Our Leadership & Governance
Board & Executive Team
Meet our leaders
Our Board comprises experienced leaders from across the Healthcare industry. Together, their diverse experience guides St Vincent's to achieve our mission and focus on delivering to our values.
Our Leadership Team brings decades of experience in governing healthcare organisations. Many of our leaders have progressed through the ranks at St Vincent's, and gained valuable experience on the journey. While others have come to our organisation after establishing successful careers in the industry, and bring invaluable insight.
Our Board
Mr Paul McClintock AO
First appointed in January 2013
Appointed Chair in October 2019
Chair – St Vincent’s Health Australia Group of Companies
Invited Director – Clinical Governance and Experience Committee
Member – Research and Education Committee
Member – Aged Care Committee
Dr Michael Coote
First appointed in August 2016
Chair – Research and Education Committee
Member – Clinical Governance and Experience Committee
Ms Anne Cross AM
First appointed in January 2019
Chair – Aged Care Committee
Member – Audit and Risk Committee
Member – Clinical Governance and Experience Committee
Ms Anne McDonald
First appointed in June 2017
Chair – Audit and Risk Committee
Member – Finance and Investment Committee
Ms Sheila McGregor
First appointed in December 2019
Guest Director – Finance and Investment Committee
Member – Research and Education Committee
Member – Mission, Ethics and Advocacy Committee
Member – Aged Care Committee
Ms Sandra McPhee AM
First appointed in October 2017
Chair – People and Culture Committee
Member – Mission, Ethics and Advocacy Committee
Mr Damien O’Brien
First appointed in November 2019
Chair – Mission, Ethics and Advocacy Committee
Member – Audit and Risk Committee
Mr Paul O’Sullivan
First appointed in August 2019
Chair – Finance and Investment Committee
Member – People and Culture Committee
Professor Vlado Perkovic
First appointed in October 2021
Chair – Clinical Governance and Experience Committee
Member – Research and Education Committee
Ms Jill Watts
First appointed in August 2019
Member – Finance and Investment Committee
Member – People and Culture Committee
Member – Aged Care Committee
Our Leadership Team
Chris Blake
Group Chief Executive Officer
Chris brings 30 years of leadership experience to SVHA’s Group CEO position, having guided some of Australia’s largest organisations through periods of major change. Following a consulting career as a Partner at PwC, Chris developed and led one of the country’s largest cultural transformation programs at Australia Post and has also driven transformational change in leadership roles in financial services, including with the NAB and Latitude Financial Services. Chris has a long connection with healthcare. He is a Board Member of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP), and was previously Chair of the Brain Research Institute.
Rob Beetson
Group General Manager Legal, Governance & Risk
Rob commenced as Group Manager Legal and Governance for SVHA in August 2010. In October 2013, Rob became SVHA's Group General Manager Corporate Governance. Rob has responsibility for all aspects of corporate governance including the monitoring of strategy and group operational planning. Rob has an extensive background in the health sector in clinical, education, executive, and risk management and governance areas. Rob is the Company Secretary for St Vincent's Health Australia Limited and its eight subsidiary companies.
David Brajkovic
CEO St Vincent's @ Home
David commenced as CEO St Vincent’s @ Home in March 2022. David is recognised for his strong background in process improvement, project management and leadership in health insurance and healthcare services. David led the establishment and growth of Remedy Healthcare, a national organisation delivering care co-ordination, telehealth, mental health and healthcare in the community at scale. Most recently, prior to joining St Vincent’s Health, David was the CEO of Australian Unity health insurance.
Michelle Fitzgerald
Group Chief Digital Officer
Michelle began with SVHA in early 2022 joining the organisation from the City of Melbourne where she was Chief Digital Officer and General Manager of Customer and Digital. Prior to that, Michelle was a partner of PwC's digital consulting practice, leading teams to deliver across the media and telecommunications, technology, resources, health, and financial sectors. In 2020 Michelle was recognised in the Top 50 Public Sector Women by the Institute of Public Administration Australia for Victoria.
