Board of directors

The Hon John Hannaford LLB (Australian National University) is a former lawyer and Australian politician.

In 1984, he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council. In 1990 he was appointed Minister for State Development, moving to Health and Community Services in 1991 and Attorney General and Industrial Relations in 1992. Later that year, he was also appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council. In 1993 he was appointed Attorney General and Minister for Justice. He was Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council from 1992 until 1995, and was elected Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council following the Labor Party’s win at the 1995 NSW election.

Since 2000, he has held numerous State and Federal Government appointments and directorships of numerous public and private companies in the areas of Employment; Mine Safety; Insurance; Health and Education. Within those companies he has also served as Chair or member of Finance; Audit and Risk; Remuneration and Employment Committees. He currently serves as Chair of two Vocational Education bodies; and, Chair of the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools Ltd which employs approximately 3,000 staff with approximately 18,000 students within 46 separate facilities and with a turnover in excess of $300m.

The Hon John Hannaford provides the Board with high level advice and brings strong business acumen to the management of the Institute.

Professor Paul Cleveland PhD, MTechMgt, BEdStud (Qld), BA, DipArt (Graphic Design), DipT (BCAE), FDIA is the Director of the Queensland College of Art within Griffith University in Queensland.

Professor Cleveland has a background in graphic design and experience in marketing, promotions and digital media. Professor Cleveland’s research interests include the evolution of design style, design archaeology and interactive mapping systems. He is a member of the Australian Graphic Design Association and a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia. He is well recognized by practitioners in the discipline for both his wide knowledge of theory and practical application of multimedia mediums.

Professor Cleveland, as the Chair of the Academic Board, provides a high level of academic leadership in the delivery and continuing development of the Bachelor of Interactive Media here at the Wentworth Institute.

Dr. Joe Relich BSc (Concordia), Dip Ed (Notre Dame), Ph.D. (Sydney), Foundation Dean, Higher Education, is an academic and administrator with 30+ years of experience in the tertiary sector in Australia.

Dr. Relich has worked as a tutor, lecturer, senior lecturer and associate professor in various institutions including the University of Sydney, Macquarie University, Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Western Sydney University (WSU) (. Dr. Relich has a strong background in Educational Psychology and Quantitative Research Design with a long list of publications in a variety of national and international journals. At WSU , Dr. Relich was the Director of the International Office and held various senior positions including that of Dean of the Faculty of Education and chair of a variety of high-level institutional committees. Dr. Relich has served on various boards of private educational institutions, continues to provide consultancy services and acts the minutes secretary on behalf of the Board of Directors.

He continues to provide the Institute with academic and management advice and leadership on a regular basis.

Dr. Cindy Xu Ph.D. (Western Sydney), MSc, BSc has had more than fifteen years experience in international education and holds the positions of Managing Director and CEO at Wentworth Institute. As the founder of the George Education Group, she has been involved in diverse areas of private education, including ELICOS, vocational, senior high school and higher education. She has overseen the initial registration processes and the day to day management of the Institute. The sustained growth of the George Education Group bears testimony to her managerial skills and her key focus areas: marketing and financial control.

Dr. Cindy Xu has a higher education background in analytical chemistry and has worked as a tutor at both Macquarie University and the University of Western Sydney. She was employed as an analytical chemist at the Australian Government Analytical Laboratories (AGAL).

With a strong personal commitment to education and its value for a person’s future, Dr. Cindy Xu actively encourages students to perform well in preparation for a worthwhile and meaningful future.

Martin Linz FCA, AICD, served as the Chief Financial Officer of Coal Services Pty Limited for 8 years until his retirement in 2021. He was formerly a partner of 23 years with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Martin has extensive experience in financial and risk management, audit and financial reporting across a broad range of industries including insurance, health, mining, construction and education. He has worked throughout Australia and in India, China, South East Asia, West Africa and the United Kingdom.

As Chair of the Board Audit and Risk Committee, Martin provides a high level of financial and risk governance to the Wentworth Institute.

Rhonda Hawkins AM, BSc, MPP (University of Sydney) had more than 30 years experience in higher education serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney from 2005 until her retirement at the end of 2014. She was the Executive leader of an extensive portfolio which included: strategic planning, student and academic administration, student services, people and culture, information technology, finance, capital works and facilities, audit and risk management, equity and diversity, governance and legal services and quality management. Rhonda also chaired the Board of UWS College which provided pathways programs to the University for local and international students. She was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2015 for services to leadership and governance in higher education and for social justice and gender equity.

Rhonda is a member of a number of Boards including Evolve Housing (a community housing provider) where she is Deputy Chair, Riverside Theatres Advisory Board and the Salvation Army Western Sydney Advisory Board which she chairs.

Rhonda has a deep commitment to ensuring access to high quality higher education opportunities and to assisting students to achieve success.