Simon Mordant AM Joins Opera Australia Board of Directors

Opera Australia has announced the appointment to its Board of Simon Mordant AM, effective from 1st January 2014. He joins a recently re-structured Board chaired by David Mortimer AO who assumed his role in January this year and Mary Waldron who joined ahead of the Company’s AGM in April, 2013.

In a press statement released today, David Mortimer AO said, “I am delighted to welcome Simon Mordant AM who has accepted our invitation to join the board of Opera Australia effective from January next year. Simon is a distinguished businessman and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Greenhill & Co., Inc. Apart from his great business skills Simon is passionate about the Arts and Opera.  Whilst the arts sector will always face challenges, Opera Australia must be well equipped to continue to play at the cutting edge. Our planned and future initiatives will see we remain a major player in the opera world. The addition of Simon reinforces our existing skill set and enhances our capability to meet the challenges and, more importantly, the opportunities of the future.”

Craig Hassall, who took up the position of Chief Executive for Opera Australia in September, said he was thrilled at the appointment of Simon Mordant to the Board. “It’s vital that an effective Board has members that are true supporters of the art form, in addition to having expertise in commercial and corporate matters. Simon’s long-standing association with the arts, and his exceptional business acumen, represents a unique collation of passions. We look forward to his involvement on the Board.”

Simon Mordant is Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Greenhill & Co., Inc, a leading independent corporate advisory firm. Simon specialises in advising local and multinational companies and Government on their capital markets strategy and merger and acquisitions. Simon has been a practising corporate adviser in Australia since 1984 having trained as a Chartered Accountant in London.

Simon is a passionate collector of contemporary art with a long history of benefaction to the Arts. In 2007, he was appointed Chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation which was re-established to raise funds for the $53 million capital campaign for the museum redevelopment. In 2010 Simon’s was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. In addition he is a director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, is Australian Commissioner for the  2015 Venice Biennale, a member of the International Leadership Council of the New Museum and a member of the International Council of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, a member of the Executive Committee of the Tate International Council, a Director of the Sydney Theatre Company and the Garvan Research Foundation, a member of the Wharton Executive Board for Asia and was Deputy President of Takeover Panel 2000-2010.

Simon was awarded an AM being made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for “Services to the Arts and to the cultural environment of Australia through philanthropic and executive roles, and to the community”.  In 2010 Simon and his wife Catriona were awarded the “Australia Business Arts Foundation’s Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Leadership Award