Three new members join Library Board of Victoria

President of the Library Board of Victoria, Christine Christian AO, has announced the appointment of three new members, Alex Cartel, Inala Cooper and Mark De Ambrosis for a three-year period.

Christine Christian AO said the new board members are joining at an important time.

“Alex, Inala and Mark have a diverse range of expert skills and I know that they will provide invaluable leadership as we head into a new and exciting phase at the Library,” Ms Christian said.

“Our new board members bring to the Library a wealth of expertise in Indigenous development, business leadership, and commercial and philanthropic experience. I look forward to working together to lead the Library.”

Alex Cartel is the Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking for Citi Australia and New Zealand and is the President of the Australian Takeovers Panel. Prior to joining Citi in 2020, he enjoyed a 20-year career at Deutsche Bank. Alex holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne (LLB), which he graduated with Honours and as the Supreme Court Prize Winner. He has been Chair of the State Library Victoria Foundation Council since December 2020, and a member since August 2020. Alex has deep familial ties with the Library: it was his father’s job offer here that enabled a then six-year-old Alex and his family to migrate from New York to Melbourne in the 1970s.

Inala Cooper is Director of Murrup Barak, the Institute for Indigenous Development at the University of Melbourne. She is an experienced Board member, having been a member of Jesuit Social Services, the Barpirdhila Foundation, which supports Aboriginal excellence in arts and music, and Culture is Life, which works to prevent Indigenous youth suicide. Inala is a Yawuru woman from Broome in the Kimberley, WA. She grew up in South West Victoria on Gunditjmara land and has lived on the land of the Kulin Nations in Melbourne for over 20 years.

Mark De Ambrosis is the co-founder and Managing Director of Armitage Associates. Mark commenced his career as a consultant with McKinsey & Co in Sydney. In 2009 he founded Longreach Capital in Chicago and returned to Australia in 2011 where he spent over five years leading the investment team at M. H. Carnegie & Co as the firm’s Investment Director and Partner. Mark has an MBA from Harvard Business (graduated Baker Scholar), and a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland.

The new Board members join the Library Board of Victoria President Christine Christian AO, Deputy President Maria Myers AC, Donata Carrazza, Adam Lewis, Maxine McKew, Cheri Ong, Hugh Williams and Karen Wood.