure in the health, education, and public housing sectors.

Within the disability sector Tony led major reform in service delivery, integrating accessibility in major government projects and services, including electoral authorities across Australia, IPO programs, and digital delivery of information.

Tony is a non-executive director and Chair of International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) and has been a non-executive director of Blind Citizens Australia and Senswide Employment.

Tony has contributed to the community through a lifetime of voluntary service. Significant achievements include the merging of two schools as president, and 34 years as a leader in the Scout Association. Living in regional Victoria Tony also brings the value of lived experience of disability and is a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity.

Vivienne Nguyen AM

MAppFin, BComm
Appointed: 18 May 2020
Committees: Member – Investment Committee, Member – Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.

Experience: Vivienne is the Chair at the Victorian Multicultural Commission, is an established business executive and community leader, having previously held roles as Group Head of Diversity at the ANZ Banking Group, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia’s Victorian Chapter and non-executive director at City West Water.

Executive Team

John Velegrinis

Chief Executive Officer
FFin, MAICD
Appointed: 16 August 2021

As a leader, John encourages and inspires people to set and pursue aspirational goals, supporting individuals to innovate and achieve, within a framework of strong values, ethics and good governance.

An experienced CEO with substantial experience in Funds Management, commercial and corporate banking, John led several divisions of the ANZ Group, including Risk for International, ANZ Fiji, Regional Markets – Pacific, and Credit, Commercial and Wealth, Australia.

More recently, John was CEO of the Australian Scholarships Group, the largest specialist education benefits provider in Australia and New Zealand.

John is a Fellow the Financial Services Institute of Australia, a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has completed post-graduate studies in Banking and Finance.

Josie Brown

General Manager, Financial Administration
MBL, AAICD
Appointed: 19 August 2019

Josie Brown is responsible for the Financial Administration division. Prior to her appointment in this role, she was the Acting Executive General Manager for Client Services.

She has experience across a diverse range of banking and finance areas, as a result of over 28 years of experience in the Financial Services Industry. This includes 14 years service with NAB, where she held a variety of senior roles including Area Manager for Retail banking, National Sales and Marketing, and Workplace Relations.

Josie has been employed with State Trustees since 2007 and has held a variety of Senior Manager and Executive roles in this time, including having led areas such as Deceased Estates, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Taxation, Property, Client Legal and Financial Planning.

In 2015, Josie was recognised for her excellence in leadership, having been a State Finalist for both the Australian Institute of Management excellence awards and the annual SACS Leadership awards.

Josie is an alumnus of Leadership Victoria’s, Folio Community Leadership Program and volunteers as a mentor for their ongoing programs.

Andrew Tennant

General Manager, Professional Services
GAICD, BA (Hons)
Appointed: 19 August 2019

Andrew is responsible for the Professional Services division, which provides a range of specialised services to safeguard and improve State Trustees clients financial wellbeing. These services cover the areas of client cashflow, protection and wealth enhancement.

Andrew comes to State Trustees from the financial services industry after a career at NAB and ANZ, where he undertook a variety of roles including district manager of three branch networks, national sales effectiveness and sales development manager, product manager and senior internal audit director.

Andrew has a BA (Honours) in Accounting, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is Treasurer and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council.

Brett Comer

Chief Financial Officer and General Manager, Corporate Services
BBus (Acct), FCA, GAICD
Appointed: 27 June 2022

Brett is a values-driven leader who has held executive roles in organisations in the health and human services, financial services, and education sectors. He has a focus on delivering relevant and commercially sustainable outcomes in collaboration with his team and stakeholders for the benefit of customers, the community, and the organisation.

Brett has led significant transformation and change programs at both a functional and enterprise-wide level. Over a fifteen-year career at Bupa Australia and New Zealand, he led various finance, strategy and operational functions, playing key roles in acquisitions, mergers and the launch of new health services. Following Bupa, he held chief operating officer roles at Monash IVF Group (fertility) and Camp Australia (early childhood education and care), driving enterprise-wide improvement in customer experience, stakeholder engagement and financial performance.

Brett has a Bachelor of Business (Accounting), is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He most recently completed the Oxford Platforms and Digital Disruption Program at Said Business School, University of Oxford, on disruptive digital transformation through platforms, artificial intelligence, and block-chain.

Melissa Reynolds

General Manager, Trustee Services
BEc, M.Com, GAICD
Appointed: 26 July 2022

Melissa is responsible for the Trustee Services business at State Trustees, which includes Wills, Power of Attorney, Deceased Estate Administration, Trusts as well as State Trustees’ Charitable Giving. Melissa is an experienced senior executive who has led significant client-facing teams to deliver better client outcomes across a diverse range of sectors. Melissa has a breadth of leadership experience with deep expertise in customer management, customer operations, digital transformation, brand, and marketing.

In her most recent executive role, Melissa was Chief Customer Officer at AGL and has previously held senior executive positions at NAB, including leading their retail branch network nationally, Sensis, Esanda Finance and Westpac.  Melissa is an alumnus of Advanced Management Program, France.