CEO and Executive team

With 24 years’ experience in executive and leadership roles in Australia and internationally, Penny builds collaborations across businesses, governments and communities to effect system change and achieve social impact.

Penny is passionate about the value of innovation and futures thinking, the benefits new technologies can bring to help solve complex humanitarian problems and leadership. These interests stem from leading humanitarian programs including in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, from collaborating with local partners across regional program portfolios including South and Northeast Asia, leading major humanitarian responses and in Australia exploring ways to mobilise volunteers to act in their communities.

Penny has worked at Australian Red Cross across a number of portfolios: in International Programs, as State Director, Victoria, Director Volunteering and most recently Chief of Staff.

Penny holds a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) both from Monash University and is an alumnus of Leadership Victoria’s Williamson Community Leadership Program.

In his professional life, Lloyd has worked in many complex organisations experiencing change in their environments and helping make them successful at what they do. Starting out at the ATO in Adelaide, he performed various senior taxpayer facing roles during a period of great change in our tax system. He then moved on to spend several years in Chartered Accounting practice joining SA Brewing Holdings corporate finance team gaining exposure to a variety of manufacturing industries before being appointed as Finance Director in Europe for Penfolds Wine Group.

Returning from Europe to Melbourne he transitioned ultimately to Nexteer Automotive where an initial role as CFO of Australia later became that of CEO of Asia Pacific. Living and working largely out of Shanghai, China Lloyd oversaw the growth of the business from $20m million turnover to $1b across a region that included China, India and greater Asia. He then spent time in the Media and Communications sector with Dentsu Aegis.

A Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Company directors, he holds a B.A. in Accounting from Uni SA, an MBA in International Management from RMIT and a Graduate Diploma in Financial Strategy from Oxford University.

Jean-Baptiste (JB) Naudet is the proud CFO of Australian Red Cross. He is responsible for the Finance, Information Technology, Property and Procurement functions.

JB also recently worked in another not-for-profit organisation as the CFO and Executive Director of Enabling Services of St Vincent de Paul NSW. Previously JB worked for Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for 10 years as Financial Controller of the Medical Device Division and then CFO of the Consumer Health Division. JB worked also for the Pharmaceutical division as the APAC Commercial Director for Business Intelligence, New Business Development and Strategic Marketing. Prior to J&J, JB worked at Coca-Cola Amatil, Flight Centre, and Thales.

He has been recognised throughout his career for the ability to build and enhance strong team cultures and increase engagement outcomes. JB was born and educated in France but has been living in Australia for 25 years.

He is a Chartered Accountant and a Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors.

Jenny brings over 30 years' experience working within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander portfolios at national and state levels. She has also worked within Human Rights and international relations, tertiary education, housing, disability, aged care, women and youth. Jenny shares, "With all the knowledge I have gathered through the years, I still feel that what is most important for me is to have the living experience of being an Aboriginal person. My leadership style is based on wisdom handed down to me by my ancestors."

Jenny joined Australian Red Cross in December 2015 and is pivotal to the reconciliation focus. She heads up the First Nations Strategy & Impact portfolio and leads the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Leadership Team. She has made significant and positive change for the teams she leads, communities she supports, and the many First Nations employees, volunteers and members she touches through her humility and ongoing advocacy work.

Jenny works to ensure that the Humanitarian movement is culturally safe and inclusive and that much-needed cultural healing is grounded in strategy, policy, practice and program design, having a strong focus on place-based systems, people change, innovation and community-based solutions. In 2021/22, Jenny was critical in forming a trusted partnership between Australian Red Cross and The Healing Foundation, initially to support the work to enable Australian Red Cross to become more inclusive and a place where all Red Cross people feel respected, valued and culturally safe.

Jenny is a strong advocate and influencer internally and externally to Australian Red Cross. Her work has been recognised externally on many occasions, including most recently as a finalist in Leadership HQ's 2022 Outstanding Leadership Awards, which celebrate courageous, authentic and inclusive leadership.

Alex Mathieson has worked in the humanitarian and development sectors for over 30 years. He started in the sector after volunteering in an Oxfam op shop in London for Oxfam while at university. From that humbling experience, he went on to spend 10 years working on humanitarian crisis around the world including Central Africa, Albania, Macedonia, Palestinian Territories, India, Philippines and across the Asia Pacific region.

With extensive experience in humanitarian crisis driven by conflict, natural disasters and climate change, Alex moved to Australia in 2003 with his young family and worked in numerous roles with Oxfam Australia, including Regional Manager Asia, Programs Director and Country Director in Vanuatu. In 2018, he became Head of Change for Oxfam International, leading the transformation of Oxfam’s organisational model globally.

Alex is passionate about collaboration as a way to increase collective impact. He uses his facilitation skills to support people, communities and organisations define their own strategies, change power dynamics, and lead their own agendas. He joined Australian Red Cross in January 2022 and is incredibly excited to be part of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.

Jai joined Australian Red Cross in January 2013. He has a strong focus on business development, building key partnerships and establishing high performing teams.

Jai has previously held a range of Senior Leadership roles including:

• Director – South Australia
• State Manager – Migration, Emergencies & Service Development and focussed on how to support communities to be better prepared for, respond to, and recover from emergency events; supporting refugees, asylum seekers and people who are vulnerable as a result of migration; and overseeing new service development and quality initiatives to improve outcomes for Red Cross clients.
• Program Manager – Hazards within the Department of Environment, Water and Natural resources responsible for overseeing the department’s whole of government response to Flood and Riverbank Collapse and working on drought impacts along the Lower River Murray.

Jai also spent seven years in the private sector working in wine industry focussed on leading strategic research projects aimed at improving wine style and quality, production efficiencies and achieving a competitive advantage.

Jai has a Bachelor of Medical Science and Honours Degree in Science from Flinders University.

In his spare time you will normally find Jai either camping, fishing or travelling with his family, or coaching junior football and soccer teams through his local sporting clubs.

Yvette first joined Australian Red Cross in 2011. She also serves as the Chair of Australia’s National IHL Committee and in 2021 was appointed as a member of the Editorial Board of the International Review of the Red Cross.

Yvette has held the positions of Secretary and Chair of the Asia Pacific National Society Legal Adviser’s Network and has also been the ad-interim common law legal adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva. Prior to joining the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, Yvette worked as an Adjunct Teaching Fellow in the Bond University Law Faculty and as a commercial litigation lawyer in Melbourne. 

She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of International Relations, a Masters in International and Community Development and has also undertaken IHL instruction through the International Institute for IHL and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Yvette is dedicated to achieving systems-level change by creating an enabling environment for diverse, talented people to thrive.