The Y NSW new Board Members share a passion for youth empowerment

The YMCA NSW (Y NSW) has appointed three new Board Members - Jason King, George Perry and Helen Wild – all sharing a passion for empowering youth.

Y NSW Chair, Richard Hughes welcomed King, Perry and Wild to the not-for-profit’s Board of Directors and thanked departing Directors Philip Knox and Frances-Anne Keeler for their service.  

Y NSW Chief Executive, Susannah Le Bron joined Hughes in welcoming the new Board members and added “having diverse expertise and voices on our Board is absolutely fundamental to the Y’s success, so I’m thrilled to see a suite of such high calibre Directors wanting to join the Y family.”

Wild highlighted “young people are the future of our community. It is vital that environments are created so that they have the opportunity to live their best lives, physically and mentally.”

King advised “I’ve seen first-hand the important role the Y plays in our communities and jumped at the chance to be involved. As a father of three young boys, I couldn’t think of a better purpose than believing in the power of inspired young people to be aligned with.”

“The Y has such a range of opportunities for today's youth, often maligned as device-hugging. To develop and enhance their physical, social and mental wellbeing is something I feel passionate about and look forward to contributing to in a meaningful way,” added Perry.

Y NSW Chair Hughes acknowledged departing Directors Philip Knox and Frances-Anne Keeler for their “valuable contribution to the Y NSW across their four- and two-year respective tenures, and for playing a significant role in weathering the recent storm of COVID-19 while staying true to who we are.

“There has never been a more important time for the Y NSW to live up to our purpose and support the youth of NSW through the economic and social upheaval of the pandemic.

“We move forward in this pursuit with Mr King and Mr Perry, who bring extensive experience in sports administration, events and venue operations to the Y NSW, and current Company Secretary for the Australian Institute of Company Directors Helen Wild, whose financial expertise will help increase our footprint and impact sustainably, ensuring the oldest youth organisation in the world holds that title for generations to come.”

The Y NSW Board Members provide leadership and strategic guidance for the Y NSW in addition to overseeing management’s implementation of significant initiatives.

The Y NSW supports diverse communities through 22 recreation centres, 62 Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) centres, two outdoor education and camping locations and myriad valuable youth and community services. The latest Y NSW Community and Annual Report can be accessed at http://bit.ly/YNSWreport

More information on the new appointments is provided below:

Jason King
Other role: General Manager, National Rugby League

Jason King has extensive experience in sports administration, having held leadership roles in operational, commercial and strategic functions. He has led programs in high performance and athlete development and been responsible for designing and implementing strategy for elite sporting competitions. King has played a pivotal role in advancing women’s sport, from establishing player pathways and increased female participation, to delivering international competitions. King is a former professional rugby league player for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles where he played 239 matches and captained the club from 2010 to 2014. He also represented the New South Wales Blues in 2010 and 2011.

George Perry
Other role: Infrastructure Project Manager, VenuesLive (operator of Stadium Australia and Bankwest Stadium)

George Perry has over twenty-five years’ experience in the sport, major events, and venue management industries.  Perry’s careers include some of the largest sporting events Australia has seen including the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Rugby World Cup. Perry held an executive position in Rugby Australia and was Chief Executive of Sydney FC. He also held an executive position in the highly-respected not-for-profit consumer group, CHOICE where he was responsible for all the commercial and financial aspects of the organisation. More recently, Perry was responsible for the opening of Bankwest Stadium at Parramatta – Sydney’s first new major stadium in over 20 years.

Helen Wild
Other role: Company Secretary for the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Helen Wild has over 25 years’ strategic commercial experience encompassing private, government and not-for-profit organisations, holding senior management and executive positions across industries such as: education; insurance; aviation; manufacturing; rail; construction and local government. Her executive positions include 23 years as CFO (and equivalent) and 16 years as Company Secretary. The breadth of Wild's experience includes financial management, corporate governance, risk management, legal compliance, human resources, administration, information technology, knowledge management and media relations. Her qualifications include Bachelor of Commerce and Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance. She is a Certified Practicing Accountant (Fellow), Certified Internal Auditor, Fellow member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fellow member of the Governance Institute of Australia, and Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators.