Our Board

Chair of the Board
Professor The Hon. Michael Lavarch

Professor The Hon. Michael Lavarch was appointed Chair of the Board in June 2009. Michael is currently the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Queensland University of Technology.  He is a former Federal Attorney-General and a former Secretary-General of the Law Council of Australia.  Professor Lavarch holds a number of Board positions and consulting roles including Director of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), Chief Adjudicator of the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) and Chair of the Consultative Group to the COAG National Legal Profession Reform Taskforce.

Robert Belleville

Robert was previously Group Executive, Personal Insurance at Suncorp from 2007 to 2008. Prior to that, he was simultaneously Chief Executive of Promina Direct Division from 2004 to 2007 and CEO of AAMI from 2002 to 2006. Robert started working for AAMI in 1970 as a Branch Officer in the Geelong office, working his way up through various operational then management roles, to eventually become CEO. He oversaw a period of great achievement for AAMI, including the awards: 2004 Australian and New Zealand General Insurer of the Year, and 2005/06 Customer Service CEO of the Year. Robert also has a Master of Business Administration.

David Coorey

David Coorey was previously a consumer representative director of the Insurance Ombudsman Service. David is currently a senior lawyer with the Consumer Law team of the Civil Litigation section of the Legal Aid Commission of NSW, which he joined in 2002. He previously worked with the law firm Freehills over three years, including a one year pro bono secondment to Kingsford Legal Centre. David has worked in a variety of areas of civil law, including insurance, credit, consumer and trade practices litigation as well as human rights and discrimination law. Since commencing with the Legal Aid Commission, he has been actively involved in policy work in consumer law, with particular interest in policy issues that affect consumers of insurance products.

Dr. Brendan French

Brendan is General Manager Customer Relations for the Commonwealth Bank Group and also currently lectures in the School of Law at the University of Western Sydney.  Prior to this he was Deputy Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW.  Brendan has extensive experience as a practitioner, trainer and author in dispute resolution and was for some years a director in a leading consultancy firm assisting clients in the public, corporate and community sectors.  He has also published widely to both general and academic audiences.  Brendan received his doctorate in the history of ideas from the University of Sydney and was awarded the Australian Postgraduate Award.

Catriona Lowe

Catriona was previously a consumer representative director of the Financial Industry Complaints Service. Catriona is Co-CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, an independent, not-for profit, campaign focused, casework and policy organisation.   Prior to joining Consumer Action, Catriona was a Director in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (then) Policy & Liaison Branch. She was Deputy Director at Consumer Law Centre Victoria and spent five years in private practice as a litigation lawyer. She has undertaken consumer advocacy on issues affecting Australian consumers across a range of markets including financial services, utilities, telecommunications and general consumer products and services.  She has a particular interest in the intersection between consumer protection and competition law and has authored a range of publications including the Consumer Strategies Chapter of the Lawyer’s Practice Manual.  Catriona is also the current Chair of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia. 

Russell McKimm

Russell was previously a director of the Financial Industry Complaints Service. Russell has almost thirty years experience in the stockbroking industry and is currently an Adviser with Patersons Securities Ltd. Previous positions include Director with Shaw Stockbroking Ltd 2005 to 2007, Director Tolhurst Noall Ltd from 2001 to 2005 and Managing Director of Ord Minnett Ltd from 1988 to 1991. He holds a Diploma of Financial Planning from Deakin University and has studied at the Securities Institute of Australia where he was also a regular lecturer in their Certificate and Graduate Diploma courses before leaving Sydney. Russell is a past President of the Financial Planners Association (FPA) and a former Board member of the FPA Complaints Resolution scheme and is a current Panel member for ASX National Adjudicatory Tribunal and ASTC Disciplinary Tribunal.

Jenni Mack

Jenni is Chair of the consumer watchdog, Choice, and ASIC's Consumer Advisory Panel. She is a former executive director of the Consumers' Federation of Australia, the peak consumer body. She was the Deputy Legal Services Commissioner in NSW responsible for handling complaints about lawyers in the mid '90s and has represented the community on the NSW Judicial Commission (which amongst other things deals with complaints about judicial officers). She advises the Migration Agents' Registration Authority's Professional Standards Committee and is a Trustee of the Travel Compensation Fund. Jenni was a director of two of FOS's predecessor schemes, the Financial Industry Complaints Service and the Insurance Brokers Disputes.

Denis Nelthorpe

Denis was previously a consumer representative director of the Insurance Ombudsman Service. He is currently the independent consumer representative on the Code Compliance Committee under the General Insurance Code of Practice. Denis is also working as special projects lawyer with the West Heidelberg Community Legal Centre, Tenants Union of Victoria and Footscray Legal Service. He is a past president of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia and a past Chief Executive Officer of the Consumer Credit Legal Service 1986-91 and the Consumer Law Centre Victoria 1993-98.He was also the Director of the State Insurance Office Consumer Appeals Office in 1991-2.

David Squire

David was previously a director of the Financial Industry Complaints Service and National Industry Liaison Manager, Government Affairs and Public Policy, National Australia Bank. He has in excess of forty years experience in general banking, life and general insurance and financial planning in a variety of roles including compliance and regulatory policy. David has been actively involved in industry advocacy dating back to 1982 and is a past director of the National Insurance Brokers Association and the Australasian Compliance Institute as well as having been a member of the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA) Regulatory Affairs Board committee and a former chair of Financial Planning Association's Regulations Committee. He is a member of a number of active industry committees and a former member of Treasury's FSRA Implementation Consultative Committee.