The Board of Commerce Ballarat is elected from within the membership and are highly experienced people.
Together they represent of a diverse range of industry sectors and combine a wealth of local knowledge, expertise and ambition for Ballarat and the region.
Our Board Members
Chair
Anne has spent her entire career in retail and hospitality, from working in McDonald's restaurants to working corporately for McDonald's Head Office in both Operations and Training and Development across 4 states. She has spent the last 5 years as the Franchisee of the Sporting Globe in Ballarat and has focused on establishing a new business in town. She is passionate about systems, customers and people development.
Deputy Chair
Neville Ivey
Basketball Ballarat
Nev comes to Commerce Ballarat with a varied background having been a GM for an International Corporation, a Director in Local Government, a small business owner/operator and now the CEO at Basketball Ballarat. A passionate advocate for investment in to the region to support the growth of local industry and job creation. He brings to the group extensive knowledge in engagement strategies and understands the importance of relationships with members, the 3 tiers of Government and the broader business sector.
Treasurer
Sharp Accounting
Ewen really enjoys assisting businesses to succeed with their ambitions, whatever they may be. In particular, Ewen is passionate about seeing the Ballarat region advance and he believes local businesses have a critical role to play in this area. Ewen is a Director of Sharp Accounting, has a Bachelor of Commerce and is a Chartered Accountant. He has over 15 years experiences advising small and medium business to maximise their wealth and profit, while legally minimising their taxation. A lot of enjoyment is gained from seeing business clients progress over the years, to positions of significant wealth and to have successful saleable businesses.
Secretary
Fiona Murphy
DOBCEL - Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited
Fiona has over 20 years’ experience in Human Resources and has a passion for building leadership capability. She has worked for a variety of organisations, including large corporates, not-for-profits and public health; which has given her lots of different experiences and perspectives. In addition to this, her husband is a local business owner, so she also has first-hand experience of the challenges for local small business operators.
Although not born and bred in Ballarat, Fiona has been part of the Ballarat community for 5 years, and in that time has seen exciting change and progress and sees an exciting future for Ballarat and a future she wants to contribute to.
I have been in our retail liquor business in Ballarat since 2008. Coming from Science and agriculture background from Queensland. Liquor retailing is certainly both challenging and rewarding. My 3 businesses have been able to survive and grow in all business conditions over 15years. I am passionate about Ballarat businesses and keeping as many dollars as possible in our community for all to benefit. My staff and I are privileged to chat to so many different people from many different areas of the ballarat community which can provide an interesting perspective. The three store locations around Ballarat allows me to be involved in many different local sporting and social clubs.
Lena Charnley
BJT Legal
Lena is a property lawyer at BJT Legal. Through her work within both the residential and commercial property space Lena has the opportunity to advise both individuals and businesses on maximizing their property portfolio, from excited first home buyers to emerging and long-time business owners and property developers.
Lena is passionate about Ballarat and the region, and brings a resolute commitment to fostering economic vibrancy within our community through new investment and development.
Lena is also a committee member for the Ballarat & District Law Association.
Darren Trigg
Integra Group
Darren, a professional engineer, is currently the Project Director at Integra and is focused on ensuring Ballarat continues to foster and progress as the leading Victorian regional City.
Jack Dodd
J.V Dodd Building
Jack comes from the local Ballarat building industry where he has worked for 10 years as a multiple small business owner.
He is passionate about small business in Ballarat especially in the trade sector, with the large growth of Ballarat over recent years and expected further growth in the future, Jack is committed to helping in any way possible in trying to ensure as much business and jobs are created here locally in Ballarat.