College Council

Chair of College Council

Mr James Hunter BSc (UNSW), DipEd (UNE), MBA (AGSM), MAICD

As Chairman of the College Council, Mr James Hunter’s expertise in leadership and education stems from his extensive background in the private sector, education and defence. After serving as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy, Mr Hunter’s focus shifted to education; working as a teacher and Housemaster at Shore School, while completing an MBA and subsequently working at a range of major companies including Boral and Origin. Mr Hunter is currently a partner at KPMG, is a White Ribbon ambassador and is married to Katrina. They have three children; Charlie, Harry and Lexie, who graduated from Pymble Ladies’ College in 2015.

To hear more from our Chair of College Council, click here to watch this short video.

Deputy Chair

Mrs Melinda Graham LLB (Hons)

A parent of two Pymble graduates, Mrs Melinda Graham is Deputy Chair of Council and partner at corporate law firm Thomson Geer. Mrs Graham has been admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Queensland. She has been recommended by her colleagues for inclusion in Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia and was recognised by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2017 – 2019). She is a member of the Property Council of Australia, Corenet Global, and associate member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Australasia).

Members

The Reverend Stephen Aynsley, Ass Dip Soc Welf, B Th

Reverend Stephen (Steve) Aynsley serves as Minister of Gordon-Pymble Uniting Church and is Chairperson of the Pastoral Relations Committee within the Sydney Central Coast Presbytery. Rev Aynsley has worked in Uniting Church ministry for 23 years. Before that, he worked in welfare and community services, at North Shore Hospital and various community services in northern and western Sydney.

Mrs Eve Clark BSc (Arch) BArch (Hons 1) ARB

Eve Clark is a Senior Development Manager for AMP Capital leading a number of significant real estate developments on premier office and mixed-use assets and has had national oversight in design direction ensuring that all major projects are underpinned by design excellence and commercial performance, delivering exceptional real estate outcomes across the portfolio. Eve sits on the Property Council of Australia’s national Development Academy Committee and has held numerous committee positions for the Property Council of Australia and the British Council for Offices in the UK. Prior to her career in property development, Eve was a registered Architect working on globally significant projects at firms in both Australia and in London. Eve holds a Bachelor of Architecture (1^st Class Honors) and a Bachelor of Science (Arch), both from the University of Sydney. Eve is an ex-student of Pymble (1997) and is a mother to two children.

Mr Christopher Fydler OAM LLB (Hons), BComm, GAICD

Mr Chris Fydler is Chief Executive Officer of technology solutions provider Tambla, having previously headed the Microsoft Gold-partnered Oriel Technologies. A former competitive swimmer, Mr Fydler represented Australia at three consecutive Olympic Games, three World Championships and three Commonwealth Games. For his efforts he was awarded Medal of the Order of Australia in 2001 and was Deputy Chef de Mission for the Australian Olympic Team in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics. Mr Fydler is Swimming New South Wales President, board member of the NSW Institute of Sport, and is Patron of Swimming Metro North East. Mr Fydler has two daughters, who are both Pymble girls.

Rev Dr Chris Goringe MA, MTheo, DPhil

Rev Dr Chris Goringe is the Minister at Roseville Uniting Church. Having obtained his doctorate in Quantum Chemistry from Oxford University he worked as part of the UK Supercomputing Grand Challenge Project from where he moved to a research position at the University of Sydney. He left academia to work for ten years in the IT industry, specialising in telecommunications IT strategy before returning to university to study Theology. He was ordained in the Uniting Church in 2011.

Dr Kate Highfield BTeach, BEd, MEd, PhD

Dr Kate Highfield is General Manager Professional Learning and Research Translation at Early Childhood Australia. Prior to this, she spent more than ten years teaching, followed by a decade-long tenure at Macquarie University and more recently at Swinburne University. Dr Highfield’s PhD explored robotics in the early years. Her current research relates to smart devices and their impact on student learning and teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).

Prof Gurjhinder (Gin) Malhi MBChB, BSc (Hons), MD, FRCPsych, FRANZCP

Professor Gurjhinder (Gin) Malhi is Royal North Shore Hospital’s Executive and Clinical Director of the CADE Clinic and Psychiatry Chair at the University of Sydney School of Medicine. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Professor Malhi is the Convenor of the Education Committee. He also provides advice to the College as part of the Pymble Wellbeing Reference group. Professor Malhi’s two daughters are Pymble graduates.

Mr David Myers B.Build, MRICS, MCIOB

Mr David Myers is the Convenor of the Asset Management Committee. Formerly a KPMG partner, he specialised in building pathology and was the firm’s National Leader for Property Due Diligence. Mr Myers was also formerly Managing Director of SGA Property Consultancy. Mr Myers’ daughter graduated from Pymble in 2015.

Mr Simon Rothery BEcon GDipAppFin (SecInst) SF Fin

An experienced leader and company director, Mr Simon Rothery is Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs in Australia and New Zealand and serves on the boards of the European Australian Business Council and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. He is also a member of the Business Council of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Chairman’s Panel, and Knox Grammar School. A Pymble parent of two daughters, Mr Rothery is also a Male Champion of Change, a collective of corporate leaders focused on the improvement of gender equality in the private sector and government.

Ms Fiona Roughley BA (Hons), LLB (Hons), LLM (Hons), GAICD

Ms Fiona Roughley joined the Council in 2019. A barrister at Banco Chambers, Ms Roughley is ranked by Chambers & Partners and Doyle’s Guide to the Legal Profession as one of Australia’s leading junior counsel for commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Before being called to the Bar, Ms Roughley was Associate to Justice Hayne AC of the High Court of Australia, a Principal Research Officer in the Department of the Senate of the Parliament of Australia and a solicitor at Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens Linklaters). She received her LLM from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Scholar funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Ms Roughley received her BA and LLB from the University of Sydney, graduating with the University Medal in Law, the University Medal in English, and the University’s Convocation Medal. She is currently completing a doctoral thesis at the Australian National University on the role of the Attorney-General for the Commonwealth. Ms Roughley is an ex-student of Pymble.

Mrs Kristen Wydell, BBus (Accounting) FCA

Mrs Kristen Wydell has been on the Pymble board since 2018 and is the Chair of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.  She is also the General Manager Professional Standards at chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Mrs Wydell previously held senior roles at Deloitte and Ernst & Young and has provided advice to the Australian Government’s Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, until her retirement from the role in December 2013.