Investor Centre

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 Chair of the Risk Management Committee (effective 17 November 2022).

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 and NeuralDx Limited (Non-executive Chairman from March 2019). 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, the Executive Chairman of Health Networks Australia until 2017 and a Non-executive Director of Haemokinesis Limited until October 2022. 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.

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.

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.

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.