On Tuesday 1 December 2020, the Music Victoria members elected two board directors at its Annual General Meeting: Sally Mather and Fiona Duncan
Shortly after the AGM the new board co-opted Catherine Haridy and Matthew Kennedy to the board for another 1 year term, while Kerry Kennell was appointed for a 3 year term. They will join Sally Howland, Dean Hampson, Chris O’Neill, Heidi Braithwaite and Chelsea Wilson. Please see full board details here.
The officer positions were unanimously appointed: Ms Howland as Chair, Mr O’Neill as Deputy Chair, Mr Hampson as Treasurer and Ms Kennell as Secretary.
We thank outgoing board members, Tim Heath and Melinda Dine, for their dedication to the organisation and their huge contribution to the board.
Elected at the 2020 AGM:
Sally Mather
Sally Mather has worked in music venues for over 15 years across all facets of the business. In her current role at Marriner Group, she manages programming and commercial partnerships for Forum Melbourne. During her previous 10 years with the Corner Group, Sally oversaw the music & marketing operations of the group, including booking, marketing, ticketing and logistics for Corner Hotel, Northcote Social Club and The National Richmond. Sally is passionate about making live music accessible to all and has been involved in driving a number of initiatives & projects focused on improving safer spaces, accessibility and diversity in live music venues, as well as creating networking and mentoring opportunities for women in music.
Fiona Duncan
With over 30 years’ experience across artist management, event and tour management, publicity and industry advisory roles, Fiona has a deep understanding of the musician’s perspective, alongside proven abilities in strategic management, financial management, advocacy, governance and policy.
From her very first roles in radio and publicity, she knew the Australian music industry would be a lifelong passion. As one of the longest serving female music managers in this country, working with some of Australia’s biggest and most influential performers paved the way for a diverse and challenging career; the highlight being management of Spiderbait from emerging artists to one of Australia’s most successful and enduring rock bands with a number one record, hottest 100 no 1 spot, multiple ARIAs, multi-platinum albums and sold-out tours.
Now living and working regionally, Fiona has a new understanding of the needs of the regional music industry and contributes to several working groups and initiatives such as a member of Music Victoria’s Women’s Advisory Panel, member of the Music Victoria Regional Working Group, the State Government Live Music Roundtable, a member of the Festivals Sub-Committee, and a member of the reference group for the Cultivate Program.
Appointed after the 2020 AGM:
Kerry Kennell
Kerry Kennell, a proud Torres Strait islander woman from the eastern islands Ugar and Erub, launched into the Victorian music scene in late 2018 managing the band Key Hoo. Kerry went from zero to one hundred in the industry, and quickly became known as an influencer and mentor to new and emerging artists.
Originally from Queensland, Kerry brings over 15 years of experience as a business owner and lawyer, having worked in private practice, legal aid, and all levels of government. Kerry’s entrepreneurial spirit saw her branch out on her own in early 2019, and she is now consulting to small business and not-for-profit organisations, where she mentors and empowers First Nations business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives.
Holding Bachelor of Laws from Griffith University, Kerry brings experience from government, law, construction, and music. Kerry specialises in the areas of business management, strategic planning, and working with First Nations creatives, which will enable her to make a positive and meaningful impact with Music Victoria.
Catherine Haridy
Catherine Haridy has been managing musical Artists and Producers, Mixers, Writers, Engineers and even a Music Philosopher for the last 12 years. Coming from a record label background, Cath cut her teeth at both Warner Music and Festival Mushroom Records in A&R before crossing the floor to Management in 2006. Her stable includes a roster of talented and enduring Artists including Eskimo Joe, Jebediah, Adalita, Bob Evans and ABC TV family artist dirtgirl along with some of the brightest in Music Production and Writing: Anna Laverty, Tony Buchen Steven Schram, Joel Quartermain, JP Fung, Jimi Maroudas as well as Mick Glossop (ANZ only) and Ian Caple (ANZ only). The management company has expanded into managing non-musical artists forging a wonderful partnership with Berlin-based Australian, Craig Schuftan, who has had three works published, won an ARIA for his work with The Chaser and broadcast the successful “Culture Club” on national youth network Triple J.
Catherine is a former board member of Support Act Limited (SAL): a charity supporting musicians and music professionals who experience crisis or hardship. She was Chairperson of the Association of Artist Managers (AAM) for 4 consecutive years, and remains a current board member, is an APRA Ambassador, an AMP Award Patron and formerly involved for 7 years with the board and several sub-committees of the Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF). Cath continues to be involved in various advocacy issues that affect artists and their managers, and is a proud Patron of the AAM!
Matthew Kennedy
Matthew Kennedy has worked within not-for-profit business management and development, across all of local, state, national and international levels, for nearly 25 years. Since 2011, Matthew has been the Chief Executive Officer of Tennis Victoria, a $5-6million umbrella body which has over 40 staff and about 900 member clubs, centres and associations. TV’s registered participants have grown from 90,390 to over 270,000 in this period. Matthew previously worked for the International Cricket Council for a decade and was its Global Development Manager, first based out of London and then later Dubai, responsible for overseeing an annual budget of $30million to best support the ICC’s 94 non-Test cricket nations. In doing so, he worked with – and learnt from – a very diverse range of governments/departments and sporting bodies.
Matthew began his career in 1993 at the Victorian Cricket Association, finishing seven years there as its Community Cricket Manager. He has been a Co-opted Director on the Music Victoria Board for the past two years, hoping that his acquired skills and experiences in governance, strategic planning, organisational leadership and growth, and stakeholder relations, have contributed positively in that time. Under its new structure, Matthew presently sits on the MV Operations sub-committee. He previously served on MV’s Business and Strategic Planning sub-committee, Finance sub-committee, Women’s Affairs sub-committee, and HR/Employee sub-committee. Matthew has a Bachelor of Business in Sports Management (Deakin University 1992) and a Graduate Diploma in Sports Law (Melbourne University 2008). He recently sat the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course and is due to complete the assessment tasks shortly.
For inquiries, please contact Music Victoria Acting CEO Dale Packard
9686 3411 / info@musicvictoria.com.au