Lincoln Hopper
CEO St Vincent’s Care Services
Lincoln commenced as CEO of all St Vincent’s Care Services at St Vincent’s Health Australia in 2018. Lincoln’s impressive 28 years in health and community services are well aligned to the objectives of Care Services, coming to St Vincent’s from the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland where he served as CEO and Company Secretary for over six years. His diverse experience includes frontline social work, program management, policy and advocacy, fundraising, property development, and leadership. After moving into the community services sector in the 1990’s, Lincoln became a youth worker for Mission Australia in Sydney’s red-light district of Kings Cross. He remained with Mission Australia for 21 years, serving people in need in a variety of roles, but particularly making significant inroads as national community services executive leader. Lincoln’s recent success includes more than doubling the size, turnover and geographical reach of MS Queensland and receipt of the inaugural Westpac Community Leaders Award.
Dr Chris Jacobs-Vandegeer
Group Mission Leader
Chris joined SVHA as Group Mission Leader in early 2023. Chris holds a PhD in theology from the University of St Michael’s College and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from Regis College, Toronto. He spent 15 years as an academic and served as National Head of the School of Theology at Australian Catholic University prior to commencing at SVHA. Chris has extensive experience teaching and publishing in areas of systematic theology, Catholic leadership, and mission-driven health care. He has designed and led formation for Executive Leaders, Board Directors, and Trustees in Catholic health care organisations across Australia, and for several years directed ACU’s Graduate Certificate of Leadership and Catholic Culture.
Professor Erwin Loh
Group General Manager (GGM) of Clinical Governance and Group Chief Medical Officer
Erwin commenced as GGM of Clinical Governance at St Vincent’s Health Australia in 2018. Erwin comes to St Vincent’s from Monash Health, Victoria’s largest public health service, where he held the position of Chief Medical Officer, and prior to that he was Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. He is qualified in medicine, law and management. Erwin has executive accountability for clinical governance, patient experience, clinical informatics and research strategy, and is an adjunct Clinical Professor at Monash University, where he leads the Clinical Leadership and Management Unit at the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation.
Ruth Martin
Group Chief Financial Officer
Ruth started at SVHA in July 2015 with responsibility for leading the financial strategy of the organisation. Ruth is a highly qualified CFO with more than 20 years’ experience in senior finance roles across a diverse range of industries including Ruralco Holdings Ltd, Microsoft Australia, Stockland and Sydney Airport Corporation Limited. Ruth is a Chartered Accountant and spent the first part of her career with Ernst & Young.
Dr Robert Marshall
Chief Strategy Officer
Rob joined St Vincent’s Health Australia in 2022 and as Chief Strategy Officer has responsibility for strategy development and delivery across SVHA. A medical doctor, Rob interrupted his training with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians to pursue a Master in Public Administration (Health Policy) at Columbia University, supported by a Fulbright Scholarship. From there, he joined Boston Consulting Group where he led strategy efforts for governments (in Australia and the UK), hospital providers, private health insurers and other large corporates. He has also worked on cost-effectiveness analyses as a Consultant to the World Health Organization and on health system reform as a Policy Advisor to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Rob brings to the role his expertise in strategy, transformation, health system redesign, digital health and value based health care.
Adj. Professor Patricia O'Rourke
CEO St Vincent's Hospitals
Patricia O’Rourke is the Chief Executive Officer of St Vincent’s Health Australia Hospitals Division. Prior to this she was the CEO of St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. Patricia has more than 20 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, including senior management and executive roles. Patricia currently serves as a Director on the Boards of St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, the Garvan Institute, the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery and holds key advisory committee roles in NSW and Victoria. Patricia is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a graduate of the Harvard leadership program.
Rebecca Roberts
Group Chief People and Culture Officer
Rebecca is a versatile executive with an extensive background in People and Culture and law who has led organisational change to ensure operations are strategic, optimised and service focused. After a career in law both within Australia and internationally, Rebecca joined St Vincent’s as Executive Director Legal and Commercial Services in 2014 at St Vincent’s Public Hospital Melbourne. In 2018, Rebecca was appointed to lead the People and Culture and Corporate Services and 2021, Rebecca took up the same role at St Vincent’s Public Health Network Sydney (SVHNS). Rebecca commenced her role as Chief People & Culture Officer at St Vincent’s in early 2023 where she now proudly leads our 30,000 people who deliver incredible care to those we serve.