Our Board

Kieren Dell – Chair

Kieren Dell is Chair of Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast.

Kieren has extensive experience in business, including 21 years founding and running his own business, Majestic Cinemas, which has operated in Port Macquarie since 2006 and has 7 other sites.  Kieren has 37 years experience in financial services at senior and CEO level, including running 2 industry bodies.  He was also President of Independent Cinemas Australia for 7 years and has been Vice-President for the last 8 years. Kieren also has extensive Board experience in the private sector and in industry bodies.  He sits on the Board of Business Port Macquarie.

Kieren has an Arts Degree from Sydney Uni and a Law Degree from UTS.

Kieren started Majestic Cinemas in November 2002 by purchasing, with partners and silent investors, the 3-screen cinema at Nambucca Heads. The business has expanded to 9 sites with Inverell, Singleton, Port Macquarie, Sawtell, Nambour, Kempsey, Wynnum and Nelson Bay added over the years.

Richard O’Leary – Deputy Chair

Richard is a Shareholder of O‘Leary Partners Pty Ltd a Mid North Coast Public Accountancy firm that has been operating in Kempsey since 1984.  He is the Chairman of the State peak body of Co- operatives, Co-operatives Australia and has held the position since 2015.  Richard is also a member of the NSW Farmer’s Macleay Valley branch. 

Richard is a member of the Executive Council of NSW Farmers, 4th Generational Beef & Cattle Farmer (and is the Trustee for the family farm Trusts) and involved in many community organisations, including Rotary.

John Roydhouse – Treasurer

John Roydhouse GAICD, MICDA, JP is a strong advocate for regional NSW and recognises the essential services provided by Local and State Government.

For many years, John was the CEO of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia – NSW Division (IPWEA NSW), working directly with local government engineers and asset managers, advocating on their behalf, developing solutions to assist the sector to deliver and maintain all aspects of public infrastructure.

John previously chaired the Australian Industry Skills Council (AISC) Local Government Industry Reference Group during its recent review of the Local Government Training Package providing a focus on skills development and encouraging career pathways in local government.

John was a  member of the NSW Government’s Regional Road Transfer and Road Classification Review Independent Panel and was also a member of the NSW Local Government Ministerial Advisory Group.

John is currently an independent member of the Audit Risk and Improvement committees for both Kempsey Shire Council and the Mid North Coast Joint Organisation.

John is also a Board member of the Chiropractic Australia Research Foundation, which seeks to facilitate impactful research in the chiropractic and osteopathic professions through the effective funding of people and projects, aiming to reduce the burden of musculoskeletal conditions.

John is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors program, a member of the Institute of  Community Directors Australia  and a Justice of the Peace. He resides in South West Rocks, and involves himself in the local South West Rocks Rotary club.

Tracy Singleton

Tracy Singleton is the Chief Executive Officer at Galambila Aboriginal Health Service in Coffs Harbour. A Gumbaynggirr woman from the Mid North Coast, her professional and community leadership experience stems from senior positions in Health, Housing, Education and Aboriginal affairs within the Queensland and NSW Public Sector, Non-Government Organisations, and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.

Tracy is committed to Aboriginal social and economic prosperity, advocacy, and influence, she looks forward to working with the Mid North Coast RDA Board to develop a shared understanding of the needs and capabilities of Aboriginal business across the Region.

David Harvey

David Harvey’s career experience includes senior roles in a broad range of industries covering advanced technology development and manufacturing for maritime, geophysical, defence and aviation industries.  He had also led businesses delivering complex services in communications, facilities management and aviation repair and maintenance.

His experience includes periods based in the United Kingdom and France, and in developing business with clients in a number of other countries.

David Harvey is the principal of D.R. Harvey Consulting providing strategy development advice and management consultancy services to major organisations in the aviation, infrastructure and defence sectors.  He is also involved in the agricultural sector, particularly beef cattle.

He has served on the boards of the French Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Simulation Industry Association of Australia and on the boards of several private companies.  He is currently a director of Safeskies Australia, the country’s leading aviation safety not-for-profit organisation.

He graduated from the Royal Australian Naval College in 1976 and served in various Australian ships and submarines until 1984.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds a masters degree from University of New South Wales and is a member of his local Rural Fire Service brigade.

Jane Hillsdon

As Chief Marketing Officer at Birdon Group Jane is responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s strategic brand and marketing plan.

Jane is a Strategic Marketing Advisor with over 20 years of experience in a diverse range of industry sectors. In addition to this, she has assumed multiple Non-Executive Director roles in the Not-for-Profit sector.
 
Jane founded Dragonfly Marketing in 2007. As Chief Marketing Consultant, she has developed award-winning, consumer-driven marketing, brand and digital strategies that engage and influence audiences for businesses and their brands throughout Australia.
 
Jane has years of accolades, winning the Australian Marketing Institute’s National Certified Practicing Marketer of the Year award in 2021. Additionally, Jane has secured three more prestigious awards at both the national and state levels for her outstanding marketing campaigns, all of which were recognised at the Australian Marketing Institute Awards for Marketing Excellence. In 2019, she authored a book titled How To Do Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide for Small Businesses.

Before starting her own company, Jane worked in a diverse range of marketing and communications roles where she was responsible for developing and implementing a diverse range of marketing campaigns.

Sturt Eastwood

Currently Commercial Manager for Gowing Bros Ltd based in Coffs Harbour, Sturt has held a range of national and international CEO responsibilities underpinned by executive roles across a variety of functional verticals and industries.

Sturt has extensive NED experience across diverse industry sectors and international geographies and is a systemic, strategic thinker with excellent people and complex programme delivery skills.

His specialties include strategy, transformational leadership, sales growth, culture & performance, customer centricity, outsourcing and partner management.

Holding both a B.Bus (marketing & economics) and MBA, and having worked with the likes of Gowings, Diabetes Australia, Fujifilm, Vodafone and Telstra, Sturt has executive P&L experience in the Development, NFP, Medical, Graphics, Cloud, Telecoms, IT and M&A environments.

Anthony Jephcott

Anthony Jephcott is a seasoned business leader with 20 years of experience in finance, banking, telecommunications and IT. With previous leadership roles at Lloyds of London (London), HSBC, Westpac, and Unisys, Anthony brings global experience in finance and banking.

As the former owner of multiple Telstra Franchises and IT businesses in Coffs Harbour, he oversaw operations across the region and has won awards for employee satisfaction, sales, and customer service. Anthony holds an undergraduate business degree and a Masters of
Business Law.

Anthony has held various non-executive director roles for NDIS, manufacturing and services businesses and has represented the business community as Vice President of the Coffs Harbour Chamber of Commerce. He currently sits on the Due Diligence Committee for
Sydney Angels and provides leadership through board appointments of multiple early-stage businesses, where he actively invests and mentors entrepreneurs and founders.