Meet our Council members appointed by Council

Luan Atkinson, James Hooke and Mark Johnson share their thoughts about being on UNSW Council.

Members of UNSW Council include members appointed by Council – Luan Atkinson, James Hooke and Mark Johnson – as well as official members, ministerial appointments, and elected student and staff members. 

Luan Atkinson 

Luan Atkinson is Chief Executive Officer of Renewable Metals, a startup commercialising novel technology to recycle lithium-ion batteries. Renewable Metals is backed by leading climate-tech investors and supported by grants from both Australian and UK governments.  

She was previously a co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of SouthPeak Investment Management, an alternative investment manager based in Sydney and Connecticut in the US. Luan has also held senior roles at Deutsche Bank, Perpetual Ltd and McKinsey & Company. She served as an independent director of Russell Investments’ superannuation trustee, where she chaired the Investment Committee.

Much of Luan’s career has been in NSW and she felt “incredibly honoured” to be invited to be on UNSW Council. 

“When I looked closely at UNSW, I was blown away by the sheer scale and ambition of the innovation and R&D happening across the University. UNSW genuinely punches above its weight globally on translating research into real-world impact and, as someone running a deep-tech business myself, that's exciting to be close to. 

“The Progress for All strategy frames that ambition in a way I really connect with – a 10-year roadmap anchored in societal benefit, with clear impact pathways across education, research and engagement.

“The governance challenge drew me in too. UNSW is an extraordinarily complex organisation, and governing it in a way that enables rather than constrains is a genuinely interesting problem,” she said.

A few aspects of being a member of Council appeal to Luan. She said the Audit Committee work is intellectually rich – internal controls, financial sustainability, regulatory disclosures including the new climate reporting regime – and she enjoys the rigour of it.  

“I also love how collaborative and open Council itself is. It brings together faculty members, undergraduate and postgraduate student representatives, and external appointees, and everyone genuinely has a say. The quality of debate is high, the range of views is broad, and decisions are better for it,” she said. 

Council and its committees provide incredible insight into how a great university actually works – and for shaping where it goes next, according to Luan.  

“Whether you’re a student or staff member, you'll learn an enormous amount  by being on Council – about governance, about higher education, about yourself — and you'll build relationships you wouldn't otherwise have access to. It's a serious time commitment, but the return is equally serious – the chance to contribute to an institution that genuinely changes lives, and to develop skills and perspectives that carry into everything else you do.” 

Luan’s diverse career, spanning law, strategy, investment management and finance, risk and compliance, and startups, is all directly relevant to Council and the Audit Committee's work on controls, disclosures and financial sustainability. 

“And commercialising deep tech at Renewable Metals gives me a practitioner's view of the research-to-impact journey, which feels increasingly relevant to how UNSW thinks about translation and partnerships,” she said. 

James Hooke 

UNSW Sydney alumnus James Hooke is an executive and company leader with extensive global experience across governance, investment, infrastructure and media. He has served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of publicly listed companies in both the United States (US) and Australia, and has held senior roles in diverse sectors and locations, including Europe, Asia and North America.  

He has sector experience in infrastructure (airports, toll roads), energy (solar, wind, thermal), logistics, media, real estate and financial services. James is currently a Chairman and the Investment Committee member of LongView residential real estate, the Director of Enliven Housing Group (Specialised Disability Accommodation) and Kilfinan Australia, and Chair of the Finance Committee of the Dusseldorp Foundation.

James was motivated to take up a role on UNSW Council firstly, because of his affection and gratitude for his experience as a student at UNSW and, secondly, because he was influenced by his time in the US where he witnessed first-hand the American notion of giving back to and maintaining a lifelong relationship with your tertiary institution. 

He said his role on UNSW Council appealed to him for many reasons, including the University’s “amazing achievements”. 

“It’s the best mining school in Australia and ranks third in the world, what has been achieved in solar and quantum computing is staggering, and the quality of the academic and public policy output is amazing. 

“The way I view the Council is we're like roadies to a group of rock star academics and students we’re helping make sure that the University has the resources and the governance to let them flourish – and that’s exciting,” James said. 

With fond memories of his own student experience at UNSW – especially as co-editor of the student newspaper and as a member of the University debating team –  James also has a desire to continuously improve the student extra-curricular experience. 

“Celebrating the University's success, seeing the brilliance of the students and the academics inspires me, but so does trying to ensure that for students it’s a memorable and fun stage of their life journey.” 

James has been involved with UNSW in different capacities since he graduated, but predominantly after 2007 when he moved to New York and attended alumni functions when the Vice-Chancellor or Dean of the Law School visited.

“I would say be involved in whatever way you can, whether it's the Foundation, whether it's organising alumni reunions, whether it's donating scholarships, whether it's sitting on faculty advisory boards or on Council. You will find it rewarding,” he said. 

Mark Johnson 

Deputy Chancellor Mark Johnson is a UNSW Sydney alumnus and an experienced Australian company director and governance leader. He currently holds non-executive director roles with Goodman Group, Metcash Limited, SGH Limited, Sydney Airport Limited and the Aurecon Group, contributing extensive expertise in audit, risk, finance, transactions and strategic oversight across listed and regulated organisations.  

Mark is a former director of a number of companies including the Hospital Contributions Fund of Australia (HCF), Coca-Cola Amatil, The Smith Family, G8 Education, the Westfield Corporation and HSBC Bank Australia.

Prior to his board career, he spent more than 30 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, spanning roles of Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Chairman Asia and a member of PwC’s Global Strategy Council.  

Mark cares deeply about education and thinks it’s one of the most powerful ways to change lives – not only for individuals, but for families, communities and society more broadly. 

“That interest in education has been a constant thread for me. I have been involved in schools, in work supporting disadvantaged children, in early childhood education and now at UNSW. Each of those settings is different, but the underlying belief is the same: access to high-quality education can change the course of a person’s life.” 

The opportunity to contribute on Council to an institution like UNSW with long-term importance was compelling for Mark. 

“Universities make decisions today that can shape students, research, industries and communities for decades. 

“I also enjoy the breadth of the role. Council members have to think about strategy, financial sustainability, risk, culture, research, teaching, students and reputation. That makes it intellectually interesting, but also very meaningful. 

For Mark, the most satisfying part of being on UNSW Council is knowing that good governance can help create the conditions for others to do extraordinary work – students learning, researchers discovering, teachers inspiring and the University contributing to society. 

He recommends Council to people who are interested in in purpose-driven governance.  

A university Council role is challenging, but it is also deeply rewarding because the purpose is so clear. While the role draws on many of the skills I have developed through board and leadership roles, what I find especially interesting is applying those skills in a university context. So the question is not only whether the university is financially strong and well governed, but whether that strength is helping it educate students, support staff, advance research and contribute to society,” Mark said. 

Professor Glynn Davis AC has a leave of absence from UNSW Council from 12 January 2026 and there is one vacant appointment by Council.