Council Members

Ian Gillespie is a Minister-appointed Council Member. Ian has an extensive background in the public and private sectors, holding senior executive positions covering finance, administration, strategy, and general management.

His previous appointments include senior Finance Director positions at the Department of Education and Communities; General Manager, Finance at the NSW TAFE Commission; Director, Finance and Administration and Director, Strategic Planning at the Ministry of Education and Youth Affairs; and Chief Accountant at the NSW Department of Motor Transport.

Ian has served on the Justice Health and Forensic Health Board and the Bureau of Health Information Board. He has been appointed to various government committees where service enhancement, strategic risk management, probity issues and compliance with government regulatory requirements were paramount.

Ian is currently appointed to the Audit and Risk Committees of the Parliament of NSW; the Department of Communities and Justice; the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission; the Clinical Excellence Commission and the Agency for Clinical Innovation; the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District; and the Institute of Public Administration Australia NSW.

Ian has also undertaken independent consultancies covering service outcomes, risk management, policy setting, financial management and corporate restructuring.

Ian is a Fellow with CPA Australia; a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders; and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

David has close to 30 years' experience in the property and management industry. Prior to establishing his own boutique property group in 2007, he was the Chief Executive Officer (Asia Pacific) of the ASX listed Goodman Group. Before being appointed as CEO (Asia Pacific), David was Goodman Group's Chief Operating Officer.

David worked for Goodman for more than a decade and before joining them he was the Fund Manager of ASX listed Paladin Industrial Fund and an Associate Director of CDH Properties (acquired by KPMG).

David has a proven track record at both executive and Board levels in the development and implementation of effective business strategy. He also has extensive and practical experience in change management.

David is the Chairman and an Independent Director of the Kennards Self Storage Group. He is also the Chairman and an Independent Director of the ASX listed 360 Capital Group Limited. David is a Fellow of the Australian Property Institute.

David grew up in regional New South Wales and now lives in Sydney with his wife and three sons. He understands the challenges and rewards for rural based students studying an undergraduate degree at University.  He completed his postgraduate studies in Management and Business at the University of New England (UNE) via correspondence. Studying at UNE allowed David to meet both the demands of a senior executive role and the responsibilities of helping to raise a young family.

David holds a Bachelor of Business (Land Economy) from the University of Western Sydney, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Management and a Masters in Business Administration from UNE.

David is the UNE Council-appointed member on the UNE Foundation Board.

Megan is a senior executive with extensive experience in the financial services and education sectors in Asia and Australia, in the areas of online education, digital transformation and innovation, marketing and strategic communications.

More recently, Megan was a member of the executive leadership team at TAFE NSW and Head of TAFE Digital based in Armidale. In this role, she oversaw the delivery of online education to 100,000 students and managed the institute’s digital product development functions and innovation pipeline. She successfully established the TAFE NSW Digital Headquarters in Armidale and pioneered the institute’s first Digital Learning Lab, to trial and pilot new education and training technologies.

Megan is passionate about UNE, having worked with our institute in a number of roles including Head of Strategic Projects Unit, Non-Executive Director/Board Member of UNE Life, and as a consultant within the Office of Strategy Management, to develop UNE’s Digital Charter. She has a deep understanding of UNE’s operations, challenges and competitive opportunities.

She has lived and worked in Asia where she worked as a senior executive for multi-nationals including JPMorgan, ABN AMRO, UBS Warburg and Fidelity International, in the areas of corporate public affairs, M&A communications, brand and marketing. This experience provided Megan with strong commercial and business acumen, exposure to international business opportunities, and an understanding of financial investment principles.

She is currently the Managing Director of Hedgerow Consultancy that provides consultancy services to educational organisations in digital transformation and student experience.

She holds a Bachelor of Business degree and Master Arts (Comms) from the University of Technology, Sydney; Change Management certification from the University of Sydney; and has completed the Digital Disruption: Digital Transformation Strategies programme at the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). Megan divides her time between Sydney and her property in Armidale.

Russell Evans is a global technology and media industry executive with considerable experience in digital technology, business strategy, international markets, sales, product & marketing. Over the past 25 years, Russell has lived in and worked across Asia for a variety of high-profile, complex technology organisations.

Most recently Russell was the CEO of Wolters Kluwer across the Asia Pacific, Africa & South American regions. He led a team of 900 staff across numerous countries in a role encompassing business performance & leadership, strategy, cloud-based software & content development, mergers & acquisitions, governance & risk management. Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer in 2010, Russell held senior executive roles at IBM, Hyperion Solutions, Veda Advantage & Vodafone.

