Directors and Management

thumbnail

President - Laurie Wilson

Laurie Wilson has been a director of the National Press Club since 1992. He succeeded Ken Randall as President in 2010 having previously served as the NPC’s Treasurer.

Laurie is a freelance journalist and consultant. He is a former political correspondent and Canberra Bureau Chief for the 7 Network, political correspondent for the 9 Network and Secretary of the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery.

He began his career in the media as a proofreader on The Canberra Times while still at university and has worked both as a journalist and in media management.

 He was a senior reporter and news anchor for the 7 Network in Melbourne; was appointed General Manager (Corporate & Government Relations) and Group General Manager (Broadcasting) of the regional Victorian broadcast group Vic-TV; and has worked in a number of other management and board roles including a period as Executive Director of International Public Relations P/L and as a director of the Wesgo radio network.

He studied journalism and economics at the University of Canberra and completed postgraduate studies in business administration at Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology.

 

Steve Lewis

Senior Vice President - Steve Lewis

  • Steve Lewis has been a member of the federal parliamentary press gallery since 1992 and is currently  National Political Correspondent for the News Limited group.
  • Prior to this role, Lewis was Chief Political Correspondent for The Australian from 2002 until August 2007. He also worked for The Australian Financial Review from 1988 in a variety of roles.
  • A founding member of the gallery choir, the House Howlers, Lewis also played a key role in establishing Canberra’s night of nights, the Press Gallery Mid Winter Ball.
  • Steve has been a press club board member in the past holding position of Vice President from 2001 – 2006 and was re-elected to the position in 2009.

thumbnail

Vice President- Ken Randall AM

Ken Randall AM was appointed to the Board of Directors in 1975 and has been re-elected each year since.  He has reported and commentated on Australian politics and business over many years for radio, television and newspapers, including several major overseas titles and the founding years of The Australian.  He also has extensive experience in public relations, media consulting and training.
He has served in all executive positions on the Board, been President since 1991 and been a member since then of most judging panels for the wide range of journalism awards associated with the Club.  His Order of Australia award in 1997 was for service to public affairs and journalism, largely due to his years of dedicated service to the National Press Club.  In 2011-12 Ken served a term as Global President of the International Association of Press Clubs (IAPC).

Misha Schubert

Vice President - Misha Schubert

Misha Schubert was first elected to the board in 2006 and has been a vice-president of the club since 2008. She is director of communications for Recognise, the movement to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our Constitution. Before this, Misha was National Political Editor for The Sunday Age, and a regular commentator on ABC TV's Insiders and Sky News Agenda. She worked in the federal press gallery from 2002 to 2012, covering policy and politics for The Australian and then The Age.  

  • In 2011-12 Ken served a term as Global President of the International Association of Press Clubs (IAPC)

Tony Melville

Treasurer - Tony Melville

  • Member of the Board since 2003.  Vice President 2008 and 2009.  Formerly on NPC Board in 1998 and 1999;
  • Director Public Affairs and Government Relations with the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group);
  • Former ABC News journalist and Foreign Correspondent, DFAT spokesman and Diplomat (Deputy Head of Mission, Manila), and
  • Former Senior Media Advisor to Prime Minister Paul Keating.

 


Director - Lyndal Curtis

Lyndal Curtis is the Political Editor for ABC News 24 and leads the channel's coverage of Federal politics. Lyndal has reported on Federal politics for nearly twenty years and has worked for ABC Radio News, Radio Current Affairs, TV News, Radio National and ABC Online. She has reported on five Prime Ministers, seven elections and more budgets than she cares to count and has covered Prime Ministerial and Ministerial visits to a number of different countries. She spent five years running the Canberra ABC Newsroom as State Editor and returned to political reporting in May 2008 as Chief Political Correspondent for AM, The World Today and PM. Lyndal also hosts ABC News 24's daily Capital Hill program from Parliament House. She won the 2009 Paul Lyneham Award for excellence in Press Gallery Journalism and has been twice a finalist in the Walkley Awards.

Chris Uhlmann

Director - Katharine Murphy

Katharine Murphy is national affairs correspondent at The Age. She has been reporting on federal politics for more than a decade, starting at The Australian Financial Review, where she was Canberra chief of staff from 2001 to 2004, and moving to The Australian as a specialist writer from 2004 to 2006. She joined The Age in 2006. In 2008, she won the Paul Lyneham Award for Excellence in Press Gallery Journalism.

thumbnail

Director - David Speers

David Speers has served on the board of the National Press Club since 2005, he is also currently the President of the Press Gallery. As Political Editor of Sky News Australia, David hosts “PM Agenda” each day and “The Nation” each week.  David moderated the Election Leaders’ Debates in 2007 and 2010.  He has also reported from around the world, including covering the 2004, 2008 and 2012 US Presidential elections.

David can be reached at dspeers@skynews.com.au or on Twitter at @David_Speers

 

thumbnail

Director - Mark Kenny

Mark Kenny is Chief Political Correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. A seasoned observer of national politics, he has reported from Canberra for more than a decade. Prior to joining Fairfax Media, he was at the ABC and did seven years as the Advertiser's national political editor. Kenny is a sought after political commentator on radio and television programs around the country.

thumbnail

Director - Peter Phillips

 

  • A long-time Director of a leading national government relations company who returns to service as a NPC Director for a fourth term.
  • Formerly a Ministerial Chief of Staff and Chairman of the Board of Directors of a large utilities corporation, Peter’s career in Canberra has included service as a Director of a national engineering company and on the Committee of the ACT Racing Club, as well as in the Commonwealth Government Departments of Trade, Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister and Cabinet – including overseas postings in China and in Thailand.
  • Extensive and long-standing connections in business and in government, and previous terms as a National Press Club Director enhance Peter’s readiness to resume active re-involvement in the continuing expansion of the business of the Club.

 

Management Team

          thumbnail       thumbnail                  
          Maurice Reilly        Marietta Rudolf                 
          Chief Executive      Marketing Manager           

          thumbnail          thumbnail
          Paul Butler              Ross Pritchard
          Food & Beverage     Financial
          Manager                 Controller