Our Ambassadors

Jac Phillips

Healthy Skin Ambassador

Jac Phillips joined Visa in March 2017 as Head of Marketing for the Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific region. She leads a team across these markets who are responsible for championing the Visa brand and driving deeper partnerships with clients, consumers and stakeholders across the region.

Jac is a highly experienced marketer with more than 20 years of marketing and communications expertise in both traditional and online environments.

She joined Visa from the Bank of Melbourne (part of the Westpac Group), where she led the brand and marketing team for three years. Prior to that, Jac also spent many years with ANZ and time leading the marketing for IBM in Singapore. She brings extensive international experience across wealth management, banking, technology, FMCG and retail industries, as well as an intimate knowledge of the payments ecosystem to Visa.

KATE ROFFEY

Healthy Skin Ambassador

Kate is a former CEO of the Committee for Melbourne, a high-profile civic leadership role that advocated for the long-term development of Greater Melbourne from an economic and liveability perspective. Prior to joining the Committee, Kate worked with Tennis Australia managing the Melbourne Park Redevelopment and played a leadership role in developing the Masterplan vision for the redevelopment, securing $950 million in government funding for the 12-year build, and renegotiating the commercial and operational agreements underpinning the Australia Open Grand Slam.

As part of her role at Tennis Australia, Kate travelled extensively to world-leading sports and entertainment venues to gain a cutting-edge understanding of international best practice in facility design, city integration and organisational management. Throughout her travels, she spent time with leading organisations such as the New York Yankees, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Manchester United FC, Arsenal FC, LA Live, and Madison Square Garden.

Kate also holds a number of non-executive roles. Kate is a graduate of the Australia Institute of Company Directors, and is a Director of the Melbourne Football Club, a member of the Ministerial Freight Advisory Committee, Chair of Enterprise Maribyrnong, a Director of Melbourne University Sport, and is an Ambassador for the Skin Health Institute and Berry Street. 

HOLLY RANSOM

Healthy Skin Ambassador

Holly Ransom is the CEO of Emergent Solutions, a company specialising in the development of high performing intergenerational workforces, leadership and social outcomes. Holly is renowned for generating innovative solutions to complex multi-­stakeholder problems for corporations, governments and non-­profit organisations, and for coaching and professionally mentoring leaders of all generations around the world.

Holly holds a Law degree and BA (Economics). In 2012, she was the youngest person to be named in Australia’s ‘100 Most Influential Women’, and also became the world’s youngest ever Rotary President. Her work with Rotary has played a key role in the global efforts to lift youth participation in the organisation, more than doubling the organisation’s youth membership in the last five years.

In 2014, the Australian Prime Minister appointed Holly to chair the G20 Youth Summit, resulting in the first summit to secure its policy demands from G20 leaders. 

Her corporate career has involved working as Chief of Staff to NAB Wealth Chief Executive Andrew Hagger and for Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh, leading key organisational strategy and business improvement initiatives and integrated corporate affairs projects. Holly’s company, Emergent Solutions has worked with the likes of INPEX, CBH, Conoco Phillips, KPMG, as well as local, state and federal government departments around the world.

Holly is a Director of Layne Beachley’s Aim For the Stars Foundation and Global Voices, and is on the Advisory Board of Swimming Australia, Black Sheep Capital and RMIT’s Business School.

An accomplished global keynote speaker, Holly has presented across six continents, including delivering a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama, presenting at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Monaco and addressing the G20’s Central Bank Governors and Finance Ministers. She is also a popular blogger, contributor to a number of leading publications and a regular radio and TV guest. She has featured on ABC’s ‘Q&A’, Reuters, Bloomberg Asia, Channel 7 News and Channel 10’s ‘The Project’, and is renowned for her commentary on inter-generational economic and social challenges.

Dr Joanna McMillan

Healthy Skin Ambassador

www.drjoanna.com.au

'I see people spending a fortune on products to use on their skin, yet they have often not realised that the way they eat has a dramatic effect on their skin health.

Being a healthy skin ambassador helps me to spread the message of good nutrition for our skin from the inside out.'

Joanna is one of Australia's best-known nutrition and healthy lifestyle experts. She is the founder of an online lifestyle change program Get Lean, and a regular on our TV screens, radio and in print media. She has authored several books, including her latest Get Lean, Stay Lean, and writes a weekly column in Sunday Life.

