New eight-member Advisory Board established for Queensland Academy of Sport

The Queensland Government has advised of eight members appointed to the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS).

The Advisory Board will work closely with the Queensland Government and QAS management as it transitions to becoming a statutory body as of 1st July, and to ensure the Academy’s new structure delivers the agility and efficiency necessary to support Queensland’s elite athletes.

The members of the Board - who bring together business, legal, communications as well as Olympic and Paralympic experience - are:

David Lyons (Chair)
Cate Campbell OAM
Ella Sabljak
Mark James
Benjamin Ikin
Alex Baumann
Susan Rix AM
Annette Maidment 

Explaining that the new Advisory Board has the right mix of skills, with strong Olympic, Paralympic and elite sport experience, as well as key business capabilities, Queensland Minister for Sport and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tim Mander stated “(we are) committed to delivering the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games that Queenslanders deserve and making it our most successful Games ever.

“Transitioning the QAS to a statutory body gives the organisation greater independence and the ability to streamline its administration and operation to allow our athletes to thrive.

“The Advisory Board will work closely with QAS management and staff to meet the goal of more medals in more sports at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in LA2028, Brisbane 2032 and beyond.

Board Member information:

David Lyons (Chair)
Specialising in legal corporate matters, Lyons is currently a Director of RZ Resources Limited and was the Deputy Chair for Diving Australia for over 21 years. He is also the Chair of Naturalena Advisory Board; and a Director of Brisbane Festival.

Lyons is also a former elite athlete, having represented Australia in diving.

Cate Campbell OAM
Australian Olympic champion swimmer, Campbell has eight Olympic medals, four of which are gold, across four Olympics. She chaired the Australian Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission from 2021-2024 and is currently a brand ambassador for several Australian companies and has studied a Bachelor of Mass Communication/Media Studies.

Ella Sabljak
An Australian Paralympian and world champion with more than 15 years in elite sport at an international level, Sabljak is a Primary School teacher with a passion for Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing. She is also a founding member of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Athlete Steering Committee, as well as recently being appointed to Paralympics Australia’s Athlete Commission and WADA’s Athlete Committee.

Mark James
James is the Chief Executive of CJI Group, a role he has held for 27 years. He is also a co-founder of Customology, a company he founded in 1997. He has extensive experience in marketing, communications, and business development.

Ben Ikin
A former professional rugby league footballer, Ikin has been the Chief Executive of the Queensland Rugby League since May 2023. He previously worked in operations roles for the Brisbane Broncos from June 2021 until May 2023, and had been the host of talk show NRL 360 on Fox League as well as a commentator for the Nine Network and Fox Sports.

Alex Baumann
Baumann is a dual Olympic gold medallist and has a long history in Australian high-performance sport. He is the former Chief Executive of Swimming Australia and Queensland Swimming and was the Chief Executive of High-Performance Sport New Zealand. He is credited with helping New Zealand achieve an outstanding Olympic team performance in Rio de Janeiro 2016 of 18 medals.

Baumann also worked for the Queensland Academy of Sport from 1996-1998.

Susan Rix AM
A Tax and Advisory expert, and Consultant with BDO in Brisbane, Rix has a wealth of experience on boards from the public and private sector to non-government organisations.

She has extensive experience in taxation, general business and management services, provision of budgets, cash flow projections and providing advice to improve business efficiency and profits.

Annette Maidment
Maidment is an experienced sports administrator and was President and Chair of the Townsville Hockey Club from 2017 to 2021. During her tenure, she stabilised the Association’s financial position and worked with government and partners to rebuild all the Townsville Hockey Association facilities after the devasting floods of 2019.

She is currently Chief Financial Officer of the Maidment Group.

The Advisory Board will hold its first meeting later this month.

Images: The QAS' base in Nathan.