Board

AMPLIFY Board

The AMPLIFY Board is committed to helping Australia reach its potential as the best country in the world and improving the livelihoods of all Australians.

The Board is responsible for providing strategic direction, effective governance and leadership. The purpose and objectives of AMPLIFY are defined in our Constitution, which guides the Board’s decisions and underpins our strategic direction.

As a community organisation, the Board commits to working in the interests of the AMPLIFY community. The Board commits to the community being the driving force of our work.

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Paul Bassat

Founder and Chair

Paul created Amplify for Australians to come together and solve our biggest challenges as a society. He is a Co-founder and Partner of Square Peg, a venture capital fund that backs transformational startups, and has been a Commissioner of the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2012. He is also on the board of the P&S Bassat Foundation. In 1997 Paul co-founded SEEK, a market leader in the online employment and vocational education markets across Australia, Asia and Latin America, and one of the first successful Australian tech startups. Paul served on the board of Wesfarmers from 2012-2018. He lives in Melbourne and is married to Sharon with three children.
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Suzi Carp AO

Non-Executive Director
Suzi is Co-Founder and Executive Director of investment firm River Capital Group. Suzi's passion is connecting business, community and philanthropy. She is the immediate past Chairman of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and remains as Global Ambassador of MCRI and senior adviser to The Milken Institute. Other past roles and positions Suzi has held, are Founding Director of Smiling Mind, , Chairman and Director of Igniting Change, Board Member of The Mirabel Foundation, Founding Director of Young & Well CRC, Director of The Melbourne Community Foundation (now the ACF), Chair, and Board Member of Murdoch Children’s Development Board.
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Rona Glynn-McDonald

Non-executive Director

Rona Glynn-McDonald is a Kaytetye woman from Central Australia, raised on Arrernte Country in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Rona is the founding CEO of Common Ground and co-founder of First Nations Futures. She has worked across the social sector, with an emphasis on First Nations policy and systems change. Rona’s been named in the Forbes 30 under 30 (2024) list, the Rising Star Alumni Award from the University of Melbourne (2022), and also been recognized with the Bill Cowan Alumni Award from Trinity College.
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Georgina Harrisson

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

Georgina Harrisson has over 20 years’ experience in public policy in Australia and the UK. Most recently she led the NSW Department of Education. Prior to that she held senior departmental roles in the Australian Federal and NSW State Governments as well as senior departmental and Cabinet and Home Office roles in the UK. From co-leading the taskforce that established NDIS to leading the response to COVID 19 in NSW public schools as Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, she has transformed public service thinking and delivery to provide opportunity and close the gaps of disadvantage. She is a non-Executive Director with Autism Spectrum Australia.
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Kate Jones

Non-Executive Director
Kate Jones has more than 20 years’ experience in senior leadership and government positions in the QLD Labor Party. She is currently an Executive Director for the Tech Council of Australia and on the board of the Institute of Molecular Bioscience. Kate is also an Independent Commissioner on the Australian Rugby League Commission, an Independent Director on the Paralympics Australia board and a Principal Advisor at Australian tech company Soda. In 2009, when Kate was first sworn in, she was the youngest ever Queensland Government Minister and served as Minister across several important portfolios.
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Gillon McLachlan

Non-Executive Director
Gillon McLachlan joined Accenture post university in the Strategy Division, working in Australia and Asia. Following a secondment to the AFL as General Manager of strategy, he went full time with the AFL becoming the Chief Executive for ten years from 2014-2023, following stints as General Manager, Commercial Operations, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer. He was appointed the CEO of TabCorp in June 2024
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Dominic Perrottet

Non-Executive Director
Dominic served as Premier of New South Wales and Leader of the NSW Liberal Party from October 2021 to March 2023. Before becoming Premier, Dominic served as Treasurer and Deputy Leader, having previously been appointed as Minister for Finance and Services, and then Minister for Finance, Services and Property. During his time as Premier and Treasurer, Dominic led NSW successfully through unprecedented challenges, including the COVID pandemic, bushfires and floods.
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Kate Pounder

Non-Executive Director
Kate Pounder has extensive experience with policy reform across the government, private and non-profit sectors. She was most recently the inaugural CEO of the Tech Council of Australia. Prior to that she was a Partner in analytics firm, AlphaBeta, and a consultant at McKinsey & Company. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Powerhouse Museum Trust, Deputy Chair of St John Ambulance ACT, and a member of the external advisory boards for the Department of Defence's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator and for the Tech Policy Design Centre at ANU.
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Michael Schneider

Non-Executive Director
Michael Schneider was appointed Managing Director, Bunnings Group in January 2016. Before joining Bunnings, Michael held a range of senior operational, commercial and human resource roles across regional and national markets, both in retail and financial services businesses. Michael supports a range of not-for-profit and community organisations including board roles with the Corporate Mental Health Alliance of Australia, Melbourne United NBL Club and the Global Home Improvement Network. In addition, Michael chairs FightMND.
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Zara Seidler

Non-Executive Director
Zara Seidler is a co-founder of The Daily Aus, the fastest-growing youth news company in Australia, and speaks to over a million young Australians every month across socials, newsletters and podcasts. In 2022, Zara was listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 and in 2023, she released her first book called 'No Silly Questions'. Zara has also been a commentator on prominent television programs such as Q+A, The Drum and The Project.

