FleetPartners Board
Get to know our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors bring a breadth of expertise and skills, including industry and business knowledge, financial management skills and corporate governance experience.
Gail Pemberton
Gail was appointed Chair of the Board in 2021. She has also been Independent Non-Executive Director since 2015. Gail’s executive roles have included Chief Operating Officer UK at BNP Paribas Securities Services and CEO and Managing Director, BNP Paribas Securities Services, Australia and New Zealand. Gail joined BNP Paribas after a highly successful 20-year career at Macquarie Bank, where she held the role of Group CIO for 12 years and subsequently, COO of the Financial Services Group in her last three years at Macquarie. Gail’s current Board roles include the MNF Group, the Sydney Metro and Chair of Prospa. She previously served on the Boards of Arq Group, OneVue, SIRCA and RoZetta Technology and Onthehouse as independent Chair, as a Non-Executive Director for PayPal Australia, QIC and UXC amongst others. Gail was awarded the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2018 Australia Day Honours list for distinguished service to the finance and banking industry, to business through a range of roles, as an advocate for technology, and as a mentor to women.
Damien Berrell
Damien was appointed to the Board in 2023 and is Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer of FleetPartners Group Limited. Damien was appointed MD and CEO in February 2023. He has over twenty years’ experience in the domestic and international non-bank financial institutional space, with the majority of this time in senior leadership roles at successful fleet leasing businesses. Damien joined FleetPartners in 2020 as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), where he was responsible for all aspects of Finance as well as Strategy, M&A, Legal, Investor Relations and Company Secretarial. Prior to this, Damien served as CFO at Custom Fleet. Here, Damien played a lead role in the sale of the business by General Electric (GE) and repositioning the business in Australia and New Zealand. Damien has also held senior finance positions at GE, including GE Capital in Australia & New Zealand, Japan, Asia and in the US. Damien holds a Bachelor of Economics, Accounting from Macquarie University and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.
Fiona Trafford-Walker
Fiona was appointed as Independent Non-Executive Director in 2021. Fiona Trafford-Walker has over 28 years’ experience advising institutional asset owners and investors on investment and governance-related issues. Fiona is an independent non-executive director of Link Administration Holdings where she also chairs the Audit Committee, Perpetual Limited, Prospa where she chairs the Audit and Risk Committee and the Victorian Funds Management Corporation (VFMC). Fiona is also a member of the Investment Committee for the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Fiona was previously an Investment Director at Frontier Advisors, where she was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee and Governance Advisory team. She was the inaugural Managing Director at Frontier Advisors and played a critical role in growing the firm. Fiona holds a B.Ec. (Hons) from James Cook University and a Master of Finance from RMIT University. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Russell Shields
Russell was appointed Independent Non-Executive Director in 2015. Russell Shields has more than 35 years’ experience in financial services, including six years as Chairman of ANZ Bank, Queensland and Northern Territory. Prior to joining ANZ, Russell held senior executive roles with HSBC, including Managing Director Asia Pacific – Transport, Construction and Infrastructure and State Manager Queensland, HSBC Bank Australia. He was previously Chairman of Onyx Property Group Pty Ltd and Chairman of Maritime Capital Shipping Ltd, an unlisted Hong Kong dry bulk shipping company. During the last three years Russell has also served as a Director for the following listed companies: Aquis Entertainment Ltd (appointed August 2015) and Retail Food Group Ltd (resigned October 2018).
Cathy Yuncken
Cathy was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in 2021. She is a Non-Executive Director of State Super (SAS Trustee Corporation), where she is a member of the Risk, Audit and Compliance Committee and the Members’ Services Committee, and Managing Director of See Y Pty Ltd, a commercial consultancy that provides advisory services to government and business clients. Former board roles include Chair of the St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation, Executive Director of BankSA, Executive Director of Bank of Melbourne, Executive Chair of BT Private Nominees, and Non-Executive Director of Fitted for Work.
Cathy has over 30 years commercial and executive leadership experience in the financial services industry, including corporate finance and investment banking roles at Bank of America and Barclays Capital, and executive leadership roles at GE Capital, Commonwealth Bank’s Institutional Bank, and most recently at Westpac Group, where Cathy’s roles included leadership of the Group’s multi-brand Commercial Bank, Private Wealth business, and the regional multi-brand Corporate and SME banking business.
Cathy holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce degrees from UNSW, an Executive Certificate of Strategy and Innovation from MIT Sloan Business School and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mark Blackburn
Mark was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in 2023. Mark has over 23 years' experience as a CFO in both listed and unlisted companies in the financial services, manufacturing and mining sectors.
Most recently, Mark was CFO of McMillan Shakespeare Limited, an ASX-listed provider of Salary Packaging, Novated Leasing, asset management and related financial products and services. Mark is currently Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit for Lifestyle Communities Limited (ASX:LIC) and Non-Executive Director, Chair of Audit, Business Risk and Compliance Committee for Pro-Pac Packaging Limited (ASX: PPG).
Mark holds a Diploma of Business Studies (Accounting), is a CPA and is a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). He brings extensive financial and capital management skills and experience with ASX-listed companies, acquisitions and establishing joint ventures, as well as strong industry domain experience particularly in Fleet, Novated Leasing and Salary Packaging.
Rob McDonald
Rob was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in 2023. Rob is an experienced Non-Executive Director based in New Zealand and an experienced Chief Financial Officer.
Rob retired from Air Zealand in 2017 as CFO, where he successfully led the financial function and financial turnaround of this international company, during periods of intense adverse market and financial turmoil (GFC and Christchurch earthquake).
Rob is currently Chair of Contact Energy Limited (ASX/NZX), Non-Executive Director with the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Non-Executive Director with Fletcher Building (ASX/NZX) and Councillor with the University of Auckland.
Rob holds a Bachelor of Commerce and has attended Harvard Business School where he completed a Bachelor of Commerce and Program for Management Development. He is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Chartered member of the Institute of Directors of New Zealand.
Rob brings extensive experience in financial risk management including the development and execution of treasury policies and multibillion dollar funding programmes and structures, as well as a strong understanding of digital issues and concepts.