About Us

The LeavePlus board has eleven Directors, consisting of eight industry representatives and three independents.

Four of the Directors are elected by workers in the industry (two representing building trades workers and one each representing electrical trades workers and metal trades workers). Four are elected by employers in the industry (two representing building trades employers and one each representing electrical trades employers and metal trades employers). Three are independent “specialists” appointed by the eight industry Directors from nominations provided by an independent assessment committee.

As at 1 July 2025, the Directors are:

Director Profiles

Jenny Acton

Independent Director and Chair

Chair of Remuneration, People & Culture Committee; Chair of Business Transformation Committee

Member of Investment Committee; and Member of Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee

Jenny Acton was appointed as a Director and Chair of the Board on 1 October 2021. Jenny is also Chair and a Director of State Trustees Limited, STL (Financial Services) Limited and the Principal of Jennifer Acton Consulting.

She has previously been a Non-Executive Director in the transport, ports, water and education sectors. Jenny was a Senior Presidential member of Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal and a member of the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal.

She holds degrees in economics and law. Jenny is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and has been accredited as a mediator under the Australian National Mediator Standards.

Michelle McLean

Independent Director

Chair of the Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee 

Member of Investment Committee; and Member of Remuneration, People & Culture Committee

Michelle McLean was appointed as Director of the Board on 1 October2023. Michelle is also a Board member of Frontier FSI, East Gippsland Water, Jordamm Pty Ltd and Macca Pty Ltd.

Previously, Michelle was the Chief Commissioner of the Victorian Building Authority, and Deputy Chair of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) was Managing Partner and CEO of the law firm Cornwall Stodart (now Cornwalls).

She has also been President of the Australian Legal Practice Management Association (where she is a life member), an Advisory Board member of the Melbourne University Business School, an Executive Council member of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a Board member of the Mercy Health Foundation, the Overnewton Anglican Community College and Acom International.

David St. John

Independent Director

Chair of Investment Committee

Member of Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee; Member of Remuneration, People & Culture Committee; and Member of Business Transformation Committee

David St. John was appointed as a Director of the Board on 1 October 2019. David has an extensive background in investment management as a practitioner and as a consultant. He currently sits on the Investment Committee at GrainGrowers Limited as an Independent Investment Expert.

David’s career included investment consulting at William M. Mercer where he was a Worldwide Partner, he was Chief Investment Officer at UniSuper for eight years from 2001 to 2009, and he was an Expert Adviser at PwC for 7 years. He also has experience as: a Member of Deakin University’s Investment Committee; a Member and Chair of Legal Super’s Investment Committee; and a Non-Executive Director of the Motor Accidents Insurance Board in Tasmania.

David holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (BAgrSc), a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment. He is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (SF Fin) and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).

Ivan Balta

Representative of Electrical Trades Workers

Ivan Balta was appointed as a Director of the Board on 26 September 2024. Ivan has over 35 years of experience in the electrical industry. In 2006 Ivan became a Branch organiser with the ETU Victorian Branch representing electrical workers in the contracting industry sector.

In 2015, Ivan was appointed as Assistant Secretary where he organised in the CBD and Docklands — areas that have the highest concentration of large-scale developments in Victoria. Ivan now heads up the new infrastructure division which oversees all the major projects in Victoria with billions of dollars.

Ivan is a qualified company Director and is a member of the ETU VIC Finance & Risk Committee and serves as a Divisional Councilor.

Paolo Giumarra

Representative of Building Trades Workers

Paolo Giumarra was appointed as a Director of the Board on 1 July 2025. A qualified carpenter with more than 20 years’ experience in the building industry. Paolo has worked with several major construction companies throughout his career.  In 2019, he transitioned to a full time union official role with the CFMEU Victoria, and currently serves as Executive Coordinator.

