The State Government has announced the appointment of Dr Rowena Coutts as the new Chair of The Royal Children’s Hospital Board, effective 1 July.

Rowena’s appointment will come into effect after the retirement at the end of June of long-serving current Chairman The Hon Rob Knowles AO.

Rowena was first appointed to the RCH Board in 2019 and currently Chairs the RCH Finance Committee while serving on the Audit and Corporate Risk Management Committee and Remuneration Committee. Outside of her RCH roles, Rowena currently consults to higher education organisations providing governance, legal, audit and policy advice and she is a partner in her family primary production business.

Rowena is the immediate past Chair and Director of Ballarat Health Services and former Chair of the Grampians Regional Board Network. As former Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Ballarat/Federation University Australia, she had responsibility for Corporate Services including Finance, Legal, Governance, HR, Technology Park, Commercial, International Education and PR.

Rowena is also a former Chair and member of the Board of Directors of Ballarat Clarendon College. She commenced her career as a lawyer and holds an LLB and BJuris from Monash University and a Doctorate from FedUni (Hon).

RCH CEO, Bernadette McDonald, welcomed Rowena and acknowledged the contributions of outgoing RCH Chair, The Hon Rob Knowles AO.

“I would like to congratulate Rowena on her appointment and look forward to working with her and the Board on the RCH’s new vision and strategic plan. Rowena is bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge that we can harness as we build our new future together.

“I would also like to pay tribute to The Hon Rob Knowles AO for his invaluable time and contribution to the RCH during his tenure. Rob has provided outstanding leadership to the RCH Board, Executive and the broader team for almost 10 years. His experience, guidance and insight will be missed.”

You can find out more about the RCH Board here.