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About Us

VicScreen Board

Governance, strategy, oversight and risk management – the VicScreen Board sets the direction for VicScreen and steers the organisation to success.

Board members are selected on the recommendation of the Minister for Creative Industries and appointed by the Victorian Governor in line with the Film Act 2001.

The Board meets regularly and, in addition to providing appropriate corporate governance the Board approves funding decisions recommended by our committees and panels.

THE BOARD

George Lekakis AO

Board President since November 2022

George has worked in the not-for-profit community services sector and government.

An experienced industry leader he has spent much of his 40-year social work career in leadership roles.

George was the longest serving Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission having held the role from September 2001 to January 2011. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer of the New Hope Foundation and Fronditha Care and was an Executive Director at the Victorian Department of Business and Innovation.

Most recently George chaired the board of the Victorian Interpreting and Translation service, and Multicultural Arts Victoria.

George has also been a member of many other government and non-government boards and committees in executive roles.

Mitu Bhowmick Lange AM

Since July 2018

Mitu is the Director of Mind Blowing Films (MBF), a film production and distribution company that specialises in the distribution of Indian films in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The company also provides local production support to Indian films shot in Australia and New Zealand.

MBF’s sister company, Mind Blowing World, specialises in the distribution of quality local content to Australian, New Zealand and Fijian audiences.

Mitu is the Founder and Director of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and also curates Australian films for various international film festivals in India.

Andrea Denholm

Since July 2018

An experienced creative and executive producer, Andrea is Head of Development for Tony Ayres Productions. Her credits span over 100 hundred hours of drama, comedy and documentary content including premium drama series Fires, International Emmy® nominated Wrong Kind of Black, innovative screen opera The Divorce, multiple seasons of popular comedy series How to Stay Married and It’s A Date, ground-breaking Indigenous comedy 8MMM Aboriginal Radio, and landmark documentary series Sporting Nation with John Clarke.

Her other producing credits include Tripping Over, SeaChange, After the Deluge, CrashBurn, Worst Best Friends and Outland. She was also co-creator and writer on Tripping Over and a co-writer of several episodes of SeaChange.

Andrea began her career as a corporate and finance lawyer, and has been a principal and a senior executive in leading independent local and international production companies. Andrea is Deputy Chair of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.

Liz Grainger

Since September 2019

A chartered accountant and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Liz provides consultancy services to a wide range of public and not-for-profit organisations in the areas of strategy, governance, public sector funding and financial management.

She has held executive roles at Deloitte in London and in the Federal and Victorian public sectors. Liz is a former Board member of Craft Victoria and Arena Theatre Company, and is currently a director of the Melbourne Recital Centre, The Mission to Seafarers Victoria Inc. and Geografia.

Liz has also served as an external member on the Audit and Risk Committees of Victoria Police, Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust and Film Victoria.

Greg McLean

Since September 2018

Greg is a writer, director and producer whose filmmaking career began when he created the horror smash hit Wolf Creek, which premiered at the Sundance and
Cannes Film Festivals. This was followed by the thriller Rogue and Wolf Creek 2, the sequel to his breakout film which was selected to screen at the Venice Film Festival.

In 2014 Greg directed the supernatural thriller The Darkness for Blumhouse Productions. In 2015 he directed The Belko Experiment for MGM, followed by Jungle, a thriller feature based on a reallife survival story starring Daniel Radcliffe.

In 2016 Greg was the creator and showrunner of a six-part Wolf Creek spin-off series for Stan, followed by a second season in 2017. In 2019 he directed four episodes of the ABC International television series The Gloaming. Recently Greg was set up director for the second season of award-winning series Bloom, for Stan and Sony TV, and in 2021 he directed the final season of the beloved series Jack Irish for the ABC.

Leonie Morgan AM

Since September 2016

Leonie works across the private sector, for government and in the not-for-profit sector in Australia and the Asia Pacific.

An experienced Board director and consultant, Leonie’s focus is gender equality, mentoring and good governance. She is recognised through the Victorian Women’s Honour Roll and nationally through Membership of the Order of Australia for significant services to women, in particular equitable political representation.

Leonie holds a Masters of Education, is a director of Holmesglen TAFE Institute and is a former SYN Media Board member. 

Tiriki Onus

Since October 2022

Tiriki Onus is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung artist, academic and Head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne and co-director of the university’s Research Unit in Indigenous Arts and Culture.

He is a successful visual artist, curator, performance artist and opera singer. His first operatic role was in the premiere of Deborah Cheetham’s Pecan Summer in October 2010. He received the Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust’s Harold Blair Opera Scholarship in 2012 and 2013.

In 2014 Tiriki was awarded the inaugural Hutchinson Indigenous Fellowship at the University of Melbourne, working with numerous Indigenous communities to revitalise traditional technologies of Biganga (possum skin cloak) creation.

Most recently, Tiriki co-directed the feature documentary Ablaze which premiered at the 2021 Melbourne International Film Festival to great acclaim. The documentary uncovers a film made 70 years ago by Tiriki’s grandfather, William Bill Onus, an important leader in the Aboriginal rights movement.

Jenny Taing OAM

Since June 2023

Jenny is Special Counsel at Hive Legal advising in financial services law.  Prior to Hive Legal, Jenny worked for Vanguard and the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
 
Passionate about community, Jenny sits on the boards of Ahpra, AFL Victoria, is Deputy Chair of the Western Bulldogs Football Club Community Foundation and member of the club's Ethics and Integrity Committee.
 
Jenny served on the boards of Screen Australia, Channel 31, The Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital, was Vice President of the University of Melbourne Alumni Council and Commissioner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission.
 
