Corporate Governance

Frances Coppolillo has an extensive history with Melbourne Polytechnic, most recently as Deputy CEO where she has led the College, Schools and a range of student focussed departments since September 2014.

Prior to this, Ms Coppolillo was the Deputy Director Programs – Teaching and Learning, and has extensive experience in education, joining the VET sector as a teacher in 1986. Through her career progression, she has held a range of teaching, management and leadership positions including fourteen years as the Associate Director of Melbourne Polytechnic’s Faculty of Further Education.

Ms Coppolillo was also a founding director on the Board of the TAFE Development Centre (now the VET Development Centre), and has led projects in learning resource development, and best practice projects in student engagement and retention.

Frances has been a member of a number of regional development committees including Northern RDA and Local Learning and Employment Networks. Her qualifications include Bachelor of Education and Masters in Social Sciences (Policy and Management).

Ms Coppolillo is the first female CEO of Melbourne Polytechnic, formerly NMIT.

Ms Clarke began her career teaching at Preston East Technical School and subsequently held executive and senior roles in the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Human Services.

Ms Clarke has worked in policy and operational roles including curriculum development, school governance and stakeholder relations.

As deputy chair of Bank Australia and its predecessor, Education Credit Union Pty Ltd Ms Clarke is an experienced company director practised in board governance including risk, remuneration, audit and sustainable development strategy.

In addition to Diplomas in Social Science and Education, Ms Clarke holds a qualification from the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Fellow of the Institute.

Tali Bernard is currently serving as a board member and Deputy Chair of the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service. She is also a member of the School Council at Clifton Hill Primary School.

Ms Bernard practised as a lawyer for over 18 years in the areas of family law and personal injury litigation. She is committed to improving access to justice and access to education for all Victorians. She is also passionate about alternative dispute resolution.

Ms Bernard has had many years experience as a board member in the Community Legal Service sector, including being a board member of Women’s Legal Service Victoria (WLSV) for over 11 years. As a board member of WLSV, Ms Bernard assisted with an organisational restructure and change in strategy which enhanced WLSV’s casework capacity and facilitated a focus on relationship breakdown and violence against women.

In addition to her legal qualifications, Ms Bernard has a Bachelor of Arts, is a former student of Melbourne Polytechnic and is a graduate of the Company Directors Course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Karen Janiszewski has over 15 years’ experience working on a number of Boards and is an experienced Committee chair.

She is Currently the Chair of the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds Joint Venture and is a board member of The Queen Elizabeth Centre, Unity Housing and Venture Housing.  

Karen previously serviced on the Boards of King and Godfree Pty Ltd; Embracia Aged Care Pty Ltd; Uniting Aged Care (Victoria and Tasmania); The University of Adelaide, Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning and Flinders University Centre for Housing and Planning.

Ms Janiszewski has extensive business, commercial, general management, property and construction skills developed in a range of line management and consulting roles across many industry sectors.

Ms Janiszewski is a Professional Non Executive Director and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ian Bruce Munro has extensive experience in economic development across a broad range of industry sectors, and in regulatory and land supply matters. Mr Munro was the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of Invest Assist, and served as a board member of the Metropolitan Planning Authority/Growth Areas Authority and the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council for several terms.

He held various executive roles in the then Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development including as Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Secretary and Executive Director and as a specialist consultant to the Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources for many years.

Mr Munro holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Surveying), is a Licensed Surveyor and holds a qualification from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

He was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2007 and Centenary Medal in 2001.

Michael Grogan has been State Director Victoria and Tasmania, and National Director Skills and Training at the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) since May 2016. 

The Industry Growth Centre Initiative is the centrepiece of the Australian Government’s Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda. There are six Growth Centres focused on where Australia excels. The Initiative enables national action on key issues by improving capabilities to engage with international markets and global supply chains, enhancing management and workforce skills, encouraging collaboration and the commercialisation of new products, and identifying opportunities to reduce regulatory burden. 

Today, Australian manufacturing employs close to 1.3 million people representing over 10% of the Australian workforce. It contributes over $9 billion per month in exports of goods and services and files more patents than any other sector. It a vibrant and dynamic industry that is undergoing profound transformation with the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies, automation and artificial intelligence.

Michael joined AMGC having led Sutton Tools for almost two decades as CEO. Under his leadership, Sutton Tools employed 375 workers across three locations in Victoria. In addition, he managed manufacturing facilities and operational outlets in New Zealand, Singapore and Europe. Michael launched successful joint ventures in India and the Netherlands and boosted the company’s revenue through extending its sales reach in international markets including South East Asia and China. 

Michael’s role with AMGC is to oversee manufacturing opportunities in Australia’s southern region and driving collaboration between industry and research institutions for positive commercial outcomes.

Michael has a national focus for lifting Australia’s manufacturing skillset. As a strong advocate for technical skills, apprenticeships and tertiary qualifications, Michael is committed to making sure training packages and links with universities remain top of the education agenda. 

Michael is a board member of Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC), sits on two of Australian Government Industry Reference Committees (IRCs), is heavily involved in Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS), sits on the Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE) Board – a Victorian State Government Statutory Authority and is Chair of the William Ruthven School Council.

Fiona Wahr has over 20 years’ experience working in the TAFE and university sector. Her career has focussed on learning and teaching development where she has led and facilitated a broad range of innovative programs working with teaching staff, which ultimately improve students’ learning experience and outcomes. She has a depth of experience in educational quality management and assurance, curriculum design and delivery, adult education, academic governance and policy development and project management.

Fiona works at Melbourne Polytechnic in the role of Senior Lecturer, Applied Research and Scholarship, where she promotes and supports Melbourne Polytechnic staff engagement in applied research and scholarship. Fiona chairs Melbourne Polytechnic’s Applied Research and Ethics Committee (2016 to present) and is a member of the Melbourne Polytechnic Applied Research Committee. She is also inaugural co-convenor of the Small Providers Network (SPN), a group established by the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia’s (HERDSA) Victorian branch, to promote learning and teaching research and development amongst non-university higher education institutions.

Fiona is an active researcher and regularly publishes in the field of higher education transformation. Her doctoral research combined her twin passions of sustainability education and collaborative peer learning. Her PhD. thesis is entitled Embedded: The contribution of a facilitated action research curriculum change project to sustainability learning in an Australian university context (2015, RMIT University, Melbourne). Amongst her current research is a collaborative project for which Fiona (as lead researcher) received a 2019 Melbourne Polytechnic Research and Scholarship Seeding Grant for Exploring and mitigating human ethics implications of students work placement learning.