The Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust has a board of eight Trustees, who are responsible to the Minister for the Environment.

The Trustees duties are to oversee the strategic objectives and policy direction of the organisation, most notably in the areas of:

• maintaining and improving Trust lands;
• encouraging the use and enjoyment of Trust lands by the public by promoting and increasing the recreational, historical, scientific, educational, cultural and environmental value of those lands;
• ensuring the protection of the environment within Trust lands; and
• maintaining the right of the public to the use of Trust lands.

The Trustees meet between six and eight times per year for full Trust meetings, and are also involved in a number of sub-committees relating to finance and audit.

Current Trustees

Mr John Walker - Chairman

B.Bus

Mr John Walker is currently Executive Chairman of Planet Power Energy Ltd. He was previously Managing Director of Thrifty Australia Pty Ltd between 1998 and 2008 and prior to that General Manager, Retail Banking with Westpac Banking Corporation from 1995-1998.

Mr Walker has also served as CEO for Liverpool City Council, Dominos Pizza (Australia) Pty Ltd and the West Coast Eagles Football Club. Mr Walker is a Director of the publicly listed Newsat Ltd and also a number of Private companies and is a former Councillor of Woollahra Municipal Council.

Appointed to the Trust February 1998
Term expires February 2013

Ms Yvette Pietsch - Deputy Chairman

B.Bus, M.Tax

Ms Yvette Pietsch is a Taxation and Business Advisory Partner at Pitcher Partners NSW.

She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a Fellow of the Taxation Institute of Australia.

Ms Pietsch is a local resident who is actively involved with Centennial Parklands and many of its facilities.

Appointed February 2004
Term expires February 2013

Ms Anne Keating

Ms Anne Keating is a company director and holds board positions in a range of industries including advertising, banking, and property. She is on the boards of the Goodman Group Limited, Macquarie Leisure Group Limited and STW Communications Group Limited.

Ms Keating is also a member of the Advisory Council of RBS Group (Australia) Pty Ltd and Governor of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. Her former Boards include Insurance Australia Group Limited, NRMA, the WorkCover Authority of NSW, the Tourism Task Force and an inaugural director at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. Anne was the General Manager, Australia for United Airlines from 1993 to 2001.

Appointed June 2008
Term expires May 2012 

Ms Lindley Edwards

Ms Lindley Edwards is currently the Group Managing Director of AFG Venture Group. She is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia. Ms Edwards is also a non-executive Director and Advisory Board member of various organisations including Asialink and the Asia Society.

In addition, she is a Governor of the Centennial Parklands Foundation, Member of the Australian Federal Government Co-Operative Research Committee , and a non-Executive Director of the University of Western Sydney Foundation. In the year 2000 Ms Edwards was admitted to the Australian Businesswomen's Halll of Fame.

Appointed November 2010
Term expires April 2014

Ms Ita Buttrose AO, OBE

Ms Ita Buttrose is an accomplished communicator advising corporate, community and welfare organisations and has a wealth of experience across a broad range of industry sectors. She combines many roles – businesswoman, journalist and author. She currently runs a specialist publishing company in Sydney; appears regularly on the Nine Network’s Today program as a social commentator and advises clients on brand marketing. She is national president of Alzheimer’s Australia, the NSW Government representative on the Australian Bravery Decorations Council, Advisory Board Member of the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Member of the Sydney Symphony Council. She is also Vice President Emeritus of Arthritis Australia and national patron of the Macular Degeneration Foundation.

Ms Buttrose has had a distinguished media career. She was the Founding Editor of Cleo Magazine, the youngest-ever editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly, and the first woman to edit a major metropolitan newspaper in Australia when appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Daily & Sunday Telegraphs.

As a Centennial Park local, Ms Buttrose is a frequent visitor to Centennial Park and formerly served as a Trustee from 1993 to 1996.

Appointed March 2012
Term expires February 2016

Mr Lesli Berger

BA LLB

Mr Lesli Berger is currently the General Manager of Fivex Commercial Property. Mr Berger has been involved in several high-profile award-winning developments, the most notable of which is the redevelopment of the old Westpac Bank building on the corner of New South Head Road and Knox Street, Double Bay. A member of the Liberal Party, Mr Berger was also a former councillor of Woollahra Council, President of the Vaucluse Young Liberals and is currently a member of the Darling Point Branch.

Appointed March 2012
Term expires February 2016

Mr Giles Edmonds

MA (Cantab), MSc, Dip Comm

Mr Edmonds was appointed to the Community Consultative Committee in January 2010 and has been its Chairman since February 2012.

Mr Edmonds is currently the Head of Business Performance at MLC, National Australia Bank. With many years experience as a senior executive in the finance industry, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Trustee board. Having lived next to Centennial Park for the last 25 years, Mr Edmonds is interested in assisting the Parklands remain financially strong so that all users, both existing and future generations, can continue to share the great experiences the Parklands has to offer.

Appointed February 2012
Term expires February 2014

Former Trustees

For information on previous Trustees since 1983, click here.