2020 Honour Roll Inductees

CBH Group
Independent Board Director
(2012 – 2021)

Trent Bartlett is a significant figure in the renaissance of the co-operative movement in Australia and a well-known and widely recognised co-operative leader. The roles he has played in the co-operative sector are many and various and always pivotal to its success – from former CEO of one of Australia’s most successful co-operatives, to a founder of Social Business Australia, the precursor to BCCM and inaugural Chair of the Australian Secretariat for the International Year of Co-operatives 2012.

Trent was appointed as an Independent Director of the CBH Board in 2012 and was Chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee.

Trent consistently pursued the value proposition for the grower members, inspired his fellow Directors and Management to live the co-operative values and sought continuous improvement of CBH’s governance to meet best practice.

His actions displayed his strong belief and conviction in collaborative leadership and unconditional commitment above and beyond his role.

Trent worked with the BCCM and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, of which he is a Fellow and a facilitator, to create and implement the first AICD course for the co-operative and mutual sector.

Trent’s passion for the CME sector and personal commitment to corporate governance, were both key to the inception, development, and success of this program. He continues to be an advocate and visionary for the CME sector within the AICD.

Trent has stepped down from his role with the CBH Group after 9 years of professional, dedicated, and loyal service. He continues to serve on various mutual and co-operative Boards.

MDA National
President/Chairman
(2014 – 2020)

Dr Rod Moore was first elected to the MDA National Mutual Board in 1998 and served as Vice President from 2004 to 2007. Rod was elected as MDA National President in 2015 until his retirement last November.

The importance of our health workforce has been brought home starkly at this time of unprecedented global health crisis. The support that mutuals like MDA National provide to protect the wellbeing and sustainability of health care professionals has never been more important.

Rod brought his exceptional medical knowledge to this important area of risk management for the Australian medical profession and personally committed himself to learning, understanding and integrating the complex legal dimensions of indemnity.

This deep understanding of and involvement in the medical indemnity industry over 22 years has resulted in Rod having had a significant impact on the quality of health care delivered by MDA National Members to patients across Australia.

Rod’s leadership extended from the board room to management and his involvement with national and international industry bodies.

A passionate advocate for strong corporate governance contributed to board stability and the outstanding strategic guidance he provided MDA through the COVID-19 pandemic was critical to the successful negotiation of the challenges experienced by the medical profession and the organisation in this crisis.

Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative
General Manager of Finance and Co-operative Secretary
(1994 – 2020)

This is the first time BCCM has honoured one of our outstanding co-operators in memorium.

Robin Judd was one of Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative’s (GFC) longest serving and universally loved workmates and tragically passed away last year.

Robin held the role of General Manager of Finance and Co-operative Secretary at GFC for 26 years. At work, he was the archetypal accountant known for his spreadsheets which would stretch across two massive screens, filled with minute detail. Robin knew GFC’s co-operative rules like the back of his hand and could answer any constitutional question on the spot. He not only understood the co-operative model; he lived and breathed it.

Robin worked tirelessly with the Board to stop the demutualisation of the co-op in 1991 – effecting the rescue of the co-op structure for the future prosperity of its members – a belief he held strongly to his core. Robin was also involved in the takeover of Westar which was the biggest acquisition in GFC’s history and saw GFC’s market share double overnight.

As a result of Robin’s dedication and astute financial strategy, GFC has grown to become the largest rock lobster exporter in the world, and most importantly, its Members have a secure future and a strong sense of community.

Heritage Bank Limited
Director
(1995 – 2020)

Vivienne Quinn served Heritage for a quarter of a century, an indication of her passion, commitment and loyalty for the Bank and the wider mutual banking sector.

During her time on the Board, Heritage experienced tremendous growth. The Bank went from having 35 branches in south-east Queensland and 325 staff, to its 60 branches in Queensland and Sydney today, along with more than 800 staff.

Vivienne’s tenure included not only this period of unprecedented growth but other major events including the response to the global financial crisis in 2008 and our evolution from the Heritage Building Society to Heritage Bank in 2011.

Vivienne was a trail blazer at a time when female representation on boards was minimal. She joined Deborah Ralston on the Heritage Board to become a rare organisation in Australia with two female board members. Times have moved on and because of pioneers like Vivienne, we have made important advances in gender parity not only on Boards but at the executive level as well.

