Launceston Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber

The Board

Paul Ranson - President

Paul was born in Launceston. Prior to joining B&E Personal Banking as Chief Executive Officer in July 2005, he was General Manager of Meander Valley Council for over 6 years and before that was General Manager of West Tamar Council for 10 years.

Paul has a Masters of Business Administration from Deakin University, a Bachelor of Business from the University of Tasmania and a Diploma as a Company Director.

Paul is married to Nicole and they have a daughter, Ashlea. He also has two children, Stephanie and Matthew, from his previous marriage.

 

Phil Leersen - Vice President

Phil Leersen is a passionate Launcestonian born and raised in Northern Tasmania. Phil is the General Manager for The Examiner Newspaper. He has spent most of his career in Northern Tasmania. His career started at The Examiner in 1990 within the advertising department, moving through sales and management.

In 2004 Phil accepted a promotion as the General Manager of The Advocate Newspaper, moving to the North West Coast for a period of two and a half years.

Phil was Cityprom chairman in 2000/01 and is a board member of the Clifford Craig Trust. In 2001 Phil’s management potential was recognised by his peers within the newspaper industry receiving the Hegarty Award, a scholarship that funded a study tour of newspapers in Toronto, Paris, London and Amsterdam.

Phil is married to Jo and has two daughters Chloe and Holly.

Steven Bishop - Vice President

Steve Bishop is the founding partner of Bishops Barristers and Solicitors and has been admitted as a solicitor for approximately thirty years.

In his career Steve either is or has been:

• Engaged in postgraduate studies at the University of Melbourne.
• Lecturer at the University of Western Sydney in corporations law, commercial law, and taxation.
• Counsel in hundreds of trials and numerous appeals.
• Solicitor advising on the full range of property acquisitions, disposals and developments, and corporate and business issues generally.
• Member of the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal.
• Arbitrator in business disputes.
• Executive member of the Launceston Chamber of Commerce, and is currently its nominee to represent it on the Board of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
• Member of the Council of the Law Society of Tasmania and is currently its nominee on the National Committee for the Development of Electronic conveyancing.
• Secretary of the Family Law Practitioners Association of Tasmania.
• Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
• Member of the International Commission of Jurists.
• Member of the Taxation Institute of Australia.
• Member of the General Practice Section of Law Council of Australia.
• Member of the Bar Association of Tasmania.
• Director of numerous companies, including one holding a Financial Services Licence.

Steve is aged 53 years and is married with four children and two grandchildren. He has built up a legal practice from inception as a sole practitioner to a substantial business with branches in Launceston and Glenorchy as well as visiting branches on the east coast.

He is dedicated to the advancement of the Launceston area as a place for business and commerce to be encouraged and to flourish.

Janine Healey - Treasurer

Janine Healey joined the Executive as Treasurer in 2000. She has participated on various committees on which the chamber has representation. She was involved in the Business Skills Development initiative and she presently represents the Chamber on the Franklin House committee.

Currently a Chartered Accountant with Ruddicks, Ms Healey has wide-ranging commercial experience, particularly in the areas of commercial taxation advice, business structures, and planning and cash flow management.

Ms Healey has a strong history of community and commercial involvement in Tasmania which includes serving as a member of the University of Tasmania Council Audit and Finance Committee (including a term as Chair); Director of the Inveresk Railyard Development Authority (including Chair of the Audit Committee); Director of the Female Factory Historic Site Ltd in Hobart and former Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Port of Launceston Pty Ltd (in voluntary liquidation). She is currently a director of the Hydro Electric Corporation(Hydro Tasmania) where her committee involvement includes Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Corporate Governance Committee.

Her professional memberships include Fellow of the Taxation Instiitute of Australia, spending two years as Chairman of the Tasmanian Division, and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

David Stallard

David Stallard was educated in Launceston and graduated from the Launceston Teachers’ College as a primary school teacher in 1972. In 1975 he began a retail career with Camera House in Ulverstone that has grown to stores in Devonport, Hobart as well as in Launceston employing a total of around 45 staff. David has been on the Marketing Committee of Camera House of Australia for 18 years, representing over 100 national retailers.

David is an ex board member and Chairman of Launceston's Cityprom, an ex board member and President of the Ulverstone Chamber of Commerce and has held a board position on the Launceston Chamber of Commerce since 2002, serving as President for the last 12 months. David has a strong interest in the continuing vitality of Northern Tasmania and Tasmania as a whole.

He is married to Karen with adult children scattered around the globe in such locations as London, Washington, Melbourne, Adelaide and Launceston, with 10 year old Ryan still at primary school. His vision is for Tasmania to be a place to which our children will want to return to raise families, and where they will be able to obtain relevant jobs in their chosen career paths.

David Adams

David is Professor of Management and Innovation at the UTAS Launceston campus in the School of Management and a Professor within the Australian Innovation Research Centre which is based in Hobart.

David worked in Tasmania during the 1980’s and 1990’s in various roles including Deputy Secretary in the Department of Health Housing and Community Services.

From 1997 to 2006 David was a senior executive in the Victorian Government where he held various positions including head of Strategy in the Premiers Department and Executive Director in the Department for Planning and Community Development.

