Kylie Watson-Wheeler, B.A (Politics & Literature)

President

Appointed Director December 2013

Appointed President December 2020

Board Responsibilities within the Organisation

• President - Western Bulldogs Football Club

• Member of the Finance Audit and Risk Committee

Kylie Watson-Wheeler is the Senior Vice President & Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand and the Head of Sports Network ESPN for Asia-Pacific. Kylie is responsible for The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand across Film, TV, live events, digital, content distribution and streaming services. She manages a portfolio of content and products across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, ABC Studios (US), 20th Century Fox and National Geographic. She also has regional responsibility for ESPN across the Asia Pacific Region. Kylie has 20+ years of entertainment industry experience and has led multiple areas of the business across The Walt Disney Company including content, marketing, sales, consumer products, theatrical distribution, publishing and local production.

Jerril Rechter AM, FAICD, MBL, BEd

Vice-President

Appointed January 2018

Appointed Vice President December 2024

Board Responsibilities within the Organisation

• Vice President - Western Bulldogs Football Club

• Board Director - Western Bulldogs Community Foundation

Jerril Rechter AM is an accomplished strategic leader with decades of award-winning experience spanning corporate, government, and not-for-profit sectors. She has held senior executive positions including Chief Executive Officer of VicHealth, Chief Executive Officer of Basketball Australia and Vice President of Business Development Australia and New Zealand at The Walt Disney Company. Her work has focused on organisational strategy, commercial growth, and championing diversity, equity and inclusion in complex and competitive environments.

Ameet Bains, LL.B (Hons), BBus (Banking and Finance)

CEO and Director

Appointed January 2018

Board Responsibilities within the Organisation

• Western Bulldogs - Chief Executive Officer

• Western Bulldogs Community Foundation - Director

• Western Bulldogs Forever Foundation - Director

Ameet Bains has been CEO of the Western Bulldogs since 2017, bringing 15 years of senior AFL industry experience. Within the AFL, he has served on multiple advisory groups, completed the AFL Executive Leadership Program, and received the prestigious Graeme Samuel Scholarship. Previously, he was COO at St Kilda Football Club, overseeing different aspects of the Club’s strategy, commercial, and football operations. His career began as a competition and regulatory lawyer at Minter Ellison before Ameet headed up Toyota Australia’s Legal Department. During his career Ameet has also served on several Boards as a non-Executive Director and is currently a CEO member of the Champions of Change Coalition, a body that aims to achieve gender equality and advance women into leadership positions.

Sue Clark

Company Secretary and Chief Operating Officer

Appointed May 2018

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Commerce (Deakin University)

• Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting (C.A) (Insitute of Chartered Accountants)

Experience

• Western Bulldogs - Chief Operating Officer & Company Secretary

• SpiritWest Foundation Ltd trading as Western Bulldogs Community Foundation – Company Secretary

• Western Bulldogs Forever Foundation – Company Secretary

• Geelong Arts Centre - Director and Chair of Finance and I.T Committee

Luke Darcy

Director

Appointed April 2020

Board Responsibilities within the Organisation

• Director of Football

Luke Darcy has more than 17 years’ experience in AFL broadcasting and media through the Seven Network and Triple M. A former Club Captain, having played 226 games, he is the co-founder of Aleda, a global leadership and education business working with elite sporting and business leaders worldwide. Luke is also an investor and owner in Sukhavati Health Retreats and PSS Swimland, Australia’s largest learn-to-swim organisation.

Belinda Duarte AM, BEd

Director

Appointed December 2019

Board Responsibilities within the Organisation

• Diversity, Inclusion and First Nations Activity

Ballarat born and raised, Belinda Duarte is a proud Wotjobaluk/Dja Dja Wurrung woman, a former elite athlete and sports administrator passionate about high performance and social equity. Governance & leadership roles underpin over 25 years of experience across sectors including, Statutory bodies, AFL clubs & Sporting organisations, First Nations led bodies, NFPs & Philanthropy. Belinda's primary skills include strategic leadership, ethical governance, cross-cultural stakeholder relations, program expertise and advocacy.

Mark Evans

Director

Appointed Jaunary 2016

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Business, Accounting (Swinburne Institute of Technology)

• Bachelor of Business, Marketing (Swinburne Institute of Technology)

• Graduate Diploma, Applied Finance (Securities Institute)

Experience

• Tattoo Removal Partners Pty Ltd – Chairman

• Normanby Capital Pty Ltd – Chairman

• Edge Early Learning Holdings Ltd – Chairman

• HEAL Partners Pty Ltd – Director

• Higher Ground Ltd – Director

• The Fertility Partners Ltd – Director

Lisa Fitzpatrick AO - RN, Grad Dip Hlth Ed and Adv Nursing, Grad AIST

Director

Appointed August 2018

Board Responsibilities within Organisation

• Awards and Honours Committee

•Member of Ethics and Integrity

Lisa Fitpatrick was State Secretary of the Australian and Nursing Midwifery Federation (Vic Branch), leading the negotiations for nurses and midwives salaries, terms and conditions across the state. She worked with the State Government to embed in legislation and implement the world first Nursing and Midwifery to Patient Ratios. She also initiated the establishment of the Nursing and Midwifery Health Program of Victoria. Under her stewardship the union's membership increased from 32,000 to 111,000 in 24 years. Lisa Is also a Director of one Australia's largest Superannuation funds - Aware Super.

Fiona McGauchie, LL.B(Hons), BCom, MBA

Director

Appointed April 2015

Board Responsibilities within the Organisation

• Western Bulldogs Forever Foundation - Director

Fiona is the Country Leader - Aust/NZ for global leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder, advising Boards and CEOs on critical leadership decisions. A former lawyer (infrastructure and project finance) with Corrs Chambers Westgarth and in-house counsel with Linfox Group. Fiona also serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Business and Economics, is an Independent Member of Tennis Australia’s Nominations Committee, and is a former Chair of Malthouse Theatre.

Andrew Westacott, GAICD, BE(Chem)

Director

Appointed December 2023

Board Responsibilities within the Organisation

• Member of the Finance Audit and Risk Committee

Andrew Westacott served as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) for 13-years, successfully overseeing Australia’s Formula 1 and MotoGP events. Prior to this, Andrew held senior roles at AGPC, including four years as General Manager – Operations, following two years as Group Manager (Venue Delivery) for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation. Prior to joining AGPC, Andrew built a strong foundation in manufacturing and FMCG, spending 11 years at Mars Petcare in various logistics, procurement, and supply chain roles. Currently, Andrew serves as a Director of Karting Australia.