Our Leadership Teams

Meet the School Council and the Executive Leadership Team of �鶹ֱ��

The St James' School Compensation Act (1886) which allowed the establishment of the School laid down that a Council should be half composed of clergy and half of laymen.

It is now constituted as follows:

President: The Archbishop of Sydney (ex officio)
Six clergy members appointed by the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney
Six lay members appointed by the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney
Five elected representatives of the �鶹ֱ�� Old Boys' Union

The Council is responsible for the governance and management of the School. It is responsible for strategic direction and policy and is governed by the Sydney Church of England Grammar School Constitution Consolidation & Amendment Ordinance 1923 (as amended).

Council delegates day to day management of the School to the Headmaster. The business management of the School, subject to the control of the Council and the Hon. Treasurer is delegated to the Director of Business who reports to Council through the Hon. Treasurer.

School Council - Office Bearers

President - The Most Rev Kanishka De Silva Raffel

BA (SYD), LLB (SYD), BD (MTC), DipMin, MA

Kanishka was born in London to Sri Lankan parents and was raised as a Buddhist. While studying law at Sydney University a friend gave him a copy of The Gospel according to John and he subsequently became a Christian. Prior to becoming Dean in 2016, Kanishka served as Rector of St Matthew’s in Perth. He is married to Cailey and they have two daughters. He was consecrated and inaugurated as Archbishop of Sydney on May 28 2021 at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.

Chair - Mr Robert Clarke

BA (Macquarie)

Rob is an Old Boy ('81), and he and his wife Kylie, have three children, with their two boys, Joshua (2012) and Alexander (2015), both attending �鶹ֱ��. Since leaving School, Rob’s professional career has included senior management positions across various industries, including marketing, advertising, professional services, and recently, rugby union administration. Rob was also a previous member of the Council in 2012 before relocating to Melbourne for work. Rob has a long history with �鶹ֱ�� as his great grandfather, Tibby Yarnold, was appointed the first ever senior prefect of the School.

Honorary Secretary - Mr M F W Thomas

BCom, LLB (UNSW)

Martin is an Old Boy ('87). Martin is a lawyer and has held various roles in private practice and in- house, and is currently the General Counsel for the Customer Services businesses of a bank. He joined Council in 2015, and was elected Honorary Secretary in 2021. He chairs the Governance and Risk Committee.

Honorary Treasurer - Ms J M Lambert

BBus (UTS), MEc (Macq), CA, FAICD

Jennifer, and her husband Tim, have two boys who attended �鶹ֱ��. Jennifer is a Chartered Accountant who has worked in professional accounting firms, then as a chief financial officer and is currently a non-executive director. Jennifer joined Council in 2016 and was elected Hon Treasurer in 2019. Jennifer Chairs the Finance and Investment Committees.

School Council - Members

Rev Canon C A Allan

BD (MTC), DipMin (MTC), B. Build (UTS)

Chris is a parent of two sons attending �鶹ֱ�� and a daughter at Roseville College. Prior to ordination Chris worked as a project manager for John Holland Construction and Civil & Civic/Lend Lease. Chris is a member of a number of Diocesan Boards and is the Sub-Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral.

Rev E C K Cheung

BD (Hons), BE (Hons) (UNSW), GAICD

Eric is an Old Boy ('92). He is the Senior Minister at St Philip's Caringbah and also serves on the board of Anglican Community Services (Anglicare Sydney). He joined Council in 2014 and is Chair of the Enrolments and Community Engagement Committee.

Mr D A Ferguson

BBus (UTS), Fellow (CAANZ), GAICD

Doug is an Old Boy ('91), former Senior Prefect and former parent of �鶹ֱ��. He joined Council in January 2022 and has previously served on the Old Boys' Union Committee and the �鶹ֱ�� Foundation Board. Doug is currently a Senior Partner and State Chairman in a professional services firm. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Reconciliation Australia, The Committee for Sydney and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney Business School. Doug is a member of the Finance sub-committee.

Mr M Firek

BEc (Accounting) LLB (Macquarie) FGIA FCIS

Marcin is married to Kath and has two boys at �鶹ֱ��. His professional career has spanned management, HR, legal, governance and risk roles across a number of industries. He is currently the Director of Solid Foundations and Risk at a large listed company and Chair of St Andrew's House Corporation. Marcin joined Council in 2023 and is Chair of the People and Culture Committee.

Rev P Greenwood

MA (Theol), BD (Hons), BE (Hons) (UNSW)

Peter is an Old Boy ('93) and he and Rachel have four children, the oldest of which recently graduated from �鶹ֱ�� and is studying to become a teacher. Peter holds roles in Anglican Education and is currently the Rector of St Nicolas’ Anglican Church in Coogee. He joined Council in 2018 and is a member of the Finance Committee.