David has been awarded a number of national awards for his publications and research on the changing nature of communities; the importance of local knowledge to social and economic innovation; regional innovation systems and local governance.

In Tasmania David’s primary research areas are in regional innovation systems; the development of community assets and; the liveability of the region in an increasingly competitive global environment.

Represented on a number of international and local boards and committees, he is a board member of PASCAL the OECD linked observatory on social capital, place management and learning regions, a Director of Northern Tasmania Development and until recently the Academic Director of the Cradle Coast Institute for Regional Development and Visiting Fellow in the Asia pacific School of Economics and Governance at the Australian National University.

Originally from Glengarry on the West Tamar he has recently moved back to Launceston with his wife Susan and two children Thomas and Samuel.

Richard Ireland

Richard began life in Northampton, UK and obtained a degree in production engineering from Brunel University. His first job was with Texas Instruments but a downturn in the British economy together with a chance meeting with a man in a pub saw him fly off to a new life in South Africa.

After several years of setting up and running two businesses and a family, in 1987 he decided that life was probably sweeter elsewhere and emigrated to Tasmania. Despite some local scepticism he started up Hazard Systems Pty Ltd (York Street) manufacturing electronic warning equipment and was employing 50 staff by 2003.

Now semi-retired, Richard has been involved in various local organisations, namely the Design Centre, founding member of NTRDB (now NTD), and the Launceston Business Incubator. He is currently Chairman of the NRM North management committee, Director of Rushden Pty Ltd and on the management committee of Tresca Community House.

A ken equestrian, he is President of the Pony Club Association of Tasmania (NZ), Vice President of the Equestrian Federation of Tasmania and is also a cross country course designer and builder.

Richard has been married to Gill for a long time and they have two adult children, a son currently travelling the world and a daughter embarking on a teaching caree.

Robin Lohrey

Robin Lohrey is General Manager of Theatre North, a non-profit business which successfully manages the Princess Theatre and the Earl Arts Centre.

Theatre North also presents an annual subscription season of performing arts from around Australia – productions which Launceston audiences would not otherwise have the opportunity to see.

Theatre North won the Launceston Chamber of Commerce CGU Business Award for Excellence in the Safe Business category – small business in 2007.

Robin has links into tertiary education, having managed the Alumni Office at the University of Tasmania for 7 years and having served a term on the University Council. She was a Director of the Port of Launceston Pty Ltd for 5 years prior to the establishment of Tasports.

She has a Bachelor of Business (UTas). Other employment experience includes working for a (then) ‘big six’ accounting firm, and administrator of Tasdance. She has also been a Director of the Arts Law Centre of Australia and has served on the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board.

She has two adult sons and three beautiful grand-daughters.

Tom O'Meara

Former newspaper GM in Launceston, Canberra and Ballarat. Director of Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust. Chairman Stronger Communities Taskforce. University of Tasmania (Northern) Advisory Board. Tasmanian Leaders Program.

Rod Patterson

Rod served with the Tasmania Fire Service for 18 years and during that time received the Australian Fire Service Medal in the Queens Honours list in 1996 for his work with the introduction of the first education program for primary schools. In its first two years the program was directly responsible for the saving of four families.

Rod then sought a new challenge and became a franchisee of Autobarn. Within four years, he and his team were awarded the best franchised business in Australia, not only in Autobarn, but all 70 000 franchised business within the country.

As operator of a suburban based nationally franchised retail business, Rod offers a valuable perspective to the role of the Executive. In addition to his access to national retailing trends and data through the Autobarn franchise, Rod ensures that the idiosyncrasies and needs of suburban precincts are understood and heeded by the Chamber.

Rod has a keen interest in Launceston’s planning for future retail development to serve emerging trends and consumer expectations. In particular he is interested in the facilitation of ‘big box’ development of a nature that is supportive of and linked to existing precincts.

For over seven years Rod has served as the Tasmanian representative on the National Council of Autobarn and has had input to strategies that have resulted in growth and expansion at national and local levels.

Rod is heavily involved with South Launceston Football Club and serves on the executive of the Tasmania Automotive Chamber of Commerce.

 

Michelle Strickland

Michelle operates 3p Consulting Pty Ltd, providing business and management consulting services to a wide range of private, public and not-for-profit organisations. Her company works with businesses to improve their capacity to position, plan and perform their services, and undertakes assignments in areas such as project management, policy and planning advice and support, business planning, communications and marketing, and HR planning and implementation.

Michelle has over 15 years management experience in the public and not-for-profit sectors. She has worked extensively in vocational education and training, employment and labour market services, human resources, rehabilitation services and housing. She is Deputy Chair of the Northern School Improvement Board, a Board member of UTAS Centrstage Theatre, Treasurer of the Launceston Players and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Michelle is passionate about promoting the importance of education and training in the development of a vibrant regional and business community.

Mark Youngman

Mark has a keen interest in property related matters and has been on the Chamber's Executive for approximately 10 years.  A chartered accountant and former partner and director of Walker Youngman & Dixon Property Valuers, he is now employed by Brothers and Newton Property Valuers and specialises in commercial property.