Along with running her own business, Vivienne served on the Heritage Board during an extended period of innovation and entrepreneurship when Heritage introduced ATMs, internet banking, business banking, a broker business, opened branches, had a name change and expanded interstate.

Vivienne’s enthusiasm for our Bank and the considerate and caring manner with which she has carried out her duties has earned her the highest respect and regard from all her colleagues on the Board and at the Bank over her 25 years. She will be missed.

Queensland Country Bank
Chair
(2006 – 2020)

Bruno Cullen’s significant and longstanding contribution to the sector encompasses mutual banking, helping to grow Queensland Country Bank, as well as broader contributions to regional and rural Queensland communities and sport (he was the Managing Director of the Brisbane Broncos from 2003 – 2011).

Bruno’s relationship with the mutual sector began when he became the 677^th Member of The Isa Mine Employees’ Credit Union on 20 April 1971.

The Credit Union was formed around an ethos shared by the co-operative and mutual sector: to realise the economic, cultural, and social needs of its members and the surrounding communities.

Bruno served on the Board of the Credit Union until November 2020 and from 2006 to 2020 as its Chairman. He was also director of Queensland Country Health Fund from 1989 to 2019.

He was instrumental in helping to bring the dream of a small community in Mount Isa to be one of Queensland’s leading Member-owned banks today. Queensland Country Bank, as it is now known, is an amalgamation of thirteen credit unions that were formed in Queensland since 1959.

Two recent mergers have nearly doubled the bank’s assets to over $2 billion and grew membership to 100,000 Queenslanders.

Bruno was awarded an Order of Australia in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List in recognition of Bruno’s 43 years of experience, dedication, and belief in the member-owned philosophy and service to mutual banking.

Bank First
CEO
(2002 – 2020)

William Wolke retired as CEO of Bank First (formerly Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank) in October 2020 after eighteen years of service to the Bank and to the mutual sector more widely.

William emigrated to Australia from South Africa in 1996 and, after six years at NAB, he made the shift to mutuals and took up the CEO role.

The shift to the mutual sector was very much an alignment with his own values and philosophy and William has been proud of telling Bank First’s story and making sure it remains part of the DNA of the bank.

In his 18 years of leadership, William oversaw the growth of the Bank in terms of assets under management from $500 million to $2.9 billion, and his focus was on building on the culture of service with its concomitant emphasis on creating environments where everyone thrives – staff and members.

In CEO Magazine in 2019 William summed up his understanding of the mutual difference: “Decision making is different at Bank First, and its purpose as a bank is to ‘financially empower people who build community to realise their dreams’. A mutual bank like Bank First has always had social inclusion in its DNA. It’s not an add-on, it’s not a PR exercise…it’s authentically part of who we are.”

William’s strong sense of social responsibility has always led him to support the bank to support Members in distress or facing hardship such as the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, the summer bushfires of 2020 and now Covid-19, a powerful legacy that William has fostered.

Royal Automobile Association of SA Inc
President/Chairman
(2005 – 2020)

Ray Grigg is a mutualist through and through with a stellar career in motoring and mobility, spending 47 years with General Motors in Europe, Japan, and as Director and General Manager of Operations for General Motors-Holden.

He is past President of RAA and the peak body for mobility mutuals, the Automobile Association of Australia, and past Chair of RAA Insurance Ltd. Ray is also former President of FIA World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism.

Ray joined the RAA Board in 2005 and led the organisation as President from 2010 to 2013.

During this time, the business experienced substantial growth and achievements, including the final consolidation of Insurance into the RAA Group.

Ray introduced the Gold50 appreciation events which acknowledges RAA members with more than 50 years of consecutive membership. Since inception 61 events have been held to celebrate with more than 36,000 members.

Ray’s passion for investigating opportunities for broader mobility saw RAA introduce the Years Ahead Lifestyle Program, aimed at expanding RAA’s involvement in wider mobility considerations for older members such as mobility scooters.

With Ray at the helm RAA strengthened its advocacy efforts with the introduction of the Risky Roads campaign, and the Demand Better Roads project for stronger investment in infrastructure, safer roads and protection of motorists’ rights.

Ray retired from the RAA board in 2020 after 15 years of service.