Barry McGuire
Patron

Barry McGuire is a Balladong, Wadjuk, Noongar man who has a strong track record as a cultural leader, entrepreneur, public speaker and negotiator in a broad range of sectors including mining, resources, arts, construction and Aboriginal business development. In addition to his role as Chairman of RedSpear, Barry has also recently been appointed as the cultural advisor. Barry McGuire is a Balladong, Wadjuk, Noongar man who has a strong track record as a cultural leader, entrepreneur, public speaker and negotiator in a broad range of sectors including mining, resources, arts, construction and Aboriginal business development. In addition to his role as Chairman of Spear Group Holdings, Barry has also recently been appointed as the cultural advisor to the Indigenous Emerging Business Forum, an organisation designed to help and support Aboriginal-owned businesses make the most of technology to grow business and opportunities. He currently serves as a director of the Western Australian Planning Commission, The Spear Foundation and as an advisory board member of the Perth International Arts Festival and the Black Swan State Theatre Company of Western Australia. These roles allow him to exercise his passion for sharing cultural understanding and safety across all nations of Australia while contributing to local economic development across urban, regional and remote parts of Australia.

Clair Medhurst
Chair

Clair Medhurst has lived in Perth since 1985. She has practised as a corporate, resources and energy lawyer for 25 years across the private sector, specialising in project acquisition, construction management and corporate governance. She has over 25 years’ experience on public company and not-for-profit boards, including as a Board Member of West Australian Ballet Company Inc from 1991–2001, and as a Board Member and Treasurer of EON Foundation Inc. from 2007–2013. Clair brings experience in legal and commercial risk management, governance, strategic planning, project management and fundraising to the Board of Fremantle Press.

Louise Jones
Board member

Louise qualified as a lawyer in 1987 with degrees from the University of Western Australia. Working for a few years in Perth, Louise moved to London and worked in a specialist white collar crime practice, returning to Perth in 1994 as a Commonwealth Prosecutor. Children followed, as did work as a barrister at Wickham Chambers and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. In 2010, Louise experienced a sea change and set up The Write Business with a colleague, providing writing services to businesses, government departments and not-for-profit organisations – particularly those in the arts and health sectors. Louise has also been part of significant fundraising initiatives for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Asthma Foundation WA.

Mark Douglas
Treasurer

Mark is the Managing Partner at Fremantle accounting firm Francis A Jones and a Fellow of CPA Australia. At Francis A Jones, Mark takes personal responsibility for client service, business development, and most importantly, the education, development and well-being of his entire team. The ‘people first’ culture at FAJ is Mark’s proudest achievement in more than 30 years at the company. Mark is passionate about helping businesses plan and grow by identifying real issues and opportunities, and providing achievable action plans, and brings these skills to the Fremantle Press Board. He has held previous Board positions with Fremantle BID and Freo Now Inc.

David Ansell
Board member

David’s work history includes teacher, Principal, General Manager of The Smith Family (WA), Senior Executive in the Department of Education responsible for Youth at Risk and Early Childhood, Senior Officer in the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Deputy Director General of the Department of Culture and the Arts. Most recently David was employed by the Telethon Kids Institute as Policy Director of CoLab, established through a partnership with the Minderoo Foundation. A focus of David’s career has been improving outcomes for children from low socio-economic backgrounds through education, and he was instrumental in establishing the Fogarty EDvance program with the Fogarty Foundation to support schools serving low-income communities. He has served on several government and community sector boards.

John Hoddinott
Board member

John Hoddinott lives with his family in Mosman Park. He has had an active career as a consultant to healthcare and other organisations here in Australia and overseas, working at the intersection of digital transformation, workforce development and improving operational performance. John has also been able to apply the knowledge, experience and network gained from a career in consulting as an entrepreneur, with board and executive roles with a small number of local and international start-ups serving the healthcare sector.

Georgia Richter
Publisher

Georgia Richter has an MA (Creative Writing) from the University of Western Australia and is an IPEd Accredited Editor. She has taught creative writing, professional writing and editing at the universities of Melbourne and Western Australia, as well as at Curtin University. Georgia joined Fremantle Press in 2008 as the fiction, narrative non-fiction and poetry publisher. She is the author of How to Be an Author: The Business of Being a Writer.

Claire Miller
Head of sales and marketing

Claire Miller worked for Lothian Press before relocating to the Netherlands to market the country’s first satellite communications company during the ISP boom. Upon her return, Claire worked as an events manager and marketer for Tourism WA and the University of Western Australia. She joined Fremantle Press in 2008 and is the Marketing and communications manager. As well as running individual book campaigns, Claire produces the Fremantle Press podcast, creates and runs workshops for the Four Centres Emerging Writers Program and oversees the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award and the Fogarty Literary Award.

Siana Liffers
Office and customer service coordinator

Siana Liffers joined Fremantle Press as the Office and Customer Service Coordinator in 2023. Graduating from Curtin University in 2018 with an Arts/Commerce double degree in Marketing and Creative Writing, she spent two years working in Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) before leaving to pursue further studies. Siana is excited to be working for a company that is passionate about bringing local stories out into the world.

Cate Sutherland
Publisher

Cate Sutherland has worked in publishing for more than twenty years, in a variety of roles from publicity and marketing to production and editorial. Cate has been the children’s book publisher at Fremantle Press since 2007 and her list includes award-winning picture books, novels for younger readers and young adult fiction.

Chloe Walton
Sales and marketing lead

Chloe Walton was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. In 2015 she graduated from Curtin University with a double major in Marketing and Public Relations, and has spent the past seven years working for Western Australian–owned companies, with a focus on communications and analytics.

Fan Huang
Book keeper

Rachel Hanson
Editor

Rachel Hanson joined Fremantle Press in 2021 as a fiction and non-fiction editor. She began her publishing career more than 12 years ago in Sydney, working as an editor and writer for a variety of commercial magazines. After moving to Perth, she spent several years as the Managing Editor for a custom publisher. She has an MA (Professional Writing) from the University of Technology Sydney.

Adam Matthews
Publicist

Adam Matthews joined the Fremantle Press Sales and Marketing department as a publicist in 2023. While completing a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Writing and Publishing at Curtin University, he worked as a sales and marketing assistant for Boffins Books.

Stephanie Duncan
Office assistant

Stephanie Duncan joined the Fremantle Press team as an office assistant in 2023. Inspired to explore the stories of the people and places around her, Steph will graduate in 2024 with a BA in Professional Writing and Publishing, and minoring in Corporate Screen Production and Interior Architecture from Curtin University.