Jennifer Leslie has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director to the board of Newcastle Permanent Building Society. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Jennifer has a well-established career forged in the Hunter Region, including ten years as a Director at a Hunter financial services firm.

Martin McKenzie has joined The Business Centre as Business Advisor and Trainer with responsibility for the Small Business Solutions program which is supported by the Australian Small Business Advisory Services (ASBAS) programme. Martin has over 20 years’ experience delivering and managing programs across all levels of government. Tenures have included positions with the Office of Environment and Heritage, EPA, Hunter RDA and most recently for the Federal Department of Industry and Science.

Grant Morgan has joined New Hunter Business as New Enterprise Incentive Scheme Coordinator. He brings a wealth of experience and networks in the community sector having worked at the Hunter Wetlands Centre and NUPSA Inc. at The University of Newcastle. Grant is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is deputy chairperson of Family Insights. He will graduate with a doctor of business administration later this year.

Geoff Crowe has been appointed as the CEO of the Port of Newcastle. Geoff has extensive experience in the Hunter’s coal mining sector. He is currently the CFO and Company Secretary at Port Waratah Coal and has held senior management roles with a number of mining companies. As CEO, Geoff will lead a team of 89 staff who provide services including vessel scheduling, dredging and survey, trade and business development, and the management of 792 ha of port land.

Trent Bagnall is the new Chairman of the board of Dantia, the Lake Macquarie Economic Development Company Limited. He will use his skills, knowledge and experience in business, technology and mentoring, along with his commitment to innovation to drive and attract investment and new businesses to Lake Macquarie. Trent has been a non-executive Director of Dantia since November 2013 and is also currently Director of the Slingshot Accelerator.

Peter Cock has been appointed as Newcastle Airport’s new CEO. Peter has a decade of executive experience at Perth Airport where he held the roles of Executive General Manager Operations and Customer Experience, Chief Operating Officer, and General Manager Corporate Risk. Most recently, Peter has worked as an independent consultant for a range of clients, including Perth Airport.