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Victorian Opera Chairman Michael Roux today announced the appointment of Greig Gailey, President of the Business Council of Australia, and Professor Barry Jones AO, writer, broadcaster and former Labor politician to the Victorian Opera Board.
 
Professor Jones and Mr Gailey are additions to the Board, bringing the number of members to nine and joining Michael Roux, Francis Ebury, Ross Freeman, Merlyn Quaife, Barry Sheehan and Graeme Willersdorf. A further appointment will be made to replace Professor Margaret Gardner, who resigned to become President of the Museums Board of Victoria in August.

Greig Gailey, who has extensive experience in the resource sector, was appointed President of the Business Council of Australia in October 2007. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive Officer of Zinifex Limited, successfully overseeing from 2001 the re-emergence of the company from the original, Pasminco Limited. He was previously Chairman of the Minerals Council of Australia from 2003 to 2005, Chairman of the International Zinc Association (Brussels), Treasurer and Council Member of the International Council for Mining and Metals (London), among others. Mr Gailey is currently a Director of Caltex Limited and the Australian Davos Connection, and a member of the Monash University Faculty of Business and Economics Advisory Board. 
 
Professor Barry Jones’ career has spanned education, film, politics, civil liberties, constitutional change and ‘the knowledge society’. As a federal politician from 1977, he was Australia’s longest serving Science Minister (1983-90) and served two terms as National President of the Australian Labor Party. He is the only person elected as a Fellow of all four Australian learned Academies: Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE, 1992), the Humanities (FAHA, 1993), Science (FAA, 1996), and Social Sciences (FASSA, 2003). Barry is on the boards of CARE Australia, the Macfarlane Burnet Institute, The Centre for Eye Research and the Melba Foundation, and chairs Vision 2020 Australia and the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority. He is currently a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
 
“Professor Jones and Mr Gailey, both passionate supporters of opera, have distinguished themselves in their fields of expertise and we are delighted that they have joined us to steer Victorian Opera through the next stage of its development,” says Chairman Michael Roux. “The Board also extends its gratitude to Professor Gardner for her contribution and wishes her well in her new role with the Museum”.