AHH Members Committee
The Australian Hearing Hub Members Committee drives the governance for and sets the strategic direction of collaborative activities in the Australian Hearing Hub.
Professor Sakkie Pretorius (Chair)
Macquarie University
Pretorius is Deputy Vice Chancellor Research at Macquarie University. He has a background in synthetic biology. Sakkie began his career in South Africa. At Stellenbosch University, he became the founding Director of South Africa’s Institute for Wine Biotechnology. In the US and Europe, he conducted research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany, and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.
Professor Patrick McNeil
Macquarie University
McNeil is Macquarie University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Medicine and Health, a role that provides leadership of both the clinical and academic components of MQ Health – the Macquarie University Health Sciences Centre, which represents Australia’s first fully integrated academic health sciences enterprise under a university’s leadership. Patrick joined Macquarie in November 2014 as its inaugural Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, now the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences.
Dr Zachary
Smith
Cochlear
Zachary is Director of Algorithms and Applications at Cochlear Limited, where he leads global research programs in sound processing and surgical tools and facilitates external research collaborations in Australia. He has worked in the cochlear implant research field for over 20 years and has a passion for improving access, effectiveness, and usability of hearing implants. Dr. Smith relocated to Australia from the United States in 2018 and before his industry career was trained and conducted research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Ravin
Nand
Cochlear ANZ
Ravin Nand is the Associate General Manager of Australia & New Zealand at Cochlear.
Professor Catherine McMahon
Macquarie University Hearing
McMahon is Head of Department for Linguistics at Macquarie University and Director of HEAR (Hearing, Education, Application, Research) Centre. She is a commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Hearing Loss. She contributed to the World Report on Hearing (published by WHO), and was on the committee that developed the Roadmap of Hearing Health, endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). She is the lead investigator for two projects seeking to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal children with hearing loss.
Eron
Plumb
Hearing Australia
Eron Plumb was appointed Managing Director of Hearing Australia on 1 September 2026. Eron is a highly experienced Chief Executive Officer and Manager Director who brings more than 35 years’ experience leading large, customer-focused organisations across diverse retail and service sectors in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. As Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of InvoCare Australia Pty Ltd, he oversaw operations for Australia, New Zealand and Singapore’s largest provider of celebration and memorialisation services. Prior to this, Eron served as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Bay Audio Group that operated in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, a leading provider of hearing aids and hearing health services – building one of Australia’s leading allied health retail and wholesale businesses. He has also held significant leadership roles at Harris Technology, Officeworks and Coles Supermarkets. Eron has deep experience in operational and people-centric leadership, transformation, commercial growth and leading teams across complex, multi-site organisations.
Dr Brent
Edwards
National Acoustic Laboratories
Brent Edwards, Ph.D., is the Director of the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL), where he is currently leading new innovation initiatives that focus on transforming hearing healthcare. For over 22 years he headed research at major hearing aid companies and at Silicon Valley startups that have developed innovative technologies and clinical tools used worldwide. Dr. Edwards founded and ran the Starkey Hearing Research Center in Berkeley, California that was a leading site for research in hearing impairment and cognition.
Professor Greg Leigh AO
NextSense
Director of NextSense Institute and conjointly Professor of Education and at Macquarie University. Greg has served on numerous Australian Government consultative committees and is Chair of the Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Committee. He is a former National President of the Education Commission for the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf and Chair of the International Congress on Education of the Deaf. He is active in research and serves on the editorial boards of several journals in the field.
Dr Aleisha
Davis
The Shepherd Centre
Aleisha took on the CEO role at The Shepherd Centre after 20 years in the organisation, most recently heading up the clinical and research teams. She has a clinical background in Speech Pathology and as a Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, and has an active research interest in supporting outcomes to create a brighter better future for children and young people with hearing loss and their families. She is passionate about driving clinical innovation, sector collaboration, partnerships and designing services to address all communication needs including listening skills, social skills, executive function, literacy, family centred models and digital resources to support professionals in their work.
Matthew
Hinchley
Australian Hearing Hub
Matthew provides the executive support for the Australian Hearing Hub.
AHH Strategic Implementation Committee
The Australian Hearing Hub Strategic Implementation Committee leads the delivery of the Australian Hearing Hub Strategic Plan, ensuring the plans goals and key actions are turned into practical, coordinated work across its members.
Professor Catherine McMahon (Chair)
Macquarie University
McMahon is Head of Department for Linguistics at Macquarie University and Director of HEAR (Hearing, Education, Application, Research) Centre. She is a commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Hearing Loss. She contributed to the World Report on Hearing (published by WHO), and was on the committee that developed the Roadmap of Hearing Health, endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). She is the lead investigator for two projects seeking to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal children with hearing loss.
Dr Aleisha
Davis
The Shepherd Centre
Aleisha took on the CEO role at The Shepherd Centre after 20 years in the organisation, most recently heading up the clinical and research teams. She has a clinical background in Speech Pathology and as a Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, and has an active research interest in supporting outcomes to create a brighter better future for children and young people with hearing loss and their families. She is passionate about driving clinical innovation, sector collaboration, partnerships and designing services to address all communication needs including listening skills, social skills, executive function, literacy, family centred models and digital resources to support professionals in their work.
Professor Greg Leigh AO
NextSense
Director of NextSense Institute and conjointly Professor of Education and at Macquarie University. Greg has served on numerous Australian Government consultative committees and is Chair of the Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Committee. He is a former National President of the Education Commission for the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf and Chair of the International Congress on Education of the Deaf. He is active in research and serves on the editorial boards of several journals in the field.
Emma
Scanlan
Hearing Australia
Emma is Principal Audiologist for Adults at Hearing Australia, mainly responsible for service delivery and quality for adults with complex needs. She has delivered clinical services in the paediatric and adult areas for many years, and manages policy and practice for clients who have severe and profound hearing loss, have poor communication ability, or have other impairments in addition to hearing loss.
Ben
Marosszeky
Cochlear
Ben Marosszeky is Director of Marketing and Business Development for Australia and New Zealand at Cochlear and is passionate about improving access to hearing healthcare through partnership, innovation and system-wide collaboration.
Ben works across the hearing health ecosystem to strengthen connections between healthcare providers, governments, industry, researchers and community organisations. His focus includes expanding referral pathways, improving access to hearing implant technology, and supporting initiatives that deliver better outcomes for people living with a hearing loss.
As a member of the Australian Hearing Hub Strategic Implementation Committee, Ben is committed to advancing the Hub’s vision of transforming lives through hearing research, education, clinical care and collaborative innovation.
Matthew
Hinchley
Australian Hearing Hub
Matthew provides governance, project management and operational support for the Australian Hearing Hub.