New West Australian Opera Chair announced
West Australian Opera has announced the appointment of Darren Lewsen as Chair, succeeding Andrew Pascoe, who retires from the board effective 30 June. The company also confirmed the appointment of Emma Cundale to the Board.
Darren will be the 15th Chair of West Australian Opera, taking the helm as the Company approaches its 60th anniversary in 2027.
Mr Lewsen said that he was honoured to succeed Mr Pascoe who had been Chair since 2017. ‘Under Andrew’s leadership, West Australian Opera has continued to innovate, evolve and grow. We have commissioned several new works, including Noongar language works from Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse, co-produced several operas with our state opera colleagues around Australia and significantly expanded regional WA and school music education programs. I am incredibly proud to be part of an organisation that shines a well-focused spotlight on the enviable quality of West Australia’s operatic and theatrical capabilities.’’
Carolyn Chard, Executive Director, said ‘it is an honour to welcome Darren Lewsen as Chair. Darren was appointed to the Board in 2017 and has served as Deputy Chair and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee. He is the Western Region Assurance Leader for Ernst & Young, where he leads a practice comprising 14 partners and over 160 employees and is a member of EY’s Oceania Assurance Leadership Team. With more than 25 years’ experience providing assurance services and advice across a diverse range of industries, Darren has worked with a number of Australia's largest companies. Darren also recognises the challenges that not-for-profit arts companies face and encourages us to think differently about finding both solutions and opportunities. I look forward to working with Darren and the board. I am grateful to Andrew Pascoe for his years of support and commitment to the state opera company and to me.
Emma Cundale was appointed to the WAO Board. Emma is a lawyer with over 12 years’ experience specialising in major projects across the infrastructure and energy and resources sectors. She started her career at Allens, working in the projects group, before moving to Perth Airport as in-house counsel and was responsible for working on contractual arrangements central to the airport’s consolidation program of works. She is currently with Curtin University, where she oversees program initiatives related to national resilience.
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