Her accent gives her away as a Scot, but she made Australia her home in 1999, where she subsequently gained her PhD in nutritional science from the University of Sydney. Her university studies started with psychology, followed by a Bachelor of Science, all the while working as a fitness instructor, which she did for over 15 years. Together this gives her a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. As a down-to-earth Scot and a working mum, all her advice is interpreted by what is practical, doable and fun, while still giving the desired results.

The Institute is thrilled to have Jo on as a Healthy Skin Ambassador, and continues to work with Jo in promoting the important role that nutrition plays in achieving and maintaining healthy skin.

Deborah Hutton

Healthy Skin Ambassador

www.deborahhutton.com

Deborah Hutton first appeared on the cover of Australian Cosmopolitan at 16. 

Her modelling career began while she was still at school and led to top international contracts in Germany, Italy and New York, where she worked with the world's top models and photographers.

For more than ten years, Deborah represented Myer Grace Bros Department Store Group as their national ambassador and spokesperson, and hosted a variety of corporate functions, VIP nights, and seminars.

Deborah has hosted many Nine Network programs including top-rating shows Looking Good, Location Location, Amazing Homes, Celebrity Overhaul and recently, Nine's documentary weight loss series BIG.  She was also a regular contributor on the Nine Network's Fresh Food program and a guest reporter on Getaway. For more than ten years, Deborah was an editor for the Australian Women's Weekly. 

Deborah was an ambassador for Qantas for 12 years presenting the in-flight video guide, seen by one million passengers per month worldwide.

In 2012 Deborah founded an ambitious project to help women find balance in their life. Facing 50 and the shock of being diagnosed with a serious skin cancer, Deborah spent more than a year assessing and redefining herself and realised along the way, women not only needed help but also wanted to talk about it.

'Balance by Deborah Hutton' is an on-line community designed to help women connect with coaches and experts who offer practical advice towards living a happier and more successful life.

The Institute is delighted to have Deborah on board as a Healthy Skin Ambassador.

Laura Anderson

Healthy Skin Ambassador

Laura is an independent Company Director, Corporate Advisor and philanthropist.

She is currently Chairman of SVI Global Pty Ltd, OneGlobalVenture Pty Ltd, LaunchVic and Chairman of the Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology in Schools. Laura is on the Board of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Epworth HealthCare, the National Basketball League and the Defence Council Victoria, the Fulbright Commission, the Defence Science Institute and is a Director of several private investment companies.   

Laura is an active member of many professional associations including the international Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, where she served as the founding President of the Asia Pacific Roundtable from 2000-2003.

She has worked extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia and has earned an international reputation for her innovative contributions in the areas of scenario analysis, strategic planning, risk management and capability development.

Laura also takes great interest in literature, travel and the arts.

Vaughan Bonny

Healthy Skin Ambassador

Vaughan Bonny represents the “Bonny Family” as a healthy skin ambassador.  Wes Bonny (Vaughan’s Brother) was lost to melanoma in March 2010.

Their story features in the Wes Bonny Testimonial campaign which tells the real life story of a 26 year old man who died of melanoma. This story demonstrates that melanoma can and does affect young people. The aim of the campaign is to get people to be more vigilant about sun protection.  Through their personal experience Vaughan and his family are passionate about raising the awareness of melanoma and sun protection in the community.  In addition to the Wes Bonny Testimonial campaign, Vaughan has featured on ABC radio, Triple M Sydney and various other media formats to promote Wes’s story and the sun protection message.

Dr. Bertold (Bert) Salomon

International Skin Ambassador

www.salomonwines.com

Bert Salomon is a fourth generation, split-hemisphere winemaker, producing quality white wines at Finniss River in Austria and primarily shiraz in the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. In the mid 1980´s Bert was on the Board of Directors for the Schlumberger wine importing company. He was the first to export Australian wine to Austria. Due to his passion for Austrian wine, Bert was then nominated Director of the Austrian Wine Institute.

In 1995, Bert followed the family trail, and purchased vineyards in the Finniss River wine-growing region around 45 km south of the state capital of Adelaide, and founded the Salomon Estate. Bert is married to Gertrude and has four children. In 2002 Bert and Gertrud took over from Bert´s brother the Family vineyard SALOMON UNDHOF in Stein on the Danube. The Salomon family commutes nowadays between the northern and southern hemispheres. Bert's loss of older brother Erich in 2007 to melanoma has driven his decision to support increasing awareness of the importance of skin health and the prevention of skin cancer.

His brother Erich was extremely active in the winery, and in both sun sports during summer and skiing during winter. The Institute is grateful to Bert for his donation of both Austrian and Australian wines at our major fundraising events.