Meet Our Board
Westmead Hospital Foundation is governed and supported by a Board of Directors
who share a common aim of providing the very best in health care for the people of Western Sydney and beyond.
James Nguyen
Board Chair
BComm(Finance)/Laws LLB, Principal, Park & Hills Lawyers, Member of the UNSW Alumni & Engagement Committe
James has had a career in law for over 20 years, first starting in private practice in firms like DLA Piper, Gilbert + Tobin and K&L Gates. He then moved in-house in 2010, working in banking at NAB and Rabobank as a Senior Legal Counsel. In 2017 he was appointed Head of Legal at TEG, a live entertainment group overlooking Ticketek. James was then appointed as General Councel at a fintech start-up whilst also being appointed Foundation Secretary. In 2021, he opened Park & Hills, a commercial law firm based out of Oran Park.
A multi-award winning lawyer, James was a recipient of the 2014 UNSW Young Alumni of the Year Award, a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Sports & Entertainment Lawyer of the Year Award in 2019 and 2021, being listed on the In-house Leaders List of Australasian Lawyers Magazine in 2019 and 2021 and the Legal 500 GC Powerlist in 2019.
Professor Jeremy Chapman
Board Member
MB BChir, MD, FRACMA (Hon), FRACP, FRCP, FAHMS
As past President of The Transplantation Society and World Marrow Donor Association, his interests include medical research, kidney, pancreas and bone marrow transplantation.
He has been president of international professional societies and acted as an adviser to the World Health Organisation. He currently devotes time to Westmead Hospital through the Foundation and the Westmead Research Hub.
Professor Chapman has been awarded the following honours:
- Australia 2003 Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM
- Spain 2010 Asturias Award for International Cooperation
- Mongolia 2018 Medal of the Polar Star
- Australia 2015 Companion of the Order of Australia, AC
Syed Ahmed
Board Member
MBA, MIS (Hons), BComm (BIS)
Combining a career spanning over 20 years with strong academic credentials, Syed has deep experience in synthesizing business outcomes through the technologies that enable them. He has worked across global corporate enterprises to early-stage start-ups, delivering innovative digital experiences as well as mission-critical enterprise IT systems.
Syed holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Information Systems, a Master of Information Systems (Honours) in Artificial Intelligence, and an MBA from AGSM, currently serving as Chief Executive Officer of Innowell. He has previously worked across technology management, strategy and advisory roles across a range of organisations including RACV, Bupa, ThoughtWorks, Servcorp, Perpetual and Avanade. Furthermore, Syed advises early-stage tech start-ups, mentors start-up founders and helps as a judge in start-up competitions. He is a recognised conference speaker and contributes regularly to technology publications.
Caroline Farmer
Board Member
Adjunct A/Professor, UWS RN, Coronary Care Certificate, BHSc, MHSM, EMPA, Graduate Australian Institute of Company Directors
Carol is an experienced health care professional, having held senior management roles in the public health care sector in New South Wales and the Northern Territory. Carol also is an Australian Council Healthcare Standards Assessor and has interests in clinical governance, patient safety, leadership, and management.
For her contribution to Health Services, Carol has been awarded the Public Service Medal in 2022.
Cristina Ciobanu
Board Member
MD, FRACP
Cristina is a Geriatrician, Perioperative Physician and Director of Physician Education in Westmead Hospital. She was trained in Westmead Hospital and has been working in Western Sydney Local Health District for the past 14 years.
She has a passion for teaching, wellbeing and enjoys mentoring the next generations of doctors trained in Westmead Hospital. She is driven by a desire for continuous improvement and is committed to build high quality services in Geriatric Medicine and Perioperative Services.
Marc Burgo
Company Secretary
MBA, BSci
Marc Burgo is an experienced business leader who has worked across banking and financial services, professional services and technology industries. He has served in regional leadership roles withinin strategy development, large-scale business and digital transformation programs across enterprise and hyper-growth companies, guiding teams across all geographies and cultures.
Holding a degree in Bachelor of Science, majoring in Information Systems from the University of Sydney and Masters in Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management, Marc is an accomplished pioneer in customer and employee experience, B2B account management and operations management.
Marc has previously worked at Macquarie Bank, Deloitte and BT Financial Group, and is currently the Head of Enterprise Services, Asia Pacific & Japan at Qualtrics.
