Executive

Dr Lesley Bennett

Chief Executive

Lesley has worked in the Royal Perth Bentley Group since 2013 in roles including Service 1 Co-Director, Medical Co-Director Safety and Organisational Learning, and Director of Clinical Services. Prior to this, Lesley held leadership roles in the UK, including Consultant Physician and Senior Lecturer at Oxford University Hospital.

She has a strong focus on leadership, strategic planning and innovation, and has been involved in a number of organisational and cultural change projects throughout her career.

Lesley studied Medicine at the University of Bristol Medical School and specialised in General Respiratory, Cystic Fibrosis and Bronchiectasis, and Sleep Medicine. She has been published in a number of international medical journals.

Neil Cowan

Executive Director, Business Performance and Finance

Since joining EMHS in 2019, Neil was Director Corporate Services Financial Reform and then Co-Director for the Surgical Division within the Royal Perth Bentley Group.

Since July 2022, he oversaw the Armadale Kalamunda Group as Executive Director.

He is an assessor for the Australian Council of Healthcare Standards, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and the Australasian College of Health Service Management.

He was a specialist inspector for the Care Quality Commission.

Francine Eades

Area Director, Aboriginal Health

Ms Eades is a Minang Noongar woman whose family is from Mt Barker. She has spent most of her life in Boorloo (Perth) in Whadjuk Noongar country.

She brings 30 years' experience in the health sector, including 20 years as a nurse.

She has a Master of Public Health in Applied Epidemiology and was Aboriginal lead in the WA Covid-19 vaccination program.

EMHS is the first WA metropolitan health service provider to establish an executive position specifically for Aboriginal Health.

Ms Eades will review the current approach, then bring the Aboriginal Health Strategy and Aboriginal Community Health Teams together to elevate the Aboriginal health agenda through the Area Executive Group.

Christine Thompson

Executive Director, People and Culture

Ms Thompson is an experienced public sector leader, with almost three decades of service across roles in government agencies.

She was Director of Workforce Strategy at the Public Sector Commission, where she led the development of the WA Public Sector Diversification and Inclusion Strategy.

She is skilled in workforce development and leadership, in addition to change and strategic human resource management. Her former roles include Chief People Officer at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the former Department of Fisheries.

She is a graduate of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, Executive Master of Public Administration, a fellow of Leadership WA, and an experienced non-profit board member.

Sandra Miller

Executive Director, Mental Health

Ms Miller was appointed in 2016, following six years in a similar role with the North Metropolitan Health Service.

She has held strategic and operational roles in public hospitals and health services with a focus on health reform and governance, staff and consumer engagement, continuous improvement and accreditation, and has represented WA in the review of national safety and quality standards.

She led the establishment of the Safety and Quality Units at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital.

Sandra graduated from Curtin University with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Health Information Management and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Sciences (Epidemiology and Biostatistics). She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Phillip Aylward

Executive Director, Corporate Services and Contract Management

Mr Aylward has worked extensively in senior management and leadership positions in health.

These include overseeing procurement, infrastructure and contract management at the North Metropolitan Health Service, and Chief Executive of the Child and Adolescent Health Service, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Child and Adolescent Community Health and the Perth Children’s Hospital Project.

Mr Aylward is a director of the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation and an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University.

He leads the EMHS Corporate Services and Contract Management functions which includes data and digital Innovation, health technology, clinical coding, procurement and contract management, security and general services.

Ben Noteboom

Executive Director, Royal Perth Bentley Group

Mr Noteboom, a physiotherapist specialising in complex critical care, was appointed as the EMHS Area Director of Allied Health and RPBG Director of Allied Health in 2022.

He was physiotherapy lead during the Fiona Stanley Hospital commissioning, Service Co-Director of Cancer and Specialty Services for Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group, and Service Director for Cancer and Specialty Services at Gold Coast Hospital.

He was a Senior Clinical Fellow at Curtin University, collaborating with researchers on cardiorespiratory physiotherapy.

He is an Associate Fellow and Certified Health Manager of the Australasian College of Health Service Management. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Management WA Advisory Committee.  He has a Master of Business Administration and Master of Health Administration from La Trobe University.

Professor Grant Waterer

Executive Director, Medical Services

Professor Waterer is the acting EMHS Area Director of Clinical Services and acting Director of Clinical Services at Royal Perth Bentley Group.

He is a respiratory physician at Royal Perth Hospital, Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Australia and Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago.

He is Chair of the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America Community Acquired Pneumonia Guidelines and a panel member of the ATS/IDSA HAP/VAP guidelines.

He has more than 150 peer reviewed publications and given more than 60 invited international presentations.

He is on the editorial board of eight journals including the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Chest, and the European Respiratory Journal.

Doris Lombardi

Executive Director, Nursing and Midwifery Services

Ms Lombardi was appointed in January 2020, providing strategic leadership and advice to guarantee the achievement of high standards of practice, clinical care, teaching, training and research in nursing and midwifery.

She started her career more than 30 years ago in both private and public healthcare.

She has considerable leadership experience as a former Co-Director and Director of Operations at Royal Perth Hospital.

Ms Lombardi is passionate about creating a culture of care and compassion, with an unwavering patient focus and provides strategic direction for the largest cohort of staff within EMHS.

She has implemented programs such as Amazing Nursing and Midwifery Care, and Walk a Day in My Shoes.

Susan Mylne

Executive Director, Strategy, Planning and Performance

Ms Mylne, who trained as a podiatrist, is experienced in clinical planning, delivering health reform and commissioning projects in Australia and the United Kingdom.

She was involved in the commissioning of Fiona Stanley Hospital and, once open, was the Director of Culture, Innovation and Change. She then joined the WA Health team that led the Sustainable Health Review 2016-2019.

Since 2019, as the Director of Clinical Service Planning EMHS, Ms Mylne has led strategic projects which play a critical role in growing service capability to address changes in population profile and demand, policy and research, innovations.

With more than 20 year's management experience in the health sector, she has an interest in services that bring together health prevention and treatment services.

Lara Moltoni

A/Executive Director Patient Experience

Ms Moltoni is a Registered Nurse with experience across clinical research, acute care, aged care and consulting. She worked clinically in the tertiary sector in NSW, before spending 10 years running clinical trials in the hospital setting, in an academic research institute and for pharmaceutical companies.

She completed an MBA and transitioned to health care consulting where she worked on operational performance, a Federal strategy for patient recruitment in clinical research, as well as hospital commissioning, model of care development, safety and quality and risk management.

She has worked around Australia including in rural and remote settings, and in the Middle East.

She was the Executive Director of a large residential aged care facility and the Executive Director for Safety and Quality, Governance and Consumer Engagement for North Metropolitan Health Service in WA.

Chandima Hiyare-Hewage

A/Executive Director Infrastructure

An architect by training, she joined the EMHS as Director Capital Works in 2022.

Prior to that, she excelled in strategic leadership for the WA Department of Finance, leading the delivery of $500+ million in education projects.

In delivering this portfolio of works, she managed a team of project managers across the State.

She worked in procurement reform during the biggest ever reform in the works sector since the start of the Public Works Act 100 years ago.

This required a sound understanding of works procurement, issues affecting the public sector and the ability to champion change and innovation through positive working relationships.

Ann-Marie Presho

Director, Office of the Chief Executive

Ms Presho is a Director in the Office of the Chief Executive at East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) and a member of the health service executive.

After spending more than 10 years working in the National Health Service in England, she moved to Western Australia in 2006 and has worked in a number of corporate roles across the North, East and South Metropolitan Health Services.

She has broad business experience with oversight of corporate governance, strategic management, project management and finance.

She has a BA Honours Degree in Business and Economics (UK) and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Australia).