Investor Centre

Professor Mark Compton AM

Non-executive, independent Director, appointed October 2014 (Chairman from 19 November 2015)

Prof. Compton has extensive senior executive experience in healthcare services. He is currently Adjunct Professor in Management (Healthcare Leadership) at Macquarie University (Macquarie Business School), Non-executive Chairman of ASX-listed Next Science Limited from May 2021 (Non-executive Director since 2018) and Non-executive Chairman of not-for-profit organisations St Luke’s Care and the Order of St John (St John Ambulance). His previous experience includes Chief Executive Officer of each of St Luke’s Care, Immune Systems Therapeutics Limited and the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. He was also Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the formerly ASX-listed companies SciGen Limited and Alpha Healthcare Limited. Prof. Compton has also held a number of non-executive director roles, including for formerly ASX-listed Independent Practitioner Network Limited (2004-2008), Chairman of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Non-executive Director of Macquarie University Hospital and Chairman and Chancellor of St John Ambulance Australia (having served as a volunteer for more than 45 years). In recognition of his work in the healthcare sector and his service to the community, he was awarded the Centenary Medal of the Commonwealth of Australia, appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as a Knight in the Order of St John in 2004 and as Bailiff Grand Cross in 2017, and was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in January 2010. He is a member of the Audit Committee and the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

Dr Colin Goldschmidt

CEO and Managing Director
Executive Director, appointed January 1993

Dr Goldschmidt is the CEO and Managing Director of Sonic Healthcare. He is a qualified medical doctor who then undertook specialist pathology training in Sydney, before gaining his qualification as a specialist pathologist in 1986. Dr Goldschmidt became CEO of Sonic in 1993 and has led Sonic’s global expansion by committing the Company to a model of Medical Leadership, which incorporates unique operational and cultural attributes. He is a member of Sonic’s Risk Management Committee and holds memberships with numerous industry, medical and laboratory associations.

Christopher Wilks

CFO and Finance Director
Executive Director, appointed December 1989

Mr Wilks became Finance Director and Chief Financial Officer of Sonic Healthcare in 1993. He has a background in chartered accounting and investment banking and was previously a partner in a private investment bank. Mr Wilks has held directorships in a number of public companies and is currently a Non-executive Director of Silex Systems Limited (since 1988), a listed company divested by Sonic in 1996.

Dr Philip Dubois

Non-executive Director, appointed July 2001

Dr Dubois was appointed as an Executive Director of Sonic in July 2001 and retired from his executive position as CEO of Sonic’s Radiology Division in June 2020. Dr Dubois is a Non-executive Director of ASX-listed company EMVision Medical Devices Limited (since September 2020). A neuroradiologist and nuclear imaging specialist, he is currently an Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Queensland Medical School. He has served on numerous government and craft group bodies, including the councils of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and the Australian Medical Association, and as VicePresident of the Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association. He was a Non-executive Director of Magnetica Limited (from 2004 until March 2021).

Professor Suzanne Crowe AO

Non-executive, independent Director, appointed April 2020

Professor Crowe is a qualified medical specialist and physician-scientist, holding medical and MD degrees from Monash University, and an internal medicine specialist qualification in Infectious Diseases from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Professor Crowe’s current positions include Non-executive Director of ASX- and NASDAQ-listed Avita Medical, Inc. (from January 2016), and Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Monash University, Melbourne (from 2020). She was a Non-executive Director of St Vincent’s Health Australia Ltd from January 2013 until October 2021. She retired from Burnet Institute as Associate Director in 2018 following a 30-year research career, having played an integral role in Burnet’s development as a global research organisation. Professor Crowe retired as Principal Specialist in Infectious Diseases at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne in 2019 after 35 years of service. She has served as a Member of the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council (India/China Working Group), as Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Reference Laboratory for HIV Resistance Testing and as an HIV advisor to WHO for 25 years. She was appointed a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in 2015, and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2020, in recognition of her distinguished service to health and aged care administration, clinical governance, biomedical research, and to education. Professor Crowe is a member of the Risk Management Committee (from 23 September 2021).

Neville Mitchell

Non-executive, independent Director, appointed September 2017

Mr Mitchell is a qualified Chartered Accountant with international healthcare and finance experience. He was Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of ASX-listed Cochlear Limited (until March 2017), a worldleading medical device developer, manufacturer and seller of hearing devices. Mr Mitchell was a key member of Cochlear’s executive team, responsible for the setting and execution of the company’s growth strategy from its listing in 1995 until his retirement in 2017. Mr Mitchell currently holds non-executive director roles with ASX-listed healthcare company Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited (from November 2018) and QBiotics (from November 2017). He was formerly a Non-Executive Director of ASX-listed Osprey Medical Inc. (from July 2012 until May 2022). He has also previously performed roles with a number of industry and government committees, including Chairman of the Group of 100 (Australia’s peak body for senior finance executives), a member of the Australian Board of Taxation, and Chairman, Standing Committee (Accounting and Auditing), for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Mr Mitchell is Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Risk Management Committee.

