North Shore Power List: Our Most Influential, Numbers 20 to 11
THE north shore’s sleepy, leafy demeanour is camouflage for a formidable powerbase. We had a look at our best and brightest and compiled the area’s 20 most powerful people.
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THE north shore’s sleepy, leafy demeanour is camouflage for a formidable powerbase. We had a look at our best and brightest and compiled the area’s 20 most powerful people.
20. Nick Greiner
Former NSW Premier, Federal President of the Liberal Party
The 71-year-old former premier has been heavily involved in the corporate world since his retirement as a politician and retains a key involvement in politics as federal president of the Liberal Party.
Born in Hungary, he grew up in Killara after his family moved to Australia in the early 1950s. He attended St Ignatius’ College Riverview and continued studying economics at Sydney University and the Harvard Business School.
As the MP for Ku-ring-gai for 12 years he led the Liberals in opposition for five years before becoming NSW Premier in 1988.
He sits on many boards and is a life fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a life member of the South Sydney Rugby League Club.
on Sky News.
19. Jamie Barkley
Sports Administrator
He is a powerhouse figure in Australian sport and now Jamie Barkley is poised to take up his next role as chief executive of the Australian Turf Club.
Born in Melbourne, Barkley was a promising AFL footballer who played four seasons for Melbourne Football Club at under-19 and reserve grades.
He completed a BA at Victoria University and an MBA in Business Administration from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
In 1999, he took on the role of chief executive officer of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust responsible for the management of the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground and the Sydney Football Stadium — a position he has described as “the perfect job for any lover of sport”.
He lives in Riverview with wife Selena and has passed his sporting passion onto his two sons, Rory and Sam who attend St Ignatius’ College Riverview.
18. Julia Lonergan
Supreme Court Judge
JULIA Lonergan SC, was appointed to the Supreme Court last year after nearly two decades at the bar.
Her father, the late Tom Lonergan, was a barrister and her mum, Josephine (Jo) was a solicitor.
Originally from Gordon, she attended Loreto Kirribilli before studying Arts at Macquarie University and Law at the University of Sydney.
She won praise for her “significant role” as Senior Counsel assisting the Special Commission of Inquiry into the police investigation of child sexual abuse allegations in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.
At her Supreme Court swearing in ceremony, Attorney-General Mark Speakman praised her “fine legal mind, good sense, intelligence and sense of fairness”. She has two daughters.
17. Warren Mundine
Activist, Commentator
AFTER serving a successful political career as the first indigenous President of the Australian Labor Party, Warren Mundine has become a seasoned political networker and powerbroker.
As he told the North Shore Times last year, his mobile phone is bulging with the numbers of Australia’s most influential people.
He is also a leading Aboriginal voice in the corridors of power. Often controversial and outspoken, Mundine came from humble roots, growing up as one of 11 children in northern NSW.
He attended the Marist Brothers school in multicultural, working-class Auburn and later worked odd jobs to attend night school. He has been married three times and has 10 children ranging in ages from 14 to 37, all of whom have attended prestigious north shore schools. Mundine now lives in Roseville Chase and co-hosts weekly program Mundine Means Business.
16. Ignatius Jones
Artistic Director
FROM frontman of rock band, Jimmy and the Boys to award-winning event director — Ignatius Jones was born to perform.
Growing up in Wahroonga to a Basque-Chinese father and Catalan-American mother, Jones first attended St Leo’s Catholic College and St Ignatius’ College Riverview.
He is the brother of former Play School presenter and popular entertainer, Monica Trapaga. The 60-year-old is best known for his role as the creative force behind the massively successful Vivid Festival.
But Jones’ considerable creative energies have shaped some of Sydney’s biggest events over the past two decades including the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, New Year’s Eve fireworks and the mardi gras, where he has been artistic director for the past five years.
15. Melissa Doyle
TV Presenter, Journalist
Melissa Doyle is one of the most popular and most recognisable faces on Australian TV screens.
Now 48, she heads up Seven’s flagship current affairs program Sunday Night after a long stint on Sunrise.
Born and raised in Artarmon to a country father and city mother, Doyle attended Pymble Ladies’ College and later made the bold move to Bathurst to study journalism at Charles Sturt University.
At 23, she began her career as a reporter with WIN regional news.
Her talent was soon recognised and in 1995 she joined Seven’s Canberra bureau at Parliament House as a political reporter.
Her big break came in 1997 when she became part of the Sunrise team.
The mother-of-two was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2016.
14. Mark and Briony Scott
Power Couple
Mark Scott is a former managing director of the ABC. Dr Briony Scott is principal of Wenona School.
Together, they comprise one of the north shore’s true power couples.
Educated at Knox Grammar School, Mark Scott became a household name during his tenure as the ABC’s MD between 2006 and 2016.
He has since served as Secretary of the NSW Department of Education.
British-born wife Briony has a hard-won reputation as a pioneer in female education.
Prior to Wenona, Dr Scott was principal of Roseville College, and served at Oxford Falls Grammar School.
Dr Scott took a year off to battle lung cancer in 2015. She had chemotherapy, radiation and surgery and returned to Wenona in 2016.
13. Nick Farr Jones
Former Wallabies Captain, Businessman
The former Australian rugby captain has also made a name for himself in the business and charitable worlds.
He was capped 63 times for his country, including 36 as captain. He is a member of the Australian and international rugby halls of fame.
He formed a world record halfback combination with Michael Lynagh of 47 tests together. He is one of only two Australians, alongside John Eales, to captain the Wallabies to Rugby World Cup glory.
The 56-year-old committed Christian lives with his wife Angie and four children at Lindfield, which he described as “fantastic, leafy, with plenty of room for kids to run around, good schools and non-pretentious people”.
He appears as a TV rugby commentator on UK Sky Sports and spent five years as chairman of the NSW Rugby Union until 2015.
The Sydney University graduate worked as a lawyer for 10 years before moving to Paris to join the French bank Societe Generale.
He returned to Sydney to head the bank’s mining finance team for a decade before joining the private equity group Taurus Funds Management.
He has served as a director of the NRMA, a Sydney City councillor and a Sydney University senator.
He was a director of the Wesley Mission and formed his own charity Touch Life to help the homeless
12. Paul Fletcher
Federal Minister
There’s something in the water when it comes to the north shore and successful politicians. Paul Fletcher is certainly not immune to it.
As Member for Bradfield and Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities, he is a vocal and supportive voice for the Ku-ring gai area and recently took a stand on stalled Lindfield village hub project.
Growing up, Fletcher attended Sydney Grammar School and went on to earn a first-class honours degree in economics and law from the University of Sydney and later, an MBA at Columbia University as a Fulbright Scholar.
When he’s not in Canberra, you can find Fletcher in his home suburb of Roseville with wife, Manuela Zappacosta, stepson Gabriel and son Hugo.
11. Elle Macpherson
Model, Entrepreneur
With honey-brown hair and legs that go for days, there’s a reason why Elle Macpherson is still called ‘The Body’.
The 54 year-old model has enjoyed an illustrious career as one of the world’s most glamorous women but beyond the catwalk, Macpherson’s fond memories of the north shore prompt her to return home every year with sons Flynn (20) and Cy (15).
Born Eleanor Gow she grew up in East Lindfield and Killara with father Peter Gow, mum Frances, sister Mimi and brother Ben.
Her parents divorced when she was 10. After her mum remarried she and her siblings took their step dad’s surname. Macpherson attended Killara High School where she was a prefect. She worked her first job at Lindfield Pharmacy at 13.
A career in law at Sydney University loomed, but on a holiday in Aspen at aged 18, Macpherson was spotted by a modelling scout and propelled into success.
She’s since graced the covers of Sports Illustrated and built a clothing and wellness business empire of her own.