During his time at IBM, Russell spent many years interacting with the small business segment across the Asia Pacific, particularly in relation to how they utilise technology to improve productivity, enhance decision making and boost financial performance. During his time at Veda Advantage, Russell experienced extensive media exposure, commenting on issues ranging from the supply of credit to small business, cash flow management and the links between GDP growth and small business performance.

Russell is currently deputy chairman for Make-A-Wish Australia and is also on the board of Can Assist.

Russell holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing), a Masters of Business Administration which he gained from UNE in 1998 and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Phil is a senior executive with over 20 years’ experience in the financial and legal services industries. He is an Executive Director with Macquarie Group and its Head of Governance. In addition to his professional interests in corporate governance, operational risk management and employment law he is passionate about the evolution of leadership, ethical decision-making and workplace mental health & wellbeing.

Phil completed primary and secondary schooling in Armidale before graduating from UNE in 1998 with a BA/LLB (Hons). He has post-graduate qualifications from Cambridge University (LLM) and UNE (Grad DipEd). He lives in the New England region with his family and is partial to cycling, cricket and football.

Jan McClelland AM is a Council-appointed Councillor of the University of New England and has previously served as a Minister-appointed Council Member. Jan is an experienced chief executive and senior executive in government administration, management consultant, chairperson and non-executive director of organisations in the government, private and not for profit sectors.

Jan is a former Director General of the NSW Department of Education and Training and Managing Director of the NSW TAFE Commission. She is currently the Managing Director of Jan McClelland & Associates Pty Ltd, a company providing consultancy services across public, private and not for profit sector organisations in the areas of strategic planning, reviews of functions, programs, structures and services, organisational performance and capability and industry codes of practice.

Jan is Chair of the Superannuation Industry's Gateway Network Governance Body and Chair of HeartKids Limited. She is a Director of Stewart House, a member of the Advisory Board of NSW Circular and member of the Audit and Risk Committees of the Judicial Commission of NSW and Local Government NSW.

Jan has served on a number of Boards including as Chair of NSW Businesslink Pty Ltd from 2004 to 2012, Chair of Epilepsy Action Australia from 2009 to 2016, Chair of the Medical Technology Association of Australia from 2012 to 2014 and as Chair of the Professional Practice Review Committee of the NSW Consumer Tenancy and Trader Tribunal. She was a member of the Motor Accidents Authority Council from 2006 to 2012, Waste Services Environmental Solutions from 2005 to 2011, Central Coast Redevelopment Authority from 2005 to 2011, State Transit Authority 2006 to 2010; Stewart House Preventorium from 2004 to 2010 and UNE Partnerships from 2014 to 2017.

Jan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree and a Bachelor of Legal Studies. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, a Fellow of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders and a Member of the Institute of Public Administration of Australia.

Ms Jan McClelland was awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia, for "significant service to a range of education, business, social welfare and community organisations and to public administration", in the Australian Day 2015 honours list.

In 2014, Ms McClelland was elected as UNE's Deputy Chancellor and was re-appointment to that role in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022. 2020 marked her 20^th anniversary as a member on the UNE Council.

Col Murray is a retired business man with a long career in the construction industry. He also owned and operated for sixteen years an eight hundred hectare grazing property at Bendemeer. He also has extensive experience in Local Government, with seventeen years service on Tamworth Regional Council, eleven of which as Mayor.

Col has been a passionate advocate for a University Campus in Tamworth, and has worked closely with the UNE project since it’s inception.

He has a demonstrated passion for regional development, particularly with regard to strategy and policy, and is excited to have the opportunity to be part on the UNE team in this challenging and fast pace era of change.

Profile pending

Profile pending

Dominic Horneman is currently completing his final year of a Bachelor of Medical Science, Doctor of Medicine at the University of New England. Dom initially commenced at UNE as a school leaver in 2016 studying various degrees including Arts and Languages to Business and Science before commencing his current degree in 2020.

Dom’s experience across this broad range of degrees, studying both as an on-campus and online student and also working for UNE as a student support officer has provided him with a unique insight to our diverse cohort of students and the challenges they experience, especially the lasting impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dom believes that it is important to have a broad understanding of all aspects of the University to be a successful student representative. During his time as the Student Representative on the UNE Council, he aims to instil the morals and values he has gained from his experiences at UNE to ensure each student feels valued and supported as they progress through their degrees.