Andrew started his professional career as an accountant with KPMG Peat Marwick where he worked on a number of high-profile insolvencies and company restructures (including L J Hooker, Alan Bond’s companies and Spedley Holdings), in addition to the audits of a range of international financial institutions. For the next decade or so Andrew was immersed in the legal industry at a litigator in criminal law, common law and commercial fields, ultimately becoming chief client partner in a national firm with 800 staff. He appeared as Counsel in a range of Australian Courts including the High Court of Australia, and had the carriage of a range of high profile matters including defending the Commonwealth in multibillion dollar litigation. For the last decade Andrew has been an Executive Coach, Leadership Consultant, and Resilience Expert based in the Hunter region while working with clients throughout the East Coast of Australia. Due to Andrew’s professional background and experience he is highly qualified in the areas of corporate governance and risk, expertise augmented through AICD training modules including ‘The Role of the Chair’ and ‘NFP Director Round Table’. Andrew also serves on the Board of another Hunter Valley based NFP, EGA, where he has gained significant experience in planning and implementing formal Governance and Risk frameworks.

With over 25 years’ experience in the building and construction industry, Sharon possesses an authentic insight into the challenges facing customers when building in todays market.

Sharon manages the team responsible for the delivery of service across the MJH Group (consisting of many brands throughout NSW, ACT, QLD and Tasmania). She is charged with continually challenging the process to create leaner ways of moving customers throughout the process from deposit to collection of keys efficiently and
deliberately.

Sharon has a strong background in construction, contracts and negotiation and this extensive range of experience has provided her with both a legal understanding and operational knowledge of the construction and development industry.

Mr Bedford has spent his entire life in the local Cessnock and Kurri Kurri Community. Bob is an extremely well-known and respected member of the local community and has been involved in many community and charitable organisations. He also has extensive experience in local business and government. Bob has worked in the local motor industry for over 50 years, most of this time in senior management. Bob is also heavily engaged with local government having served as a councillor on Cessnock City Council for 23 years, including time in the role of Deputy Mayor. He served as a Director of Cessnock Ex-Serviceman’s Club for over a decade and is a life member of Cessnock Rotary Club.

Brendan’s education and expertise is in organisational development and psychology. He holds a PhD in Organisational Psychology from the University of Newcastle and has served in a variety of Executive People Safety & Culture roles across a wide range of industries including government, financial services, mining and manufacturing. In these roles Brendan has led the development and implementation of QA, Risk and Human Resource Management frameworks in highly regulated and competitive industries, including several with a very keen focus on WHS. As Director and Principal Consultant at Courageous Consulting Pty Ltd, Brendan’s focus is on helping organisations navigate times of structural and cultural change while embracing and executing contemporary management principals including Governance, Risk and Quality Management frameworks.

Chris has over 25 years of experience in accounting, auditing and business development. He has been a director of major accounting firm, Bentleys Newcastle since 1999. He specialises in providing business and tax advice to SME clients focusing on tax structuring and analysing business performance. Over the years Chris has gained a wealth of experience and technical knowledge in the construction and engineering industries, registered clubs, wholesale and manufacturing and many other small to medium business specialities. Chris is a key member of Bentleys Business Service Technical Advisory Committee, is the lead auditor for Bentleys Newcastle’s involvement in NSW Workers Compensation Premium audit programme and he has specialist technical knowledge in capital gains tax and tax effective business restructuring. Further to his extremely important professional experience it’s important to note that Chris has a lived experience in disability through his son Max. As such, he also brings his passion about disability rights to the KKCS Board.