World Vision Australia (WVA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Brooke Prentis, Peter Trent and Catherine Yeomans.
All three bring a wealth of experience and wisdom to the WVA board and have been appointed for the strengths they will bring to its mission and to its shift to become an impact business.
Ms Prentis has more than 15 years’ senior management experience, including with top-100 ASX-listed companies and was was recently appointed CEO of Christian charity Common Grace.
A descendant of the Wakka Wakka peoples, who was born in Cairns on Yidinji land, grew up in Redcliffe on the lands of the Gubbi Gubbi, and for the past year has lived in Sydney on the lands of the Gadigal peoples, Ms Prentis is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and serves on a number of boards.
“I’m thrilled that Brooke will be bringing her superb finance and accounting skills to World Vision Australia,” World Vision Australia CEO Claire Rogers said.
Peter Trent comes to World Vision with almost 40 years at the highest levels of retail and investment banking, and the infrastructure sector, 20 years of which was spent with Macquarie Group.
Mr Trent ultimately became chief executive officer of Macquarie’s Atlas Roads division, a position he had held between 2009-2018 where he took it from an entity with market capitalisation of $AU278 million to a top-100 ASX-listed company with a market capitalisation of more than $AU3.7 billion.
Ms Rogers said: “In this impact era, I am especially excited by the deep commercial experience and investment mindset that Peter will bring to World Vision Australia.”
Mr Trent has also held several senior corporate advisory roles with Macquarie Bank in Australia and globally, and has served on the boards of nine different entities over the past 27 years.
Catherine Yeomans brings to World Vision not only vast experience in the not-for-profit sector, but also in large commercial and government-owned enterprises.
Until late 2017, Ms Yeomans was chief executive officer with Mission Australia, one of Australia’s largest national charities, having progressed to that position after joining the business in 2011 as its chief operating officer.
Ms Yeomans is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and of Chief Executive Women, and has more than 18 years’ senior executive experience across several key roles in large enterprises, including five years with global media giant Thomson Reuters.
She currently serves on the boards of RSL LifeCare and not-for-profit employment service, CHESS Connect, and has also served as a member of Westpac’s Stakeholder Advisory Council.
“As an experienced CEO, having led an organisation of a similar size to World Vision Australia, Catherine will bring great value to our board,” Ms Rogers said.
Their appointment coincides with the departure of board member Tim McCormack who served on the WVA board for more than six years, and for a time as chair.
Mr Rogers said Mr McCormack’s “expertise, leadership and wisdom have been invaluable to World Vision, and so we are extremely grateful for his service and dedication to our mission”.