Jenny has a Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Melbourne, attended Harvard Business School as the Hugh DT Williamson Scholar, appeared in the AFR 100 Women of Influence List and received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the financial and investment sectors, and to the community.
 

Lisy Kane

Since November 2023

An experienced videogame producer and creative leader, Lisy Kane is a Lead Producer for Kepler Interactive and an advisor for the Kowloon Nights games fund. 
 
In 2014, Lisy joined independent games studio League of Geeks and co-founded Girl Geek Academy, a social startup focusing on advocating and driving gender equality within the STEM sector. From her work on Girl Geek Academy, Lisy and her co-founders were awarded QUT’s Young Innovation & Entrepreneurship Alumni Award (2018).
 
In 2017, Lisy was recognised by Forbes in its prestigious top 30 list: Forbes 30 Under 30 2017: Games.

Nick Forward

Since March 2024

Nick is currently the General Manager of Digital at the AFL where he oversees content, product, customer experience and marketing.  Prior to the AFL, Nick spent time in the Middle East as Managing Director and Group Chief Content for leading local streamer OSN+. Nick was also Stan's first Chief Content Officer, where he played a pivotal leadership role in bringing both the concept of the Stan streaming platform to life and growing it into the product it has become.

During his time at Stan, Nick commissioned and produced several acclaimed series and movies including the Palme D'Or nominated NITRAM in 2021, as well as Logie and AACTA winning series including No Activity, Bloom, Bump, Wolf Creek and Romper Stomper.

Prior to Stan, Nick spent time at Sky UK, Virgin Media and Lonely Planet where he gained significant experience across media, product, marketing, general management roles. 
 

VicScreen Management Team

 

Our people on the ground, who draw on extensive industry experience and business expertise to oversee effective and efficient delivery of our services, programs and business objectives every day.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Caroline Pitcher

CEO

A dynamic and accomplished leader, Caroline has over 19 years’ experience in the screen industry.

Caroline has held management, marketing and business development roles in both government and private sectors, including as Marketing and Business Development Director at Omnilab Media, Chief Executive Officer of Ausfilm, and General Manager of the Melbourne Film Office at VicScreen (then Film Victoria). 

Most recently Caroline was the General Manager of Commercial and Marketing at Federation Square. Prior to this she led Deluxe Australia’s post-production businesses, DDP Studios and StageOne Sound, as their General Manager. 

Caroline is a Board member of Ausfilm, and served on the Board of VicScreen (then Film Victoria) from 2013 to 2017. 

Caroline also has extensive destination marketing experience which was developed over a 10-year period working in organisations such as Parks Victoria and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.

Liahn Nortjé

Director, Governance & Operations/COO

Liahn is a member of CPA Australia and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Prior to joining VicScreen in 2017, he held various senior finance and leadership roles within the screen industry, including with leading production company Endemol Shine, and the higher education and hospitality sectors. 

As Director, Governance & Operations, Liahn is responsible for ensuring the effective, efficient and responsive internal operations across the organisation in addition to the oversight of all financial, accounting and governance requirements.  

Liahn is also the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and provides strategic advice to the CEO and the Board on all finance, audit, risk, governance and compliance matters.

Liahn ensures achievement of operational and strategic objectives, maintaining a strong focus on identifying and implementing improvements to business efficiency. 

Ross Hutchens

Director, Content & Talent

Ross has enjoyed a substantial career as both a senior executive within screen industry development agencies and as an independent screen producer. Having not only designed and managed a raft of industry assistance programs, but also driven significant change across two separate state funding bodies, Ross has a wealth of experience in reconciling the needs of industry with the objectives of Government.

A former partner with Australian production company Media World Pictures, Ross’ diverse range of producing credits include prime-time TV drama, children’s animation series, and feature films (both drama and documentary). His productions have garnered international acclaim winning the Silver Hugo for Best Miniseries (twice), a Human Rights Award, and a total of seven Australian Film Institute (now AACTA) Award nominations, including twice for Best Television Series.

Originally trained at AFTRS, Ross has also directed series drama for television.

Kirsten Badcock

Director, Marketing & Engagement

Kirsten has over 20 years’ experience spanning marketing, communications, corporate strategy and business development across various sectors, including the screen industry.  

In addition to a prior brand and marketing role at VicScreen (then Film Victoria), Kirsten also previously held the position of General Manager, Melbourne Film Office, representing Victoria’s screen industry overseas and attracting international productions to the state. 

When Kirsten re-joined VicScreen in 2018 she managed the strategic direction and operations of the Marketing and Screen Production Attraction division. 

Now, as Director, Marketing & Engagement, Kirsten leads VicScreen’s work in promoting Melbourne and regional Victoria as a world-leading destination for screen production, visual effects, games, animation and post-production – capitalising on the state’s diverse locations, world-leading screen practitioners and outstanding facilities.

Michael Hudson

Director, Economic & Industry Development

Starting his career as an intellectual property lawyer, Michael has accumulated more than 20 years’ experience in industry and economic development roles in the State Government. He joined Creative Victoria in 2015 and, as Director, Strategy, Screen and Design, led the development of Victoria’s screen industry strategy, VICSCREEN (2021-25) and first creative industries strategy, Creative State.

Michael was the State Government’s lead screen industry executive for more than ten years, overseeing development of the Filming Approvals Act, which passed into law in 2014, the approval and construction of sound stage six at Docklands Studios Melbourne and the establishment of Melbourne International Games Week.

He has managed funding programs supporting technology adoption and innovation, worked with the VET and higher education sectors on industry skills pathways and placements, and taken a lead role in projects to secure international investment in the State.

Michael leads VicScreen’s Economic & Industry Development team across industry and skills development, production attraction and capacity building and locations support.

Decisions and Publications

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