Rev Dr G S Perkins

MA Theol. (MTC), BD (Hons I) (MTC), BA (UNSW), Doctor of Ministry (TEDS Chicago)

Gavin is an Old Boy ('92), and he and Amy presently have a son attending the school as a full boarder. Gavin has previously served on the ministry team of two large Sydney Anglican churches (St Ives and North Sydney), and is presently the Rector of St Jude’s Anglican Church in Bowral. He joined the Council in 2017 and is a member of the Governance and Risk Committee.

Rev S Petty

BCom (UNSW), BTh (SMBC)

Scott is married to Carolyn and has three �鶹ֱ�� sons, with James ('20) and Oliver ('22), followed by Austin who is in the Senior School. He is currently the Senior Minister at St Mark’s, Northbridge, having previously served at St Matthews, Manly for nine years, and in Youth Ministry at Christ Church, St Ives for 12 years. Prior to entering Christian ministry, Scott worked in business publishing in Sydney and London, after starting working life in one of the big accounting firms. He joined the Council in 2022.

Mrs J Robertson

BBus (UTS), CA, GAICD

Janna Robertson is a �鶹ֱ�� parent, with a son currently attending the Prep school. Professionally, Janna's career has spanned professional services and financial services and she is currently the Chief Operating Officer of a listed financial services group. She is a Chartered Accountant and graduate of the AICD. Janna joined Council in 2019 and currently chairs the Assets and Infrastructure committee.

Mr S Smart

BA Dip Ed (UNE) DipCS, MCS (Regent)

Simon Smart was a history teacher at �鶹ֱ��, a Year Master and the first Housemaster of Sawkins House, and now has a son in that House. Simon has a theological degree from Regent College in Vancouver and is Executive Director of the Centre for Public Christianity. Simon joined Council in 2020 and is a member of the People & Culture Committee and is President of the �鶹ֱ�� Parents’ Association.

Mr D J Scammell

BScAgr (Syd), MBA (AGSM)

David is a third generation Old Boy ('91) and a current parent with two boys at the School. David is currently the Managing Director of Private Equity and Advisory at Soul Patts. He is also a director of a number of Soul Patts investee companies where he focusses on growth through strategic planning, risk management, appropriate governance processes and implementation. He joined Council in October 2023.

Mr S M A Woodhill

BA, MCom, MAICD, MPRIA, AFAIM, CPM

Stephen is a third-generation Old Boy ('79), a former parent and Immediate Past President of �鶹ֱ��’s Old Boys Union. Stephen is the CEO of an industry association and a director of Woodhill Communication, an issues management consultancy. Stephen serves as a Non-Executive Director of St John Ambulance (NSW) and joined Council in October 2023. He serves on the Enrolments and Community Engagement Committee and as the Council delegate on the �鶹ֱ�� Foundation Board.

Mr M Nutt

MCom (Syd), BCom (Syd)

Malcolm is an Old Boy ('94), married to Lindall and had two sons graduate from �鶹ֱ�� and another still attending. He is a Founding Partner and Fund Manager at Cultiv8 and Sparklabs Cultiv8, which are specialist global Agri-food technology funds. Malcolm is also Founding Director of Alpine Capital (formerly known as Wentworth Securities), which is a boutique investment advisory firm and previously held positions at Macquarie Bank and Ord Minnett. He joined Council in October 2023 and currently serves on the Investment Committee and Governance and Risk Committee.

Mr D Lloyd

BBus (UTS), BA (Syd)

David is an Old Boy ('97) and current parent to two boys at �鶹ֱ��. David is currently the Head of Research at a Fund Management boutique in Sydney, and prior to this was a research analyst focusing on the property sector. David joined Council in 2023 and serves as Chair of the Assets and Infrastructure Committee.

Clerk of the Council and Director of Business

Mr P A Oates, BCom (UWA) CA

To contact the School Council, please direct all correspondence to:

The Hon. Secretary
�鶹ֱ�� School Council
PO Box 1221
North Sydney NSW 2059

Executive Leadership Team

Dr John Collier

Headmaster

BA, DipEd, DipBiblSt, EdD, FACE, FACEL, HFTGN

Ms Wendy Abernethy

Head of Northbridge Campus
GradCertEd Leadership, BEd Primary, BTeach Primary

Rev Anthony Benn

Chaplain
BA, DipEd (UTS), BD (MTC)

Mr Matthew Bentley

Deputy Head, Academic (Acting)
BA, BA Soc.Sc. (Hons.) (N’cle), GradCert Spec.Ed, GradDip Ed, MA (UNSW)

Mr Doug Broadbent

Head of Teaching and Learning (Acting)
BA (Syd), Dip Ed (Syd) MA (History) (Syd), Dip CS (Regent), MA (Theology) (Regent), MA (Education) (London- UCL)