Lou Panaccio

Non-executive, independent Director, appointed June 2005

Mr Panaccio is a Chartered Accountant with extensive executive management experience in business and healthcare services. Mr Panaccio is currently on the boards of ASX- and NASDAQ-listed Avita Medical Inc. (Non-executive Chairman from July 2014), ASX-listed Rhythm Biosciences Limited (Non-executive Director from August 2017) and ASX-listed Adherium Limited (from 25 February 2022). He is also a Non-executive Director of Unison Housing Limited, Azure Health Technology Limited, NeuralDx Limited (Non-executive Chairman from March 2019) and Haemokinesis Limited (from July 2021). Mr Panaccio was the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Melbourne Pathology (acquired by Sonic in 1999) for ten years to 2001, the Chief Executive Officer of Monash IVF until 2009 and the Executive Chairman of Health Networks Australia until 2017. He was also a Non-executive Director of ASX-listed Genera Biosystems Limited and Chairman until June 2019. Mr Panaccio is a member of the Audit Committee, the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, and the Risk Management Committee.

Kate Spargo

Non-executive, independent Director, appointed July 2010

Ms Spargo has gained broad business experience as both a legal advisor, having worked in private practice and government, and as a director. Ms Spargo has been a director of both listed and unlisted companies over the last 20 years and her current directorships include the ASX-listed companies Adairs Limited (from May 2015) and Sigma Healthcare Limited (from December 2015). Ms Spargo also holds non-executive director roles with CIMIC Group Limited (from September 2017), the Future Fuels Cooperative Research Centre, Geelong Football Club Limited and Jellis Craig. Ms Spargo was previously a Non-executive Director of Fletcher Building Limited and Xenith IP Group Limited (from April 2017 until 15 August 2019). Ms Spargo is Chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee.

Dr Jane Wilson AO

Non-executive, independent Director, appointed July 2010

Dr Wilson is an independent Non-executive Director with a background in finance, banking and medicine. She is a registered general medical practitioner. Dr Wilson is currently a Non-executive Director of ASX-listed companies Transurban Group (since January 2017) and Costa Group Holdings Limited (from April 2019). She is a Non-executive Director of Rugby Australia. Dr Wilson is also Co-Chair of the Australian Government Advisory Board on Technology and Healthcare Competitiveness. Dr Wilson was Deputy Chancellor of the University of Queensland and has previously served on boards of ASX-listed companies, Government-owned Corporations and not-for-profit companies. Dr Wilson was awarded the 2016 Australian Institute of Company Directors Queensland Gold Medal Award for contribution to business and the wider community. She holds a Bachelor of Medicine and an Honorary Doctor of Business from the University of Queensland and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Dr Wilson was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2022 in recognition of her distinguished service to business, to government, to health and aged care, and to education. Dr Wilson is Chair of the Risk Management Committee and is a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

Paul Alexander

Company Secretary

Mr Alexander has been the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Sonic Healthcare Limited since 1997 and Sonic’s Company Secretary since 2001. Prior to joining Sonic, Mr Alexander gained 10 years’ experience in professional accounting practice, mainly with Price Waterhouse, and was also Financial Controller and Company Secretary of a subsidiary of a UK-headquartered multinational company for two years.

Dr Katharine Giles

Non-executive, independent Director, appointed 26 September 2022

Dr Giles holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (Hons) and an MBA (Dean’s Honours list) from the University of Western Australia. She is a registered medical practitioner with the Medical Board of Australia. After initially practicing as a medical doctor, Dr Giles moved to commercial pursuits which combined science, medicine and health.

Dr Giles is currently Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of OncoRes Medical (since 2017), which specialises in biomedical innovation. Dr Giles is also a Venture Partner at Brandon Capital Partners (since 2012), a venture capital firm dedicated to developing and supporting Australian life sciences businesses. She was previously an Investment Manager with Stone Ridge Ventures, a fund manager specialising in seed-to-early-stage technology investment.

Dr Giles has start-up experience in medical apps, diagnostics and fitness devices and has served on the boards of private healthcare-related technology companies. She is a member of the Curtin University Commercialisation Advisory Board.

Emeritus Professor Christine Bennett AO

Non-executive, independent Director, appointed 26 September 2022

Professor Bennett is a specialist paediatrician with over 40 years of healthcare industry experience across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Her roles have involved providing clinical care, strategic planning, and senior operational management. She holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney, and a Master of Paediatrics from the University of New South Wales. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and has an active commitment to and involvement in medical professional issues, social policy and medical research. Professor Bennett was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2014 Australia Day Honours in recognition of her distinguished service to medicine and health care leadership.

Professor Bennett is an experienced non-executive director in publicly listed, private and social enterprises. She is currently a non-executive director of ASX-listed Regis Healthcare (since March 2018), and an outgoing non-executive director of Telstra Health Pty Ltd. In December 2021, Professor Bennett retired from The University of Notre Dame Australia where she was Deputy Vice Chancellor, Enterprise & Partnerships (in 2020 and 2021) and Dean, School of Medicine, Sydney for over ten years. Her professional experience has included being Group Executive and Chief Medical Officer for MBF and the Bupa Health and Care services, CEO and later Chair of Research Australia, Managing Director of Total Health Enterprise Ltd, Partner in Health and Life Sciences for KPMG Australia, CEO of Westmead Hospital and Community Health Services, General Manager for the Royal Hospital for Women and Head of Planning in NSW Health.