Advisory Board

An experienced eight-member Advisory Board will steer the transition of the Queensland Academy of Sport to a new statutory body.

The Advisory Board will work closely with the Queensland Government and QAS Senior Leadership Team to ensure the Academy’s new structure delivers the agility and efficiency necessary to support elite athletes to succeed.

With strong Olympic, Paralympic and elite sport experience, as well as key business capabilities including corporate law, sports administration and strategy, marketing, business innovation and sound financial, governance and operational knowledge the Advisory Board provides key guidance to the QAS.

Board Chair and Member biographies

David Lyons (Chair)

Mr Lyons has over 25 years’ experience in law specialising in corporate matters. With a keen interest in trade and investment, he has acted for clients in international markets and also acted as a strategic advisor. Aside from the work in the legal, international trade and investment communities, Mr Lyons is currently the Deputy Chair for Diving Australia, a Director of RZ Resources Limited; the Chair of Naturalena Advisory Board; and Director of Major Festivals Brisbane. Previously, he was a Director with Brisbane Powerhouse Limited for 10 years and a member of an Advisory Board with the Queensland Institute of Medical Research for projects in Asia. Mr Lyons is also a former elite athlete, having represented Australia in Diving.

Cate Campbell

Ms Campbell is a Malawian-born Australian former competitive swimmer. She is the current world record holder in the short course 100m freestyle. Ms Campbell has eight Olympic medals, four of which are gold, across four Olympics. She was Australia's joint flagbearer at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and is regarded as one of the greatest Australian swimmers and one of the best relay swimmers of all time, holding four of the fastest 100m freestyle splits in history at the time of her retirement. Ms Campbell has studied a Bachelor of Mass Communication/Media Studies at the Queensland University of Technology and is using her education and career to be a brand ambassador for Australian companies close to her passions.

Ella Sabljak

A primary school teacher by trade, Ms Sabljak is a current member of the Australian Steelers wheelchair rugby team. Prior to taking up the sport in 2022, she was known for her exceptional skills on the basketball court with highlights including qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and captaining Australia’s U25s team to a World Championship silver medal. Following the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where Ms Sabljak competed in wheelchair basketball, she made the transition to rugby. She is classified as a 2.5 player and won her first world championship gold medal at the 2022 IWRF World Championship in Denmark, when Australia defeated the United States. Ms Sabljak is also an advocate for her sport, having been appointed by the Asia Oceania Zone as their representative on the IWBF’s Athlete Steering Committee, whose task is to establish an Athlete’s Commission.

Mark James

Mr James is a co-founder of Customology and is dedicated to helping businesses create lasting relationships with their customers. He works to empower companies to deliver exceptional customer experiences that foster loyalty and retention. Mr James has served as the Chief Executive Officer of GJI Group, a company he founded in 1997, where he has been leading strategic initiatives and overseeing operations for nearly three decades. Mr James’ skills are aligned to marketing communications, new business development, and creative direction, as well as leveraging results to drive innovation and excellence for his stakeholders.

Benjamin (Ben) Ikin

Mr Ikin is a former professional rugby league footballer and has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Rugby League from 22 May 2023. He previously worked in football operations roles for the Brisbane Broncos from June 2021 until May 2023, and had been the host of talk show NRL 360 on Fox League as well as a commentator for the Nine Network and Fox Sports. As an Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative centre turned five-eighth, Mr Ikin played club football for the Gold Coast Seagulls, the North Sydney Bears and the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the 2000 premiership, before being forced into early retirement in 2004 by injury.

Alex Baumann

Dual Olympic gold medallist, Canadian native Mr Baumann has a long history in Australian high-performance sport as a former Chief Executive of Swimming Australia and Queensland Swimming. Mr Baumann was also the Chief Executive of High-Performance Sport New Zealand and is credited with helping New Zealand achieve an outstanding Olympic team performance in Rio de Janeiro 2016 of 18 medals. He also knows the Queensland Academy of Sport well, having worked for the Academy from 1996-1998. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Mr Baumann won gold medals in the 200 and 400-metre individual medleys.

Susan Rix AM

Ms Rix is a Tax and Advisory Consultant with BDO in Brisbane. She specialises in corporate governance, family councils, succession planning, taxation structures and restructuring. Ms Rix has extensive experience in taxation, general business and management services, provision of budgets, cash flow projections and providing advice to improve business efficiency and profits. She has also assisted a number of businesses establish accounting systems to provide information for use in decision-making. Since October 2023, Ms Rix has been the Deputy Chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology.

Annette Maidment

An astute businesswoman, Ms Maidment is also an experienced sports administrator and was President and Chair of the Townsville Hockey Club from 2017 to 2021. During her tenure, she stabilised the Association’s financial position and worked with government and partners to rebuild all the Townsville Hockey Association facilities after the devasting floods of 2019. She is passionate about junior engagement, pathways from grassroots to elite participation and understands the additional barriers faced by regional athletes and sporting organisations. She is currently Chief Financial Officer of the Maidment Group.