RiAus Council

The RiAus is governed by a Council of distinguished science, business, and education representatives and is chaired by Peter Yates.

 Chair: Peter Yates 
Peter Yates is the chairman of the Royal Institution of Australia, the Australian Science Media Centre and the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne. He is also chairman of the Peony Capital General Partnership and a director of Oceania Capital Partners Limited and MOKO.mobi.

From 2004 to 2007 Peter was managing director of Oceania Capital Partners (formerly Allco Equity Partners Limited), a listed private equity fund specialising in private equity and activist corporate situations. He was chief executive officer of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited from 2001 to 2004, and until 2001 worked in the investment banking industry, including 15 years with Macquarie Bank. Peter has also worked for Morgan Stanley in Australia and Booz Allen Hamilton in Tokyo. He holds a Doctorate of the University (Murdoch), a Masters degree from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne. He speaks Japanese, having studied at Keio University in Tokyo.

Peter is deputy chairman of Asialink and Asia Society AustralAsia Centre, and a board member of the Australian-Japan Foundation, the Royal Children?s Hospital Foundation (Victoria), the Melbourne International Art Festival and The Centre for Independent Studies.

Emeritus Professor Max Brennan AO
Emeritus Professor Max Brennan AO graduated from the University of Sydney in 1954 (BSc Hons) and in 1958 (PhD). He was awarded honorary degrees from Flinders University and Queensland University of Technology, was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 1985 and elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1988.

Max has had a distinguished academic career as Research Associate at Princeton University (1958-1961), Foundation Professor of Physics at Flinders University (1964-1980), and Professor of Physics at the University of Sydney (1981-1990), conducting research in cosmic rays, nuclear physics and plasma physics. He also spent several years at Flinders University and the University of Sydney as Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

Max has served on international and national committees, including the International Fusion Research Council (1987-1995), Australian Atomic Commission (chairman, 1983-1987) and the Australian Research Council (chairman, 1991-1997), and was Chief Scientist for South Australia from 2005-2007. He retired in 1997 and is currently Emeritus Professor and a director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment.

Sir Rod Eddington
Sir Rod Eddington is one of Australia's most experienced and accomplished business leaders. Educated as an engineer at the University of Western Australia and then Oxford University as Western Australia's 1974 Rhodes Scholar, he has demonstrated his acumen and expertise on the national, regional, and international stages.

Sir Rod's career began in transport and aviation in 1979 when he joined the Swire Group. He worked with Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong, Korea and Japan in a variety of roles, before being appointed MD and CEO in 1992. In 1997, he was appointed executive chairman of Ansett Airlines, a position he held until 2000, when News Corporation sold its 50 per cent interest in Ansett. Most recently, he returned to Australia after serving for five years as CEO of British Airways, where he successfully led the airline's turnaround during one of the industry's most turbulent periods. In 2005, Sir Rod was awarded a Knighthood by the British Government for services to civil aviation. In December 2006, he completed a study for the British Government on the links between transport and the economy.

Today, numerous companies benefit from his time and talents. He is non-executive chairman (Australia & New Zealand) of JPMorgan, in addition to maintaining non-executive roles with News Corporation, Rio Tinto, Allco Finance Group Limited, CLP (China Light & Power) Holdings and John Swire & Sons Pty Ltd. Sir Rod also serves as chairman of Victorian Major Events Company.

Martyn Myer
Martyn Myer, 52, is a non-executive director of three publicly listed companies: Cogstate Ltd; SP Ausnet Group (Singapore Power's Australian listed subsidiary which owns electricity and gas transmission and distribution assets) since 2005, and Diversified United Investments Ltd (a listed equity investment company) since 1991. He was also a director of Coles Myer Ltd from 1996 to 2006.

In 2000, Martyn helped establish Cogstate Ltd and he has been the company?s chairman since that time. Cogstate is a health software services company focused on the development of its cognitive performance diagnostic testing software product. Its main application is in the clinical trails market involving the world's largest drug companies. 

Martyn was president of the Howard Florey Institute at Melbourne University from 2003 to 2007 and a board member until May 2009. In February 2009, he was appointed to the Council of the University of Melbourne. In June 2008, Martyn was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for service to business and the community, particularly through contributions to medical research and the establishment of the Florey Neuroscience Institutes, and through executive and philanthropic roles with a range of organisations.

Martyn is a vice-president of the Myer Foundation and a board member of the Myer Family investment companies. He is chairman of the National Business Leaders Forum for Sustainable Development and a founding council member of the Royal Institution of Australia, and was a Trustee of the Telematics Trust from 1995 to May 2009.

Martyn gained a Bachelor of Engineering from Swinburne University in 1980, a Masters of Engineering Science from Monash University in 1989 and a Master of Science in Management from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990.

He owns and operates a small, exclusive (Relais & Chateaux) boutique hotel on Lake Wanaka in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. He is married with three children and his recreational interests include off-piste skiing, mountaineering, motorcycling and road cycling.

Professor John Yovich AM
Professor John Yovich was appointed Vice Chancellor and President of Murdoch University in 2002. He was instrumental in the formation of and currently chairs the Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRUA) group, which comprises Flinders, Griffith, James Cook, La Trobe, Macquarie, Murdoch and Newcastle Universities. This group has provided effective collaboration and developed a significant new voice on the national higher education stage. John is a board member of the not-for-profit organisation the Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) and a member of the board of directors of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission (AAFC). He is also a Trustee of both the Murdoch University Veterinary Trust and Murdoch University Foundation, of which he was the inaugural chair.

Prior to his appointment as Vice Chancellor, John was the inaugural Executive Dean for Murdoch University?s Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, during which time he concurrently served a period as Pro Vice Chancellor (Research).

He has been a member of the National Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Equine Research Advisory Committee; deputy chair of the Western Australian Totalisator Agency Boar;, a member of the Racecourse Development Trust; a  member of the Australian Veterinary Boards Council; vice-chairman of the Western Australian Turf Club; a member of the Consultative Group for the Federal Review of Rural Veterinary Service; a member of the board of Future Directions International; vice-president and a member of the Audit and Finance Committees of IDP Education Australia Limited; and a member of the Business-Industry-Higher Education Collaboration Council.

Catherine Livingstone AO
After qualifying as a chartered accountant and working with Price Waterhouse in Sydney and London, Catherine joined the Nucleus Group and spent 20 years working in the field of implantable medical devices, including six years as CEO of Cochlear Limited from 1994-2000. She has also served on the boards of Goodman Fielder Ltd and Rural Press Ltd, and was chairman of CSIRO from 2001 to 2006 and president of Chief Executive Women from 2007 to 2008.
Catherine is currently chairman of Telstra Corporation Ltd, and a director of Macquarie Group Limited and WorleyParsons Limited. She is also a member of the New South Wales Innovation Council and a director of Future Directions International.
She continues to support The Australian Business Foundation (an independent business-sponsored research think tank focused on the concept of innovation-led growth), having been its chairman from 2002 to 2005

Catherine attended IMD International?s Programme for Executive Development in Switzerland  in 1992. She was the Eisenhower Exchange Foundation Fellow for Australia in 1999, was awarded a Centenary Medal for Service to Australian Society in Business Leadership in 2003, and in 2006 received the Macquarie University Alumni Award for Distinguished Service (Professional category).