The board of Cape York Partnership is pleased to announce the appointment of Fiona Jose as the incoming CEO.
She will succeed current CEO, Duncan Murray, at the end of 2017.
Cape York Partnership (CYP), founded by Noel Pearson, is widely acknowledged as one of Australia’s leading Indigenous organisations. It includes Cape York Institute, Cape York Leaders Program, Cape York Employment, Cape York Enterprises, Pama Language Centre, Cape York Timber, Bama Services, Djarragun College, and Cape York Girl Academy.
Across the Partnership, there are more than 300 employees, 47% who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. It has long been the expressed intention of the board that the Partnership would be led by an Indigenous person. The appointment of Ms Jose to lead the group is the culmination of that succession planning.
Ms Jose, a prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman, has had a long and distinguished career in senior management roles including at Education Queensland, Skill360 Australia and Skytrans before joining Cape York Partnership in 2010. Since then, Fiona has been an outstanding leader as Director of Leadership for the Cape York Leaders Program, Chief Executive Officer of Cape York Institute, and now, Executive General Manager responsible for all operations on Cape York.
In making the announcement, Co-Chair Richie Ah Mat pointed to the organic elevation of an Indigenous leader through the ranks of the Partnership.
“We are very pleased to have been able to appoint a new CEO from within our ranks,” Mr Ah Mat said, “Fiona is a passionate Indigenous leader with a strong vision on how to deliver on our agenda.”
Co-chair Mr Danny Gilbert paid tribute to outgoing CEO, Duncan Murray, who will remain on the board as a non-Executive Director.
“Duncan has done an outstanding job over the past six years. Firstly, bringing together a group of disparate but very related organisations into one high-performance group and then building on that with the development of a strong portfolio of enterprise, education and language preservations organisations.
Ms Jose, in accepting the appointment, spoke of her excitement for the future and her passion for the people of Cape York.
“Our vision has always been profound but simple. That the people of Cape York have the capabilities to choose a life they have reason to value, “she said.
“I will lead the team with that firmly in mind as our guiding light. We have come so far and we will build on that to ensure that the people of Cape York enjoy all the privileges and accept all the responsibilities of being proud Indigenous Australians.”