Corporate chief Brookes joins Australian Turf Club board

The Australian Turf Club has appointed a new board member just a day after learning of its successful Supreme Court challenge against Racing NSW placing the Sydney racing body into administration.

Former Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes AM will take up the member-elected position with the ATC, joining the Tim Hale-chaired board of five, one more than the required four to meet quorum.

His appointment comes at a critical stage for the ATC as it attempts to move forward as an independent club following Justice Francois Kunc’s judgement that Racing NSW’s decision to appoint an administrator to oversee Sydney’s thoroughbred racing club was invalid.

A long-term ATC member, Brookes joins Hale, deputy chair Caroline Searcy, David McGrath and Annette English on the board, bringing a wealth of high-level managerial and board experience to the club. 

“Bernie’s appointment to the Board supports continuity of good and proper governance and avoids the need and expense of convening a Member election solely to fill a casual vacancy,’’ Hale said.

“The board is thrilled to have a person of Bernie’s long and respected experience in business, mixed with a passion for racing, to continue to help guide the ATC’s future.

“We welcome Bernie to the board as the ATC hosts and executes world-class racing and entertainment at the start of the six-week Sydney autumn racing carnival.’’

After a three-decade career with Woolworths, and almost nine years serving as CEO and managing director of department store Myer until 2014, Brookes has maintained an active role in corporate life as chair on various boards as well as operating his own hospitality business.

More recently, he has been chair of the publicly listed Dotz Tech, an Israel-based carbon capture and monitoring and authentication technology company, and a chair of the CEO Institute.

He is also an Adjunct Industry Fellow with the Swinburne University of Technology as well as chair of Direct Group and Origin coffee.

Brookes has raced horses including Dusty Star, a Group 2 winner at Caulfield in 2011 for former trainer Peter Morgan, whom he co-owned with pokies king Bruce Mathieson.

While Brookes has filled the member-elected director’s position, two independent director vacancies remain open following the resignations last year of former ATC chair Peter McGauran and Natalie Hewson.

It was in September last year that Hewson followed the resignation of member-elected director Ben Bayot, the latter questioning the ATC’s financial position.

Brookes replaces Bayot, with his term running through until January 31 next year.

In late January, after questioning from The Straight, a spokesperson for NSW Racing Minister David Harris said he had written to Racing NSW chair Dr Saranne Cooke seeking nominations for a selection panel to appoint independent directors to the ATC board. 

That was despite an earlier expectation that two independent directors would be appointed by February 1.

Racing NSW issued the ATC with a show-cause notice in the days following the departure of Bayot and Hewson and the club’s CEO Matt Galanos.

Racing NSW’s board determined in December that the ATC should be placed into administration, with the regulator appointing Morgan Kelly of Ernst & Young to oversee the running of the club.

The ATC board, however, successfully sought an interim injunction via the Supreme Court to stop Kelly’s appointment. 

It then took its case to the Supreme Court last month, with three days of legal argument before Justice Kunc centering on the application of the Thoroughbred Racing Act by Racing NSW to impose the administrator on the member-run club.

Racing NSW is yet to confirm whether it will appeal Justice Kunc’s finding, which was handed down on Wednesday.