Ms Somerville was identified for the position following a selection process which was conducted in preparation for Ms Anne McDonald stepping down as a Director at the 2016 AGM.
Ms Somerville worked for KPMG for 26 years, with 14 of those as an audit partner of the firm. She has deep business, finance, risk and governance experience gained in Australia and overseas, working with top tier financial services and industrial clients.
Ms Somerville currently sits on the boards of Bank Australia and Challenger Retirement and Investment Services Ltd, she is an independent adviser to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee of Uni Super Ltd, as well as a board member of the not for profit organisations Save the Children (Australia) and Down Syndrome Australia. She holds a Master of Applied Finance from University of Melbourne, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
GPT Chairman Rob Ferguson said he was pleased to appoint Ms Somerville to the Board.
“Ms Somerville will provide the GPT board with additional audit capability and experience, similar to that held by Anne McDonald, who will step down as Chair of the Audit Committee at the 2016 AGM. Whilst she undoubtedly has strong technical capability, the Board also looks forward to Ms Somerville bringing her passion for gender diversity and commitment to mentoring young women.”
For further information contact:
Brett Ward
Head of Investor Relations
The GPT Group
+61 2 8239 3536
+61 437 994 451
Brett Zarb
Group External Affairs Manager
The GPT Group
+61 2 8239 3979
+61 417 256 563