Board of Directors
The functions of the Board of a public health service are prescribed by the Health Services (Governance and Accountability) Act 2004. The Governor in Council, on the Minister for Health's recommendation, appoints the DHSV Board of Directors. Members reflect a mix of qualifications, skills and experience, particularly in the areas of dental health, community welfare, finance and business.
David Stevenson (Chair)
BBus(Mgt) and GAICD
Appointed to the Board in July 2018
David has over 25 years’ experience as a CEO and Senior Executive, both in Australia and internationally. He is currently the CEO for the National Basketball League Group, was formerly CEO of the Western Bulldogs, General Manager Operations for the AFL and had a 17-year career at Nike including as a Vice President. Throughout these roles, David has delivered strong growth in revenue, profitability, transformation of businesses and bought disparate stakeholders together. David is passionate about developing people, setting a bold vision, developing a strong strategic plan, and focusing on delivery to achieve results.
Nicole Bartholomeusz (Deputy Chair)
Dip Appl. Sci. (Dental Therapy), GDCH, MBA, GAICD
Appointed to the Board in July 2020
Nicole Bartholomeusz has worked extensively in public health and government in executive and non-executive roles for over 20 years and is currently the Chief Executive of cohealth and has a strong interest in health policy and health system redesign. Nicole’s background as a clinician, combined with a Master of Business Administration and experience delivering public health services, puts her in a unique position to provide leadership within the health services sector. Nicole also has extensive governance experience having served as a non-executive Board Director in a number of organisations across the health sector.
Sue Banks
FCCA, MBA, GAICD
Appointed to the Board in July 2019
Chair: Finance Committee
Member: People & Culture Committee and Audit and Risk
Sue has over 20 years of board level executive and non-executive director experience across a wide range of service sectors with a recent focus on organisations with a strong community purpose. Her current boards include: Vision Australia, where she also chairs the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee; The Bridge Inc., a significant Melbourne based disability services provider, where she is Deputy Chair and member of the Safety and Quality Committee; and South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network.
Sue is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a qualified accountant and MBA.
Candice Charles
B App Sc, MBA, MPH, GAICD
Appointed to the Board in July 2022
Candice has had a career in the financial, health and community sectors. She has a deep commitment to the human service sector, and in ensuring these services are accessible and effective for people in our community who are vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage.
Candice has held senior leadership positions in the financial services sector at National Australia Bank, Transport Accident Commission, in health and community service organisations including Good Shepherd Microfinance and Breast Cancer Network Australia.
Prior roles include Chair of Aruma Services (one of Australia’s largest providers of disability support services), Chair of The Tipping Foundation, Deputy Chair of the North Richmond Community Health Centre. She has served on the board of several other community organisations. Candice has a Master of Public Health and Business Administration from the University of Melbourne.
John Gavens
BCom (Hons), M.Acc., GAICD
Appointed to the Board in July 2019
John is an experienced board director having held directorships in water, education, coastal asset management, professional services, and the disability sectors. He has experience chairing or as a member of audit, risk management, customer advisory, executive performance and remuneration, environmental advisory, and reconciliation action plan committees. He is an independent member of several audit committees. John provides strong strategic thinking capability combined with sound technical skills.
John has a background in auditing, risk management and internal audit, specialising in the public sector and local government. He is currently a member of the Professional Conduct Overview Committee of Chartered Accountants ANZ. John was a Registered Company Auditor and was a member of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. He has also been a volunteer member of CAANZ Advisory Group for over 20 years.
Catherene Pham
M.S, Adv. Grad. Specialist Cert. (Prosthodontics), BDS, BSc (Hons), GAICD, FGIA
Appointed to the Board in July 2024
Catherene’s diverse background as a Specialist Prosthodontist Dental Surgeon in Australia, internationally, a business executive and technology visionary with over 25 years of experience, puts her in a unique position to provide leadership within the health services sector. She is passionate about equitable accessibility to the highest standard of healthcare, legal resources and education for all socio-economic communities, empowering domestic violence victim-survivors, data cyber protection and clinical governance.
Catherene is the CEO and Chair of BioPhamTech Group Pty Ltd; and Managing Director of Transnovate Pty Ltd, revolutionizing the world's first and only protected technology for women’s health hormones and Alzheimer's biomarkers continuous monitoring.
Charles Power
BEc (Hons) LLB
Appointed to the Board in July 2020
Charles is a legal practitioner with more than 30 years of experience in workplace relations and safety law. He has been partner of the law firm Holding Redlich since 2002. His board experience includes chairing the OHV Audit and Risk Committee and service on the Committee of Early Learning Association Australia between 2014 and 2018.
Charles is accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as a workplace relations specialist.
Katherine Stevens
BN JD
Appointed to the Board in July 2021
Katherine has worked extensively in public health as a nurse, lawyer, and leader for over 20 years at a variety of public health services across Victoria. She is currently Special Counsel at Health Law Partners Pty Ltd and Member of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Appeals Committee.
Katherine has significant expertise in matters of governance, the law, and Board operations. Her leadership within the health sector is informed by both her background as a clinician, and her qualifications in law and experience delivering public health services. Katherine has significant experience in cross-disciplinary collaboration, working with teams of experts to identify and respond to issues inherent in corporate, strategic, clinical, and enterprise risks.
Antony Tobin
MBBS, FRACP, FCICM, FRACMA, DTM&H, MEpi, MHM
Appointed to the Board in July 2018
Antony is the Chief Medical Officer at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. He trained in respiratory and intensive care medicine and has worked as a consultant in the intensive care unit at St Vincent’s since 2003.
Antony chairs a number of quality and planning committees within the hospital and has research interests in clinical outcome analysis. He has post graduate qualifications in epidemiology and health management.
