The APRA Board comprises twelve Directors. Of these, six are representatives of publisher members elected by the votes of all publisher members and six are writer members elected by the votes of all writer members; of these latter, five are elected by the Australian writers and one by the New Zealand writers. One-third of the Directors retire by rotation each year but, if eligible, may seek re-election.
Michael Perjanik - Chairman
Non-executive Writer Director since 1985 and current Chairman of the Board. A writer member of APRA since 1970.
A composer of contemporary music for television, advertising and film for over 40 years. He is Managing Director of music production company Mike Perjanik Productions Pty Ltd, currently providing original music for the TV series Home and Away.
Robert Aird
Non-executive Publisher Director since 1989.
Managing Director of Universal Music Publishing Pty Limited, Universal/MCA Music Publishing Pty Limited, Universal/MGB Music Publishing Pty Ltd, Rondor Music (Australia) Pty Limited, Essex Music of Australia Pty Limited and Cromwell Music of Australia Pty Limited . He is also a Director of the Australasian Music Publishers Association Limited and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited.
Matthew Capper
Non-executive Publisher Director since 2007
Matthew is the Managing Director of Warner/Chappell Music Australia Pty Ltd. He is also a Director of Chappell & Co (Australia) Pty Ltd, Wallaby Music Pty Ltd, Warner/Chappell Pty Ltd, the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited, and is a Director and Deputy Chair of the Australasian Music Publishers Association Limited.
Ian James
Non-executive Publisher Director since 1991 and current Deputy Chairman of the Board.
Ian has been the Managing Director of Mushroom Music Pty Limited since 1986. He is also the Chairman of the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited and a Director of the Australasian Music Publishers Association Limited.
Ian has a Bachelor of Commerce (Applied Psychology) from the University of New South Wales and was employed by the Australasian Performing Right Association Limited from 1976 to 1986 in several management positions.
Eric McCusker
Non-executive Writer Director since 1990.
Eric is a composer/lyricist and guitarist/singer who has been involved in the industry for over 36 years, notably with Mondo Rock. He composed seven Australian Top 40 hits with that band including Come Said The Boy and State Of The Heart and has had songs covered by artists as diverse as Paul Rodgers, Rick Springfield, John Farnham and Tex Perkins. His songs have charted in the Top 40 in the USA, Germany and Japan among other territories. He is Director of Eric McCusker Music Pty. Ltd and lives in Melbourne.
Don McGlashan
Non-executive Writer Director since 2010
Don has been a full-time songwriter, performer, and composer for over 30 years. He has won the Silver Scroll twice: in 1994 for “Anchor Me” and in 2006 for “Bathe In The River”. With his various bands, Blam Blam Blam , The Front Lawn, The Mutton Birds and recent solo work, he has had 5 top ten albums, 6 top 5 singles (including one No. 1, “The Heater”) and received 7 Tui awards, (including, in 1993, Best Band, Best Single and Best Album with the Mutton Birds). There are 5 of Don’s songs in APRA’s 100 best songs of all time.
He has also had a lot of involvement in music for film, TV and advertising throughout his career: scoring 10 feature films, including Jane Campion’s “An Angel At My Table”, and Toa Fraser’s “No. 2” (which won best film score at the NZ Film & TV Awards 2006); 5 TV series, including the long-running drama Street Legal, (which won the TV score award at the same event in 2003), and “This Is Not My Life”, TV1’s top drama show in 2010.
Don has a long history of serving on Creative NZ committees across the fields of music, theatre and education, and he was one of the founders of Auckland’s Watershed Theatre, being heavily engaged in the set-up and running of that venue through the early nineties.
Santiago Menendez-Pidal
Non-executive Director since 2010
Santiago Menendez-Pidal began his career as International Marketing Manager at BMG Music in 1992 before moving to Warner/Chappell Music Spain as Creative Manager from 1997-2003. From 2003 he was Managing Director at Clipper's Madrid before taking up the position of Managing Director at EMI Music Publishing Spain in November 2005. In July 2010 he was appointed Managing Director of EMI Music Publishing Australia effective from 1 October.
Jenny Morris
Non-executive Writer Director since 1995.
A writer member of APRA since 1983. Music writer, performer and recording artist since 1980. Has had 3 top 5 and 4 top 20 singles in Australia and similar success in NZ. Has recorded 9 albums gaining gold, platinum and multi platinum status in the process. Won back to back ARIA awards for best female vocalist.
Recorded with and/or supported (In the U.S) Sly and Robbie, (In Europe) Prince, Tears for Fears, (In Australia) Paul McCartney, (around the world) INXS.
Board member of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy charity since 2000.
Chris Neal
Non-executive Writer Director since 2000. Writer member of APRA since 1972.
A songwriter and screen composer with feature film and TV drama credits spanning 35 years and including such titles as Turtle Beach, Bodyline, Farscape, GP, Emerald City and The Shiralee.
A founding member and past president of the Australian Guild of Screen Composers. Representative for the interests of composer colleagues since 1987. A member of the film industry lobby group informing the Broadcasting Tribunal drafting of Standard TPS 14 which guaranteed the place of Australian music in local content regulation for commercial television.
David Albert
Non-executive Publisher Director since 2010
David is the CEO of the Albert Group of Companies which includes J.Albert & Son, the music and entertainment business founded in 1885 by Great Great Grandfather Jacques Albert. David is the fifth generation Albert to work in the family business. David holds an MBA from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, a Masters in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts and is the co-chair of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Australia.
Damian Trotter
Non-executive Publisher Director since 2000.
Damian is the Managing Director of Sony/ATV Music Publishing and a Director and former Chairperson of the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited and the Australasian Music Publishers Association Limited.
After joining CBS Records in 1981, he held various positions including Local Artist Marketing Manager and National Promotions Manager. In 1990 he was appointed General Manager East West Records before returning to Sony in 1991 to take up his current position.
Nigel Westlake
Non-executive Writer Director since 2008
Nigel's career, spanning over three decades, began as a clarinetist touring Australia and the world with many ensembles. He began composing from 1970, receiving offers to write for radio, theatre, circus, TV and film. His film credits include Miss Potter, Babe, Children of the Revolution and the IMAX films Antarctica and Imagine. He writes extensively for the concert hall, receiving commissions to write for orchestras, ensembles and soloists. Nigel has received many awards including 14 AGSC / APRA awards, across both classical and screen categories, and the Gold Medal for "Best Original Music" at the New York International Radio Festival.
Jonathan Carter
Company Secretary
Jonathan Carter is Corporate Counsel of the Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (APRA|AMCOS), managing the legal affairs of both organisations.
After being admitted to practise in 2001, Jonathan was appointed associate to the Honourable Justice Heerey of the Federal Court of Australia, who at that time was Chair of the Court's intellectual property law panel. Jonathan also worked in the intellectual property group of national law firm Allens Arthur Robinson, before taking in-house legal and management roles at Sony Music Entertainment Australia and then EMI Music Australia.
Jonathan has degrees in arts and law with double first class honours from the University of Sydney.