Stephen Fodrocy

Representative of Metal Trades Workers

Stephen Fodrocy was appointed as a Director of the Board on 20 May 2024. Stephen has been an industrial officer of the AMWU since September 2022, with experience representing metal workers and their interests at the workplace level and before the Fair Work Commission and Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

He is a voluntary Board member of the Moonee Valley Legal Service and was previously a lawyer in the public service.

Stephen is admitted to practice as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Victoria and holds a current practising certificate. He has been awarded a Bachelor of Arts (University of Melbourne), Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (ANU), and Juris Doctor (University of Melbourne).

Paddy McCrudden

Representative of Building Trades Workers

Member of Investment Committee

Paddy McCrudden was appointed as a Director of the Board on 22 November 2012. Paddy was employed by CBUS from 2005 to 2010.

He re-joined the Plumbing Trades Employees Union in 2010 and currently holds the positions of Assistant Secretary and Federal Divisional President.

He is also a director of Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre, Plumbing Joint Training Fund, Plumbing Industry Development Fund, and PTEU (NSW) Pty Ltd.

Grant Donald

Representative of Building Trades Employers

Member of the Remuneration, People & Culture Committee

Grant Donald was appointed as a Director of the Board on 1 February 2017. He is a Director of Premier Plumbing Service (Victoria) Pty Ltd, a long-standing family-run commercial plumbing business based in Ballarat.

Grant also serves on the Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia, where he is a member of the National Council, the Major Contractors Division and is an Executive Board Member and the Honorable Treasurer.

In addition, he is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and serves as a Justice of the Peace.

David Newnham

Representative of Building Trades Employers

Member of the Investment Committee

David Newnham was appointed as a Director of the Board on 1 July 2011, after being an alternate Director since March 2011. David has 40 years of experience in the construction industry after graduating as a civil engineer. He has been State Building Manager for AV Jennings.

After a management buyout of Stonehaven Homes in 1997, he became Managing Director retiring in 2016. He remains a director of the company. David has been a Director and President of the Master Builders Association of Victoria and was a member of the Building Practitioners Board from 1998 to 2006. He has also served as a Director of Incolink, the construction industry severance fund.

David has also served as an expert witness for registration appeals at the Victorian Building Authority and mentor for the Victorian Small Business Mentoring Service. David is currently a Director and Chair of Lynden Aged Care and Folio3 Homes Pty Ltd (which is no longer trading).

Michael Purnell

Representative of Electrical Trades Employers

Member of Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee (until 30 September 2023); and Member of Business Transformation Committee

Michael Purnell was appointed as a Director of the Board on 16 March 2016. Michael has a long history of Company Director, General Management and Management Consulting roles with high profile organisations, including 21 years in the construction industry.

Michael has served on the National & Victorian Councils of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) as well as the NECA Industry Advisory Committee. He is currently a Director of ElecNet Australia Pty Ltd (trading as Protect), Protect Services Pty Ltd, NECA Education & Careers, Future Energy Skills and is an owner of Michael Purnell & Associates.

Michael is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the Australian Society of Accountants. Michael is also Councilor of NECA Victoria Division.

Michael Paynter

Representative of Metal Trades Employers

Member of Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee

Michael Paynter was appointed as a Director of the Board on 1 July 2023. Michael holds a Bachelor of Laws; a Bachelor of Economics; and a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations from Monash University.

Michael has over 40 years of Industrial Relations experience, representing business and government on major projects in Victoria, including the Regional Rail Link, Melbourne Airport, the Australian Grand Prix, and the Suburban Rail Loop.

Michael is an advisor to the Incolink No. 2 Redundancy Fund and is the principal consultant of Peregrine Industrial, an Industrial Relations and Workplace Relations consultancy, providing strategic advice to government departments and other major organisations.

Meetings of the Board occur at least nine times throughout the year, with Board Committee meetings held in conjunction when strategically required. The Chief Executive Officer, General Manager Technology & Innovation, General Manager Finance & Investment, General Manager People & Culture, General Manager Membership Services and General Counsel attend all Board meetings.