THE Port Adelaide Football Club has welcomed two new board members, announced at the club’s Annual General Meeting on Friday night.
Defence, security and ICT expert Christine Zeitz fills the vacancy created with the departure of Amanda Vanstone last year, after eight years on the board.
Ms Zeitz has more than 25 years of experience working in Europe and Asia, leading defence and space firms including BAE Systems, Leidos Australia and presently Northrop Grumman Corporation, where she is the General Manager – Asia Pacific.
She is also a board member for the SBS and Centre for Defence Industry Capability, and was formerly an active member of multiple other boards and councils including the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, SA Premier’s Economic Advisory Council and Flinders University Council.
Her appointment has been made following extensive vetting by existing club leadership and with endorsements from the highest levels of the AFL and Australian business.
“Christine will bring enormous contacts and skills in the strategic planning and business development area to our club.,” Port Adelaide Chairman David Koch explained during the meeting.
“She is a passionate Port Adelaide supporter, as is her family, and I’m delighted to welcome her to the board of the Port Adelaide Football Club.
“We kept the vacancy free after Amanda Vanstone stepped down because I thought it was unfair to bring in a new board member last year when the club was under such enormous pressure and going through huge issues and uncertainties.
“Now that things have settled and we have added confidence that our business re-engineering is starting to pay off that it’s time to fill that position, so welcome to Christine.”
Health executive Kathryn (Kathy) Nagle has also joined the board as a member-elected director.
Ms Nagle is the Chief Executive Officer of the Western Hospital at Henley Beach and has a long history of leadership in health and nursing.
She is also a board member of the Lakeside Retirement Villages at West Lakes and St Michael’s College at Henley Beach.
“Kathy is a proud and passionate Port Adelaide person, a registered nurse with a passion for management, for process, for project management and also human resources,” Mr Koch said.
“Like Christine, Kathy will bring a fresh perspective to our board and it is a very exciting time to have them join us as we go forward.”
Ms Nagle was elected with 37.4 per-cent of the member vote, replacing long-running board member Trevor Thiele, who provided three terms of dedicated service and received life membership of the club in 2016.
“I would like to personally thank Trevor for his enormous contribution to the Port Adelaide Football Club and specifically his support to me – I always knew the finances were in good hands when Trevor was overseeing them,” Mr Koch said.
“I’m delighted to announce Trevor will stay on as a member of our finance committee. I think that’s really important for the stability of the club and the ongoing evolution of the board because he has enormous expertise that we don’t want to lose.
“Trevor will also stay on as Chairman of the Port Club as we go through the redevelopment, which he has been intimately involved with.”
Ms Nagle is one of two member-elected directors on the club’s board, alongside former Port Adelaide captain and 2004 Premiership player Gavin Wanganeen.
Christine Zeitz
General Manager – Asia Pacific - Northrop Grumman Corporation
SBS - Board member – May 2018 - present
Centre for Defence Industry Capability Board – Dec 2017 - present
Adelaide Festival Centre Trust – March 2019 - January 2021
SA Premier’s Economic Advisory Council – June 2018 – January 2021
Institute For Regional Security - Dec 2016 – Dec 2019
Flinders University Council - August 2011 – June 2019
Defence Council Victoria - June 2015-Dec 2016
South Australian Premier’s Council for Women - July 2014 - July 2016 (Co-Chair 2015-2016)
Australian Council of Learned Academies - May 2015-May 2016 (Expert Working Group, Australian Enterprise Innovation)
Kathryn (Kathy) Nagle
Chief Executive Officer – Western Hospital, Henley Beach
St Michael’s College – SA Director – 2017 – present
Lakeside Retirement Villages Inc. – Director – 2016 - present
Centre of Pharmaceutical Innovation and Excellence – 2013 - 2015
