Executive spotlight
Over 3,000 operators provide retirement living, aged care and support in the home to more than 1.5 million older Australians. 360,000 staff and 100,000 suppliers are engaged every day. It’s a $40 billion a year sector delivering vital services for our older citizens. At SATURDAY, we believe we should recognise and celebrate the leaders in this challenging but rewarding sector.
Chris Blake
Group Chief Executive Officer, St Vincent’s Health Australia
Chris leads St Vincent’s Health Australia, the nation’s largest Not For Profit health and aged care provider with 16 hospitals, 23 aged care services and 30,000 staff across three states.
He brings more than 30 years’ executive experience across major transformations in financial services and the public sector. As Executive General Manager at Australia Post (2010-2018), he helped drive one of Australia’s largest organisational turnarounds, repositioning the business for growth in parcels and eCommerce.
He has held senior roles at National Australia Bank and Latitude Financial Services and maintains strong links to health and research as a Board Member of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Advisory Committee member for the Australian Epilepsy Project, and former Chair of the Brain Research Institute.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.
Michelle Bruggeman
Chief Operating Officer, Levande
Michelle is a highly experienced business transformation and growth leader with more than 30 years’ experience across the private equity, corporate, government and Not For Profit sectors.
Michelle is currently COO at Levande, one of Australia’s largest retirement living providers, supporting more than 10,000 residents across 59 communities nationwide. Prior to joining Levande, Michelle was Director of Melbourne Zoo at Zoos Victoria, where she led the transformation of the zoo into a world-leading conservation organisation.
Earlier in her career, she spent more than 20 years with YMCA Victoria, including in senior executive roles such as Deputy CEO and Chief of Corporate Services.
Michelle currently serves as Chair of Basketball Victoria and Vice President of the Property Council of Australia’s Retirement Living Council.
Jennene Buckley
Founding Partner, Enkindle Consulting
With nearly 30 years of experience in the health and aged care space, Jennene was the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of home care and disability support provider Feros Care for 20 years before founding her own consultancy business in 2021.
Jennene serves as a Director of the Aged Care IT Council Board and is a member of Bond University's Health Innovations Board. She has also served on the National Aged Care Advisory Council and is currently a Digital Health Advisor with the Australian Digital Health Agency.
A Fellow Certified Practicing Accountant and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Jennene was awarded an Honorary Doctor of the University (DUniv) by SCU for her leadership in aged care and innovation in 2022.
Nathan Cockerill
Chief Executive Officer, Keyton
Nathan has more than 25 years of experience in financial and operational leadership roles, including more than a decade in the retirement living sector. He is currently CEO of Keyton, one of Australia’s leading owners, operators and developers of retirement communities.
In 2023, Nathan successfully led the transition of the former Lendlease Retirement Living business to establish Keyton as an independent brand, marking a significant new chapter for the organisation and its portfolio of more than 75 retirement communities across Australia.
Nathan is also a member of the Retirement Living Industry Management Committee.
Grant Corderoy
Retired Senior Partner, StewartBrown
A key member of the Government’s Aged Care Taskforce, Grant would be regarded as one of the foremost financial and policy authorities for aged and community services in Australia.
He established the Audit and Aged Care Division of StewartBrown in 1990, which is now the market leader in providing audit and assurance services, and professional advisory and accounting services, to the aged and community services sector nationally.
Additionally, Grant initiated the StewartBrown Aged Care Financial Performance Benchmark Service in 1995, which has grown to be the dominant benchmarking service for this industry sector in Australia.
He also has significant experience in the commercial sector as a result of long-term secondment as the executive Finance Director for a large Australian and South East Asia/Pacific importing and distribution company.
Professor The Hon Greg Hunt
Honorary Enterprise Professor, University of Melbourne
Greg is a former senior Australian Government Cabinet Minister with more than 20 years of experience in leadership, strategy, public policy and governance across the health, innovation and environmental sectors.
He served as Australia’s Minister for Health from 2017 to 2022, leading the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and overseeing major reforms across telehealth, mental health, aged care and primary care.
Greg currently serves as Honorary Enterprise Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Services and the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne, and Honorary Professor at University College London. He also chairs the Advisory Council for the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University and the Novartis Foundation’s CARDIO4Cities Accelerator Steering Committee, while advising a range of businesses and not-for-profit organisations on strategy, leadership and innovation.
Greg holds a Master of Arts (International Relations) from Yale University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and Yale Fellow, along with Bachelor degrees in Laws (First Class Honours) and Arts (International Relations) from the University of Melbourne.
Jenni Hutchins
Chief Executive Officer, Warrigal
Jenni was appointed to her current role leading the NSW and ACT-based aged care, retirement living provider following a series of leadership roles in the Not For Profit and Government, most recently as the CEO of Big Fat Smile, a Not For Profit specialising in early childhood education.
A registered psychologist, she is a graduate Company Director on several boards including the Tresillian Family Care Centres and holds qualifications in business and people management from Harvard Business School.
Voni Leighton
Co-founder & Clinical Director, Vitalis Health
With more than 30 years of senior clinical and operational leadership, Voni Leighton co-founded Vitalis Health, a nurse-led organisation delivering hospital-level care in the home, in 2016.
Her experience spans ICU, Emergency and Hospital in the Home, with deep expertise in clinical governance, service design, workforce leadership and program implementation.
At Vitalis Health, Voni leads the development of integrated clinical pathways and scalable healthcare-at-home models, supporting aged care providers and health services to deliver high-acuity care outside traditional hospital settings.
She is a Board Member of the Hospital in the Home Society of Australasia and contributes to the advancement of national standards and best practice in in-home care.
Voni is also a Wound Fellow and educator and holds a Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy and Counselling.
Anne McCormack
Chief Executive Officer, mecwacare
Appointed to her current role in September 2023, Anne has extensive experience in private health insurance, community aged care, disability, mental health and tertiary health in the UK, US, Europe and Australia.
Having moved to Australia in 2007, Anne was previously Director of Operations at British Telecommunications and Head of Global Telecommunications Solutions with Agilent Technologies (part of Hewlett Packard) for five years.
More recently, she has held senior roles at home care provider Silverchain, private health insurer Medibank and private hospital group Healthscope.
Anne has also been the Chair of Hannah’s House, a non-profit organisation that provides health and support services to children and young people to 18 years who have a life-limiting condition or complex medical needs, for over six years.
Bronwyn Perry
Executive Director, Strategic Communications & Silverchain Foundation, Silverchain Group
Bronwyn is responsible for corporate affairs, brand and marketing, digital experience, fundraising and philanthropy, and community engagement at Silverchain Group, Australia’s leading home care provider, supporting more than 140,000 clients each year across the health and aged care sectors. She
Bronwyn has extensive experience designing corporate affairs, reform and engagement strategies across government, listed businesses and the Not For Profit sector. She has provided policy and political expertise to State Premiers in both Victoria and Tasmania, including serving as Chief of Staff to the Tasmanian Deputy Premier, where she led a significant transformation agenda.
Prior to joining Silverchain, Bronwyn led External Affairs for Medibank’s health services business, supporting initiatives across hospital-in-the-home, digital health, provider engagement, healthcare mergers and acquisitions, and new patient-centred models of care.
Andrew Thorburn
Chief Executive Officer, HammondCare
With over 20 years of experience in senior roles across public and private banking, advisory and healthcare organisations, Andrew joined independent Christian charity HammondCare in June last year
Prior to this, he served as an Executive Director at For Purpose Investment Partners, supporting social impact investments.
Andrew holds a Master of Business Administration and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Paul Thorne
Chief Executive Officer, Woodbridge Retirement Village
Paul has over 25 years of experience in senior executive, corporate leadership and board roles across the aged care, retirement living, community services and local government sectors. He has led organisations through significant change, driving innovation, improving business performance and building high-performing, customer-focused teams.
He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Woodbridge Retirement Village, a Not For Profit provider of independent retirement living, and also serves as a Board Member. Prior to this, Paul established his own consulting practice, advising organisations on strategy, performance improvement and organisational transformation, and has held senior leadership roles with ECH Inc and Adelaide City Council.
Paul holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of South Australia and a Graduate Diploma of Management. He is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
Paul Wilson
Co-Founder & CEO, Lumin
Paul leads Lumin, a technology company focused on helping older Australians and New Zealanders live more connected, independent and vibrant lives for longer and support the evolving needs of the retirement living, home care and aged care sectors.
Under Paul’s leadership, Lumin has developed an end-to-end technology platform combining purpose-built hardware, cloud infrastructure, applications and support services designed specifically for care environments. Today, the Lumin CareHub is deployed across Australia and New Zealand, supporting providers to improve resident wellbeing and enable ageing in place.
A passionate advocate for innovation and technology in care, Paul works closely with operators, government and industry bodies as ageing in place becomes an increasingly important focus for the sector. He is also a Good Design Award winner and a strong supporter of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