Statement of independence

The AMPLIFY Board and its members are committed to ensuring AMPLIFY remains impartial and politically neutral.

Where board members have an alignment or relationship with a political organisation, this will be declared and made transparent to the community.

Our board members hold a variety of opinions and positions on a wide range of issues and may contribute to public and AMPLIFY debates.  It should be assumed that an AMPLIFY board member is speaking in a personal capacity unless they are explicitly advocating or speaking on behalf of the AMPLIFY community. In line with our mission, AMPLIFY supports robust public conversations and welcomes this contest of ideas.

Conflicts of interest

The AMPLIFY Board is committed to effectively identifying, disclosing and managing any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest in order to protect the integrity of AMPLIFY.

It is the policy of Amplify, as well as a responsibility of the board, that ethical, legal, financial or other conflicts of interest be avoided and that any such conflicts (where they do arise) do not conflict with the obligations to AMPLIFY.

AMPLIFY manages conflicts of interest by requiring board members to:

  • avoid conflicts of interest where possible
  • identify and disclose any conflicts of interest, and
  • carefully manage any conflicts of interest.

AMPLIFY is a registered charity and Board members must:

  • Act with reasonable care and diligence.  
  • Act in good faith in the best interests of Amplify and for a proper purpose.  
  • Not improperly use information or position.  
  • Disclose conflicts of interest.  
  • Ensure that financial affairs are managed responsibly.  
  • Not allow Amplify to operate while insolvent. 

AMPLIFY Development Committee

The AMPLIFY Development Committee exists to support AMPLIFY's vision by driving philanthropic opportunities and broadening the AMPLIFY reach. The Development Committee is an advisory committee and provides advice to the AMPLIFY Board.

Development Committee Members: Mark Warburton (Chair), Paul Bassat, Amber Banfield, Bronte Campbell OAM, OLY, Rob Chapman AM, Ali Rosenberg, Rupesh Singh

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Amber Banfield (Perth)

Amber has been involved in the resource and energy sectors for over 25 years, servicing several ASX-listed entities in operational, management and advisory roles.  Amber is currently Deputy-Chair of SRG Global (ASX: SRG) and a Non-Executive Director of Perseus Mining (ASX: PRU) and Leo Lithium (ASX: LLL).  Amber is also a Board member of WA Football. 
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Bronte Campbell OAM, OLY (Sydney)

Bronte Campbell OAM, OLY is a triple Olympic gold medallist, former President of the Australian Swimmers’ Association, and co-founder of sustainable activewear brand Earthletica. She has held leadership roles within the Australian Swim Team, worked as a business consultant at EY, and is passionate about building strong team culture and driving high performance. 
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Rob Chapman, AM (Adelaide)

Rob Chapman is Executive Chairman of Chapman Capital Partners. He has held senior roles including CEO of St George Banking Group and MD of BankSA. He chairs or sits on several boards, including Coopers Brewery and Adelaide Airport, and is a Fellow of key financial and governance institutes.
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Ali Rosenberg (Sydney)

Ali Rosenberg is the Co-Founder of Blossom, a leading fintech platform democratising access to fixed income. With a background in VC, fintech, and customer success, Ali has helped scale Blossom to $110M+ in funds under management. She’s passionate about financial empowerment, innovation, and building bold, values-led businesses.
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Rupesh Singh (Sydney)

Rupesh Singh is a leading expert in the education sector and the founder and CEO of Education Centre of Australia (ECA). ECA is a global provider that educates thousands of students each year across multiple campuses, and online through a joint venture with OpenLearning, a worldwide digital learning platform.
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Mark Warburton, Chair (Sydney)

Mark has been with Bank of America since 2019 where he is Vice Chair, Investment Banking, Asia-Pacific. Previously he spent 24 years at Macquarie where his roles included Head of Equity Capital Markets for Australia and Asia. He was formerly Chair of ATYP and a Director of Belvoir St Theatre.

Research Committee

The AMPLIFY Research Committee provides expert oversight for our research program, ensuring our work is scientific, rigorous, and delivers genuine value for Australia.

The committee oversees all of AMPLIFYs research activities and advises the AMPLIFY Board twice a year, delivering robust, innovative guidance on strategic issues shaping our research agenda.

The members of the committee are leading experts in technology policy, social research, public deliberation, economics, and digital rights. This ensures that our research priorities and approach is forward-looking, robust, and aligned with the public interest.

Research Committee Members:

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Kate Pounder

Chair

Expertise in technology policy, public interest research, and executive sector advocacy.
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Professor Nicholas Biddle

ANU

Specialist in quantitative social research, public policy, Indigenous affairs, and large-scale survey analysis.
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Melinda Cilento

CEDA

Economist with expertise in public policy, business, government, and economic reform.
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Professor Selen Ayirtman Ercan

UC

Authority in deliberative democracy, democratic innovation, and citizen participation research.
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Dr Vafa Ghazavi

USyd

Specialist in democratic theory, public deliberation, and institutional reform, with experience advising government and international bodies.
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Professor Janette Hartz-Karp

CUT

Leader in deliberative practice and citizen engagement, with experience in large-scale public participation initiatives.
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Professor Ed Santow

UTS

Expert in law, ethics, digital rights, and former Human Rights Commissioner.

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