The Lions Eye Institute has appointed the highly respected business leader Dr Erica Smyth AC to its Board of Directors.
Dr Erica Smyth
Dr Smyth was recently named 2019 Western Australian of the Year in the Business category. A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, she was presented with the AICD’s not-for-profit director of the year award in 2018.
The Chairman of the Lions Eye Institute (LEI), Mr Peter Forbes, said the Institute was delighted to welcome a leader of Dr Smyth’s calibre to its Board.
“Erica brings vast experience to the LEI – not just through her exemplary governance leadership record, but through a distinguished and extensive career as a scientist, geologist and business executive,” he said.
Dr Smyth, who has 45 years’ experience in the mineral and petroleum industries across a broad range of roles, has been a professional company director for the past 15 years. She is currently Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Board for the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority (NOPSEMA) as well as the Industry Advisory Board for the ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration. Dr Smyth is also the Interim Chair of the Mining Industry 4.0 (MI4) CRC bid.
Dr Smyth said she made it a priority to work with organisations where she felt a personal connection and could add value.
“I am so pleased to be invited onto the Board of the LEI. Within my close family we have experienced the fears and impacts of eyesight deterioration related to diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts, so now being close to where the research action is will be very relevant and fulfilling for me,” she said.
In addition to her current Chair roles, Dr Smyth holds Non-Executive Director roles at the National Energy Resources Australia Growth Centre (NERA), the MinEx CRC and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). She is the Business Patron of the WA Youth Theatre Company (WATCO). Previous Non-Executive Director and Chair roles have been at the Senate of The University of Western Australia, Scitech, Screenwest, RFDS Western Operations and National boards, Diabetes Research Foundation WA, Harry Perkins Medical Research Institute and government assisted research and ministerial advisory bodies.
She is the co-founder and Chair of the Mega Data Cluster WA and sits on the WA Digital Environmental Impact Assessment working party.
The LEI is a leading medical research institute and world-class ophthalmic clinic. Established in 1983, the Institute works towards a world without blindness, pushing the frontiers of science to understand, prevent and cure eye disease.
