Our team

LEADER OF THE STRATEGIC COUNCIL

Professor Peter Shergold AC has over thirty years’ experience working at the highest levels of the Australian Public Service. Peter headed the Commonwealth agencies responsible for Multicultural Affairs, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Employment and Workplace Relations, and Education, Science and Training. He was Public Service Commissioner in 1996-97 and Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from 2003 to 2008.

Peter remains active in public administration. He is the Chair of the Australian Research Council and is the NSW Coordinator General for Settlement. He is also the Chair of the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). In the not-for-profit sector, Peter is the Chair of Australia for UNHCR and sits on the board of the McKinnon Foundation.

Peter was made a Member in the Order of Australia (AM) for public service in 1996 and became a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) in 2007. He received the Centenary Medal in 2003.

SENIOR ADVISOR

Nick Warner is a former Secretary of the Department of Defence, Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence (ONI), and Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS).

He has also held senior diplomatic posts, including Ambassador to Iran, High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, and Special Coordinator of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands.

His leadership in complex institutions enables him to advise expertly on governance, accountability, strategic review, and organisational performance improvement.

SENIOR ADVISOR

Elizabeth Cosson has over 31 years of experience in the Australian Defence Force, serving in senior roles across supply, logistics, strategy and planning.

She has also held key public sector leadership positions, including Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, President of the Repatriation Commission, and Chair of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission.

SENIOR ADVISOR

Duncan Lewis served the Australian Government for 47 years, both in and out of uniform, culminating as Director-General of Security and Head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

Across 15 years in the Australian Public Service, he held a range of senior national security and diplomatic roles, including Secretary of the Department of Defence, National Security Adviser to two Prime Ministers, and Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union, and NATO.

SENIOR ADVISOR

Wendy Southern’s career in the Australian Public Service involved leadership roles across a range of policy and programme management areas - from Health to Security to Immigration. In particular, Wendy served in Deputy Secretary roles with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (later Border Protection) and the Department of Health and Ageing.  

Wendy received the Public Service Medal in 2006 and the Outstanding Achievement in Public Administration Award in 2010.

SENIOR ADVISOR

John James Frewen has over 40 years of military experience including roles overseeing key defence, security and intelligence organisations, international military operations, and more recently, multi-agency government task forces.

He has also held senior national security roles as Principal Deputy Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate, Coordinator General of the National COVID Vaccine Taskforce, and Chief of Joint Capabilities.

SENIOR ADVISOR

Peter Tesch has over 35 years of experience as a trusted advisor to the highest levels of government.

He served as Deputy Secretary for Strategy, Policy and Industry in the Department of Defence, and held key diplomatic roles over a 32-year career at DFAT, including Ambassador to Russia and Germany, Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, and Head of the International Security Division.

SENIOR ADVISOR

Caroline Millar is an experienced former senior career diplomat from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Caroline was Ambassador to the European Union, NATO, Belgium, and Luxembourg, a former deputy head of Mission in Washington, and previously Permanent Representative and Ambassador for Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva. She was also a former Deputy Secretary for National Security at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Caroline brings extensive expertise in international security, foreign policy, trade policy advocacy, humanitarian issues and multilateral negotiations.

FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN

Gavin MacLaren has over 25 years’ experience advising governments throughout the Asia Pacific region on policy and regulation, including industry and development policy; capacity building; dispute resolution; treaty negotiations; and the commercialisation of state assets.

For the past seven years, Gavin has led one of Australia’s leading law firms and currently serves as Chair of biotech incubator, ProtoAxiom. Gavin was recognised as an Innovative Leader in the 2020 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia Pacific. Throughout his career, he has acted for international organisations, multinational corporations, financial institutions, private equity investors and sovereign wealth funds globally in multiple jurisdictions, including Australia.

FOUNDER

Tom Harley is founder of Dragoman, a political risk and strategic advisory firm. He has served as one of three Australian representatives on the APEC Business Advisory Council (2019–2024). He has also served as Non-Executive Chairman of Dow Chemical (Australia) and Global Senior Advisor to Dow. His experience includes implementing global political risk methodologies and advising on market entry strategies in high-risk jurisdictions.

DIRECTOR

Stephen Revell is a strategic advisor with over 45 years of experience, including a long tenure as a partner at Freshfields, an international law firm. He now advises internationally on business strategy, having advised across more than 50 countries, including complex regulatory environments. Stephen has several responsibilities within Garran Advisory, including quality oversight and risk management.

CORPORATE AFFAIRS

Susannah Beattie is a reputation and communications specialist, with more than two decades of experience helping organisations to build, manage and protect their brands. This includes advising Australian corporations and government organisations on strategic engagement, stakeholder management and issues management.

Kieran Thompson has multiple years of experience working on multi-billion dollar projects of the highest national and international importance.

Kieran has led major reports for government departments and provided strategic advice to clients across Europe, North America and the Indo-Pacific.

Alice Maxwell brings experience in policy design, strategic advisory, and public sector reform. She has worked as a policy adviser on major reform initiatives in the areas of gender equality and family violence, institutional child abuse and education. More recently, Alice worked as Senior Associate at the High Court of Australia. Alice’s academic work has been recognised with multiple national awards. She holds First Class Honours in both Law and History from the University of Melbourne.