Board Of Directors

Australian Shareholders' Association is overseen by an experienced Board of Directors comprising eight directors.

Steven Mabb GAICD, Chair

Steven was appointed to the board on 16 June 2020 and is a member of the Education Committee, the Remuneration & Nominations Committee and the Finance, Risk & Audit Committee. A successful entrepreneur, in 2007 he helped develop and launch the Vionic footwear brand with his business partners in the U.S., which went on to become a top 20 brand and was subsequently sold to a large U.S. listed company in 2018. He then returned to Queensland with his young family to become a full time, committed investor and quickly joined the ASA after discovering the many benefits it could offer.

Since joining ASA he has given many member presentations, contributed to EQUITY and ASA podcasts and is an active member of the Queensland company monitoring team. He brings a range of required skills to the board including strategic planning and better ways to develop culture and staff retention. He is also a confident spokesperson on the benefits ASA can provide to potential members and is passionate about progressing the quality of education and advocacy support ASA will provide members going forward. He served as Queensland State Chair from 2020 to 2022 and was appointed Chair of the ASA Board in March 2022.

He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has also completed further educational courses at AICD including The Role of the Chair and Governance for Not-for-Profit Directors.

Richard Goldman B.Bus, MBA, FAICD, CA, FCPA

Richard has over 30 years’ corporate experience leading finance, strategy, IT and commercial functions across iconic ASX listed companies in Banking and Financial Services, Airlines, Telecommunications, Professional Services, Equity Investment, and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods. He has also held senior executive positions in the Australian Government, NSW Government, and the Not-for-Profit sector.

He brings a range of skills to the board including strategic planning, corporate governance, risk management, finance and accounting, commercial management, and information technology.

Richard has a keen interest in corporate governance, education, ethics, and sustainability. His interest in finance education extends to providing thought leadership to leading Australian universities.

He holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Business and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Chartered Accountant, and Fellow of CPA Australia. 

Michael Jackson  LLB GAICD

Michael was appointed as a director and company secretary of ASA in February 2021.  He has over 30 years’ experience as a director, company secretary and corporate executive.  His experience includes setting strategy, managing risk and structuring, negotiating and implementing complex projects and contracts.  He has experience in both the private sector and government.

Michael led a team of lawyers and contract managers at a global aerospace, space, transportation, defence and security group.  Earlier in his career he was Chief Operating Officer at a financial institution, with responsibility for a diverse range of corporate services.  He is an experienced General Counsel and Company Secretary.

Michael has worked in environments with complex stakeholder relationships and has deep experience working with regulators. He is a keen investor.

Carol Limmer BBus FAICD FGIA FIML CHAHRI

Carol was appointed to the Board on 1 March 2019. She is currently a non-executive director of The Whiddon Group and a member of its People & Culture and Quality Care Committees. She was previously a member of its Audit & Risk and Property & Services Committees, Chair of its HR & Nominations Committee, and a member of its Governance Committee. Until recently Carol was Deputy Chair of Pyrmont Community (Bendigo) Bank where she is still an Adviser.

She is a member of Jacksons Landing Pyrmont Community Association, and is also actively engaged in a range of local community organisations. Carol had a long career in the banking/finance industry, including senior executive roles, which took in human resources, public relations, retail banking and involvement in mergers and acquisitions. Carol has been an ASA company monitor for over 10 years.

Julieanne Ranford Mills GAICD BA Design, MA Fine Art

Julieanne joined the board in 2022 and has been a member of the ASA since 2017 and a company monitor since 2019.  She is an experienced long-term investor who believes in good governance and investing for the future in a rapidly changing world.

A graduate and continuing member of the AICD, Julieanne brings to the board a retail investor perspective, an understanding of good corporate governance, a continuing interest in organisational strategy, risk and opportunity, and an interest and passion for ethical and sustainable investing. Her background in the design and creative industries brings creative thinking, design skills and diversity to the board. She is married with two sons in their twenties.

“My experiences as a member of the ASA has given me an enormous respect for the contributions, skills and experience reflected in the membership, especially the volunteers, and the value and integrity of the ASA as an educator and advocate for retail shareholders. I believe the key challenges for investors are sustainability and governance. It is important that the ASA appeals to a broad membership.”

Mike Robey BSC PHD

Mike started his working life as a research scientist and spent 10 years with ICI in a range of applied R&D areas. He spent a further 18 years in Telstra in middle and senior management positions and was the founding COO of Telstra’s HK-based mobile Operator HKCSL. He returned to Australia to lead Telstra for the marketing of 3GSM services in Australia and left Telstra in 2009 to form his own business consultancy. He brings a range of skills to the board, from strategic planning, customer service management in digital businesses, technical management and organisational development to marketing and product management.

He has a PhD in Chemical Physics from the ANU and was a recipient of the German Government Alexander Von Humboldt fellowship for Postdoctoral research in Munich. He has served as a Director of an ICI Credit Union and as an adviser to entrepreneurs in the Fudan Software Park in Shanghai.

He has been a company monitor for three years and is currently joint Company Monitoring Committee Chair for Victoria.

Mike has completed AICD’s Governance Foundations for Not-for-Profit Directors.

Karl Schlobohm B.Com, B.Econ, M.Tax, CA, FGIA.

Karl is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia, with over 30 years’ experience across a wide range of businesses and industries.  Within the chartered environment, Karl worked for Ernst & Young and Grant Thornton for a combined 10 years, and has run his own boutique practice for the past 15 years.

Karl has extensive listed company experience spanning the ASX, LSE, AIM and TSX exchanges, and has acted as Director, Company Secretary and / or Chief Financial Officer for a number of publicly-listed companies in the resources industry over the past 20 years.  In addition to his various commercial executive roles, Karl has served on the Audit & Risk Committee of the Wesley Mission (2010 to 2019) and as the Independent Director of a Private Ancillary Fund (since 2020).

Karl has a keen interest in corporate governance, ethics, and sustainability, as well as stakeholder communications and investor relations.  He has convened and / or managed numerous shareholder meetings and presented at a range of investor conferences.

Karl holds degrees in Commerce (UQ) and Economics (UQ), a Masters of Taxation (UNSW), and Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting (QUT). 

Lel Smits BA BMA MA (JOURNALISM) DIPINVREL 

Lelde Smits is an experienced finance journalist and awarded entrepreneur and director, including being named Director of the Year by Women in Finance and Women in Banking and Finance Rising Star Finalist in 2022. As advisor to ASX listed companies Lelde has more than 15 years of experience as a communications and governance professional working to drive economic empowerment in our community. Following a successful career as a broadcast finance journalist in Australia, Lelde relocated to Wall Street to work as the New York foreign correspondent for Australian Financial Review's digital division and a markets reporter inside the New York Stock Exchange for an independent media company in New York.

Returning to Sydney, Lelde co-founded Australia's premier investor and media relations consultancy - The Capital Network. Under Lelde's leadership the growing team has serviced more than 200 listed companies and fund managers and has been recognised with industry awards. Lelde specialises in digital investor communications and has guided hundreds of people and companies to establish and grow their profiles and enhance communications. While her own online professional, informative and educational investor video content has been viewed more than 1 million times she has dedicated her voluntary work to providing independent thought leadership and service to the investment community to foster economic empowerment.

Lel has completed AICD’s Governance Foundations for Not-for-Profit Directors.