Appointments May 12, 2023

Mining services company Schlam has promoted David Haslett to executive chair and group chief executive. Mr Haslett joined the Schlam board in July 2021, providing direction and leadership within the company. His appointment to the helm of the board means he will lead all of Schlam Group’s companies including Payload Australia, People Solutions and Schlam Americas.

The new chair for the state government's Vasse Taskforce has been announced as Pierre Yang, succeeding Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis who had served as chair since December 2021. Vasse Taskforce works to address water quality issues and improve waterway health in the Geographe catchment of the South-West region of WA. Mr Yang is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Water and is set to lead the work being conducted by Vasse Taskforce.

Supreme Court Judge Sam Vandongen has been appointed as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Vandongen has served as a prosecutor in WA and NSW and was appointed as senior counsel in 2010. He began practising as a barrister in criminal law and commercial litigation in 2018 before joining the bench of the Supreme Court in November 2022. In 2017, Justice Vandongen received the Attorney General’s Community Service Law Award for his pro bono work and in acting as lead counsel for a man wrongly convicted of manslaughter. His appointment takes effect on May 22.

Natalie Whitby and Stephen Lemonis have been recruited as Judges of the Supreme Court, effective May and June respectively. Justice Whitby gained experienced with the Supreme Court system as a registrar for 11 years. During this time, she served as the Supreme Court’s acting master and principal registrar, and as a magistrate. Justice Whitby was appointed to the District Court in mid-2021. Justice Lemonis has frequently appeared in the Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Australia and the District Court whilst practising as a principal solicitor. Justice Lemonis was a partner at Lemonis/Tantiprasut law firm from 2010 until 2019 when he was appointed to the District Court.

Foundation for the WA Museum has two new board members, Chris Bingemann and Marcus Tan. Mr Bingemann is a partner at PwC Australia and has more than 18 years’ experience in investment banking and corporate advisory work. He has served in several sectors including mining, oil and gas, and agriculture. Dr Tan is founder, chief executive and managing director of online health platform Healthengine. He has spent more than 25 years working in health, technology, investment and philanthropy.

West Australian Ballet has appointed Jessica Gethin as principal conductor. Ms Gethin began her career as a violinist from Perth and has since been a conductor for orchestras including Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Since 2019, Ms Gethin has conducted an array of West Australian Ballet productions such as Giselle, ALICE (in wonderland), Dracula and Swan Lake. She is also a lecturer and Head of Orchestral Studies and Conducting at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts.