Council of State Presidents
Shaping the future of HR
The Council of State Presidents (CSP) represents all AHRI members and is charged with ensuring that the strategic interests of the HR profession are collectively voiced and addressed. The CSP consists of the AHRI National President, as its Chair, and the eight elected state presidents for each Australian State and Territory, to represent AHRI’s membership.
Key functions
Appoint
Appoint the National President (subject to Board concurrence), Commercial Directors, Member Directors and Nominated Directors (other than the Foundation Directors) to the AHRI Board
Advise
Advise the Board on issues affecting the development of the profession and members within their respective states and territories
Promote
Promote the objectives of AHRI as set out in Clause 1 of the AHRI Constitution
Develop
Develop state organised activities and submit budgets for approval by the company
Uphold
Uphold and enforce the Constitution’s rules, regulations and by-laws
Chair and State Presidents
Michael Rosmarin FCPHR
Michael Rosmarin was appointed Chief People & Group Services Officer for MUFG Pension & Market Services (formally Link Group) in May 2021. Michael joined MUFG Pension & Market Services in early 2019 initially as Chief Human Resources Officer before being promoted to Chief Human Resources & Brand Officer. Prior to joining MUFG Pension & Market Services, Michael was Chief Operating Officer at Stockland.
Michael has over 30 years’ experience in human resources and operational roles in Australia and Asia and has held executive human resources positions for Stockland, Westpac Banking Corporation and Goldman Sachs. He was also a Principal at the global management consulting and executive search firm Egon Zehnder.
Michael became National President and Chair of the Board in 2022.
Michael is an AHRI Fellow Certified HR Practitioner (FCPHR) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master of Commerce degree from the University of NSW. Michael lives in Sydney with his wife and 2 children.
Paula Goodwin FCPHR
Paula is an experienced HR executive, having worked across a range of corporate, policy and HR roles within the public and private sector.
Her passion is organisational and cultural transformation, with a focus on ensuring people are empowered and enabled to deliver quality outcomes for the community and customers.
Paula has a strong commitment to diversity, is dedicated to professionalising HR, loves to learn from others and enjoys sharing her knowledge with emerging HR professionals.
Athena Chintis CPHR
Athena Chintis is a Sydney-based Human Resources leader, bringing 20 years of experience across multiple fast-paced industries, varying scales of businesses and at different stages – from startup and high growth to acquisition and turnaround.
Her current role is as Group Head of People & Culture for Cliftons Venues – APAC’s leading corporate events spaces – which employs a highly mobile and flexible workforce across 4 countries and 11 workplaces.
Athena has deep experience across the full HR spectrum and throughout her career has worked with iconic brands like the NRL, Kellogg’s, Citigroup and the Property Council of Australia. With a knack for collaboration and ideation, Athena enjoys finding innovative ways to enable business leaders to create a strong company culture, attract the right people and get everyone on board with the vision and values.
Athena’s approach to championing member interests was largely inspired by her previous work with the Property Council, one of the nation’s leading member organisations, where she was exposed to progressive advocacy and engagement strategies. Inspired to become an advocate for the HR profession, Athena has served as a NSW State Councillor and Secretary since 2015 and in 2020 she became NSW President. A voice for progressive change, she brings a unique perspective to volunteer work where her primary goal is to champion the profession and its members.
Athena holds a Bachelor of Economics (Social Sciences) from University of Sydney and a Master of Commerce (Human Resource Management) from University of NSW. She is also an AHRI Certified HR Practitioner. She has been on AHRI’s NSW State Council since 2015 and NSW State President since 2020.
A self-confessed sports nut, Athena enjoys highlighting the lessons that businesses can learn from our famous teams and sportspeople. On weekends she can also be seen cheering her sons from the sidelines!
Anita Carver CPHR
Anita Carver is an accomplished HR professional currently holding the position of Senior Learning & Development Business Partner at the Northern Land Council. With over a decade of experience spanning private, government, and for-purpose sectors, Anita’s professional journey prior to HR have included diverse roles in event management, hospitality, and fire and security operations.
Leveraging her extensive operational background, Anita brings a distinctive frontline perspective to her approach in HR.
Anita is deeply passionate about fostering a culture of learning within organisations to elevate employee engagement and drive capability growth. In her current role, she leads learning and development strategy, creating innovative frameworks at one of Australia’s largest Aboriginal organisations. Anita’s collaborative and coaching style enables her to connect employees with learning opportunities that address both strategic and operational challenges.
Anita holds a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce (Public Relations and Tourism), both earned from Curtin University. Additionally, she is an AHRI Certified HR Practitioner and is certified with a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment and Leadership & Mentoring.
An active member of AHRI since 2017, Anita has been a dedicated contributor to the HR community and has served on the NT State Council since 2021. She became NT State President on 2024.
Originally from Perth, Anita now calls Darwin home. During weekends, she embraces the beauty of the Northern Territory through outdoor activities such as camping, fishing, and 4WDing.
Rod Francisco FCPHR
Rod lives and works in Mackay in regional Queensland. In 2019 he was awarded the David Ulrich HR Leader Excellence Award, having been a finalist in 2018.
Rod commenced his career with 20+ years in the Australian Army in maintenance and logistics, during which he served around Australia and overseas including the UK, Canada, East Timor and Iraq. In his military career was commended for his leadership in innovation in supporting global operations and was also fortunate to spend six months in a French military language immersion course. Rod is a graduate of the Australian Defence Force Academy, the Royal Military College – Duntroon, and the Canadian Forces College.
After transitioning from the army, Rod has worked extensively in the resources sector in Queensland and Sierra Leone in HR leadership roles, before moving to Mackay where he has worked in senior HR leadership roles, as a manager and executive, for the big three: Mackay Sugar, Mackay Regional Council, and the Mackay Hospital and Health Service.
Rod has tertiary qualifications in international politics and history, business management, HR, and IR/ER; he is also an accredited workplace and business coach. He is an AHRI Fellow Certified HR Practitioner.
In 2018, Rod founded the Mackay Mentoring Network, a partnership between Mackay Regional Council and the resources industry, which continues to operate today.
Rod was the Mackay AHRI network convenor for several years and has served on the Queensland State Council since 2019 with a portfolio for supporting regional networks. He became Qld State President in 2022.
Outside of work Rod is active in veteran welfare support and is a published short story author and poet.
Liana Reinhardt FCPHR
Liana is currently the Chief People and Strategy Officer with Credit Union SA, a role in which she is responsible for People and Development, Strategy and Projects across the organisation. Liana also holds the role of Non-Executive Director on the Board of Kudos Services, an employee-controlled mutual in the Disability Services sector.
Prior to her current role, Liana held roles in the not-for-profit, retail and FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industries, with experience including as an Executive with Workskil Australia in the National People Manager role, as the Director, People and Development with Ralph Lauren and with Kellogg’s across a number of roles including within the APAC supply chain.
Liana joined AHRIs SA State Council in 2021 and became SA State President in 2024.
Liana is an AHRI Fellow Certified HR Practitioner, a Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds a Graduate Certificate Professional Education and Training, Diploma of Management, Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing and is an Accredited Mental Health First Aider.
Liana is also a proud mother to two young men; one of whom lives with autism, and both with ADHD, which has driven her passion for disability inclusion and positive psychology practices.
Freya Beech MAHRI
Freya is currently the Project Manager with GHD.
Freya is a highly motivated, skilled, and versatile People Manager who contributes to an engaging, high performing workplace. She has a growth mindset and is motivated to deliver exceptional strategic people & culture strategies that drive continuous improvement. Freya enjoys encouraging and supporting others to grow professionally, personally, and creatively. Freya’s energetic approach and passion for wellbeing, inclusion and talent development is the foundation of her commitment to creating a thriving and flourishing future world of work.
Freya joined AHRIs Tasmania’s State Council in 2017 and became Tas State President in 2021.
Matt Connell FCPHR
State Director
Matt has worked in senior HR/People Culture roles in community services/not-for-profits, local government, and travel and hospitality industries. He has an MBA majoring in Strategic HR Management and has worked in several start-ups, and has developed and implemented HR/OD and people & culture functions in medium to large organisations leading highly engaged teams to manage complex IR/ER issues in challenging industries and environments. He is an AHRI Fellow Certified HR Practitioner.
An experienced speaker and presenter, Matt is a passionate advocate for the HR industry, and about developing constructive leadership capabilities in others so they may better empower, engage and enhance performance in their own team members.
Matt has been an AHRI state councillor in Victoria since 2015 and became Victorian State President in 2019. He joined AHRI’s Board as a State Director in 2022 and is a member of AHRI’s Finance, Audit, and Risk Management Committee (FARM).
Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR
State Director
Jonathon is an experienced HR executive and non-executive director, ensuring a people & culture focus is always on the agenda. With an undergraduate degree in psychology and having completed two master’s degrees, he is an advocate for evidence-based practice in human resources and a strong advocate for the importance of Certification for the HR profession. He is an AHRI Fellow Certified HR Practioner.
Jonathon has worked HR executive roles in state and commonwealth governments, large not-for-profits and in private enterprise, as well as having lectured in HR & ER for a number of years at the postgraduate level. Jonathon is currently Managing Partner at talenting., an HR consulting firm, and is an academic coordinator for the AHRI Practicing Certification program.
Jonathon is currently a Commissioner and non-executive director for Catholic Education WA Limited, overseeing a $1.6b system of 162 schools with 12,000 staff across Western Australia, having previously been on various other boards including as Chair, over many years.
Jonathon has been an AHRI state councillor in WA since 2019 and WA State President since 2020. He joined AHRIs Board as a State Director in 2021.
