Board & Executive Members

The VenuesWest Board reports to the Hon. David Templeman MLA. Minister Templeman is the Minster for Culture and the Arts; Sport and Recreation; International Education; Heritage.

VenuesWest provides for the establishment of a Board of Management to administer the legislation established under the Western Australian Sports Centre Trust. The Board is appointed by and is responsible to the Minister for Sport and Recreation.

Mary Anne Stephens was appointed to the Board of VenuesWest on October 29 2015, and brings over 25 years' experience in finance and operational roles both in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, and key strengths in finance, risk and governance. She has spent the past 13 years of her career in senior roles also focusing on strategy, leadership and business intelligence. Mrs Stephens is VenuesWest's first female Chair with her appointment commencing on July 1, 2022 through to October 30, 2024.

Long-serving member and Chair Graham Goerke has been thanked for his dedicated service. Mr Graham Goerke was appointed to the Board of VenuesWest on 12 March 2007. He was appointed as Chair on 1 July 2018, and his term expired on 30 June 2022. Graham was a senior partner at law firm Jackson McDonald until December 2015 and has over 30 years' experience in commercial law. He Chaired the Jackson McDonald board for 10 years. He is currently the Chair of Edmund Rice Education Australia; a member of the Council of National Trust WA; and a Director on the Australian Council of National Trusts.

Ms Priya Cooper 

Ms Cooper joined the board in 2018 with her current term expiring on 31 December 2023. Priya is an Australian world champion disabled swimmer, winning nine Paralympic gold medals, multiple world championship medals and setting a number of world records. Significantly, Priya won the most medals of any Australian athlete at the Barcelona Paralympic games in 1992, which saw her honoured with an Order of Australia Medal for her service to sport, and becoming an Australia Day Ambassador. In 2023, Priya achieved Legend status in the Hall of Champions. Furthermore, in 1996, Priya was appointed Female Captain of the Australian swimming team at the 10th Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia and was named Young Australian of the Year for Sport in 1999. 

Ms Kaylene Gulich

Ms Gulich has over 19 years’ central Government agency experience in fiscal management, economic advice, asset management and policy development.  Currently holding the position of Chief Executive Officer of the WA Treasury Corporation, she is experienced in the provision of complex and accurate advice to Ministers, Cabinet and the broader public sector to support informed decision making and effective and efficient service delivery. Ms Gulich's current term is expiring on 31 December 2024.

Mr Gary Dreibergs

Mr Dreibergs joined the Board on 1 July 2022. Gary has 40 years' experience with the WA Police Force, serving as Deputy Commissioner for seven years. He established Operation Tide, delivering the WA Police emergency COVID-19 pandemic response. During this time, he was instrumental in ensuring sport continued safely in WA, including major sporting events such as the AFL Grand Final and Bledisloe Cup.

Ms Donna Oxenham

Ms Oxenham was appointed to the Board of VenuesWest on 1 September 2017, and her current term expires on 31 December 2024. A researcher at the University of Western Australia, Donna’s 20 year sporting career saw her achieve 35 state and two national titles in the sport of Judo. Donna has worked with Indigenous people, groups and organisations throughout Western Australia and the broader Aboriginal Indigenous community, particularly within the fields of arts, history, cultural heritage and native title.

Ms Michelle Hoad 

Ms Hoad joined the Board on 1 September 2021, for an initial term of two years. She has over 20 years of senior leadership experience in vocational education and training (VET) and is experienced in the delivery of services and implementation of government initiatives, in both metropolitan and regional context, in large complex organisations. As the Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of North Metropolitan TAFE since 2016, she manages delivery of training to in excess of 29,000 students under activity-based funding arrangements to the value of $190m. In this role, she successful led the establishment of North Metropolitan TAFE under the Training Sector Reform project, amalgamating three TAFE colleges to form the largest training provider in Western Australia. Ms Hoad has strong facility management experience from her time at TAFE.

Mr Tim Colmer

Mr Colmer joined the Board on 14 September 2022 and his term expires on 31 December 2023.  He brings over 25 years of experience at the University of Western Australia and is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and acting Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor.  In the latter role, Mr Colmer Chairs the UWA Capital Investment Advisory Group which works with stakeholders to ensure robust business cases are presented for any improvements in facilities at UWA Sports Park.  He holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and a PhD in Plant Biology.

David Etherton is the Chief Executive Officer of VenuesWest and leader of the Executive Team. The organisation has four major directorates, along with Finance, and Governance and Executive Services reporting directly to the CEO.

Portfolio Management

• Facility Management
• Capital Works

Venue Management

• HBF Park - Event Delivery, Venue Operations, Administration
• Commercial - Business Development, Bookings, Event Delivery, Catering
• Venues - Customer Service, Health & Fitness, Programs, Aquatics & Swim School, Venue Delivery, Venue Operations

Strategy and Partnerships

• Marketing
• Communications
• Planning, Research & Reporting
• Contracts
• Procurement

Business Support Services

• People & Culture
• Risk & Safety
• Information Technology Communications