Staff - Commission

An experienced Senior Executive with an extensive background in strategy, technology, transforming, motivating and leading teams in complex technical, business and stakeholder environments.

Growing up in Northern Country Victoria, Ashley moved to Geelong studying IT Systems Engineering before heading to Melbourne to further his career with Telstra and working across many industries including Aviation and Banking.

Ashley is a strategic thinker and enjoys the responsibility of being part of an Executive Leadership Team and a Board. He is a keen advocate for organisations with a strong purpose for improving community outcomes.

Asley is currently the Executive Director, Strategic Delivery at WorkSafe Victoria.

David has been part of the AFL Barwon Commission for the past five years and is currently the Chairperson for the Operations Committee. David currently works at the NAB and has done so for 34 years, primarily within the Business Banking area. David has held senior roles including Head of Business Banking at NAB Business in Geelong.

He has extensive experience in financial management, strategic planning, staff management and building customer relationships.

His sporting roles include 13 seasons playing senior football, including five senior premierships. He spent 16 years on the football committee at North Shore FC, seven years as treasurer and six as president. David is a North Shore Life Member and Hall of Fame inductee, as well as being a life member of the Geelong Football League.

David has also had twenty years of senior cricket at North Geelong Cricket Club. He was on the committee for five years, and held the position of junior cricket president for five years.. He is also a life member of the club.

An experienced digital marketer, Ethan is a creative and strategic thinker who is motivated to provide innovative digital solutions to help others succeed in an evolving digital landscape.

Ethan completed his Bachelor of Communications at Deakin University and has a minor in International Relations. A Geelong local and a Geelong Cats tragic, Ethan has been actively involved in sports from a young age.

Ethan is currently a Digital Marketing Specialist at Arthur St, working with a range of eCommerce and service based clients.

Having previously assisted various non-for-profits in their marketing efforts, Ethan is excited to be part of a board and organisation that places an emphasis on improving community outcomes.

Kim is a CPA-qualified professional with 20 years’ experience in the sports, venues, and major events industry. He has held senior roles with some of Australia’s most recognised organisations, including the MCG, Marvel Stadium, the AFL and Visit Victoria, where he led the development of major event partnerships and funding strategies.

He brings deep expertise in financial management, governance, and strategic planning, and has advised boards and executive teams on major projects, commercial growth strategies, and stakeholder engagement across both government and community sectors. 

Based in Ocean Grove with his young family, Kim has a long-standing connection to community sport, with over 30 years’ involvement as a player, club committee member, and now coach of the Ocean Grove U10 girls. He is passionate about strengthening community football and netball, and supporting sustainable, inclusive participation pathways across the region.

Kim is currently the Director of Tighthead Advisory, a consultancy providing strategic and commercial advice to organisations in sport, government, and the community sector.

Michelle is a seasoned executive leader with a wealth of experience and a strong drive for success. Her expertise lies in strategic planning, transformational leadership, stakeholder engagement, and project management.

With a deep passion for sports, Michelle earned a Sports Administration degree from Victoria University and has since contributed her skills in various paid and voluntary roles throughout her career. Notably, she spent six years at Netball Victoria, where she held the position of General Manager for High Performance and Commercial. She also played a pivotal role in the leadership team for the Australian Masters Games in Geelong in 2013. Additionally, Michelle has valuable experience working with the Department of Justice and Community Safety in contract management and stakeholder engagement capacities.

Michelle serves as the General Manager of Read the Play, a mental health and literacy charity based in Geelong. The Read the Play program, under her leadership, aims to enhance young people's understanding of mental health and illness while fostering environments that encourage positive help-seeking behaviours and reduce judgment around mental health challenges. Michelle's leadership and dedication make her an invaluable asset to both the organisation and the community it serves.

Michelle's dedication to her local community is evident through her involvement as both a player and committee member at Bell Park Sport & Recreation Club from 2001 to 2016. During her tenure, she served in multiple roles, including President of the netball section and as the first female President of a Geelong Football Netball League club when she assumed the role of football President in 2012. Her commitment to the sporting community continued as she was elected Commissioner of AFL Barwon in 2016, taking on the role as Chairperson in 2022.

Nicola spent the majority of her childhood in Perth where she completed a degree in Asian studies, with a double major in Marketing and Japanese.

She has spent time working in the energy, water and mining sectors and in trade & investment with those roles seeing her work in Perth, London, Port Hedland, Melbourne and now Geelong.

Nicola works for WorkSafe Victoria, heading up the Research Team.  She started out with WorkSafe managing stakeholder engagement & communications and played a large part in the project team for integration of WorkSafe to Geelong and  community partnerships.  She then spent time in External Affairs, as a manager in the Legislations, Policy and Information Services and then led the Strategic Response for Silica. 

She has competed the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Course.

She has been involved in the judging for the Give Where You Live grants, Pako Festa and enters her sixth year as a Geelong Business Excellence Awards judge.

She is a mentor for the female networking group in Geelong, Business in Heels and also a mentor for the Women at WorkSafe mentoring program.

She loves to be active and takes her love of sport to the boardroom as a commissioner for AFL Barwon, now in her 8^th year. She's also passionate about youth mental health and with 3 children wants to make a difference through her involvement as a Board Member for Read the Play.

 Outside of working life, Nicola enjoys spending time with her family, cycling, yoga and travelling!

An experienced finance professional who has spent the previous 8+ years in finance and analyst roles with local wheel manufacturing company, Carbon Revolution. Sarah has developed a strong foundation in financial strategy, analysis and operational support within a high performance, innovation-driven environment.

In addition to Sarah’s professional career, she has spent 14 years in various volunteer roles at Geelong West Giants (and Geelong West Cheetahs F&C). Most notably, Sarah took on the Executive Chair position in 2019 and held the position until the end of 2024 which demonstrates a long-standing commitment to community, leadership and teamwork.

Sarah completed a Commerce degree, majoring in Sports Management at Curtin University of Technology and has undertaken multiple women in leadership courses over the past few years through Leisure Networks (Barwon Game Changer) and the Australian Sports Commission. Sarah has a passion for all types of sport as well as being a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity.