Baseball Australia is the governing body for all levels of baseball throughout Australia, a recognised member of the World Baseball Softball Confederation and the Australian Sports Commission and the owner of the Australian Baseball League.
Baseball Australia is committed to raising the profile of baseball, increasing participation, delivering amazing experiences for the baseball community and achieving international success.
As a not-for-profit member organisation, Baseball Australia co-ordinates and supports its seven state and territory associations; each are a crucial touchpoint in growing baseball and supporting national programs locally.
There are approximately 600 clubs providing baseball to over 30,000 active and registered baseball players in Australia.
Board of Directors
David Hynes has served as President of Baseball Australia since 2012. A former lawyer and Olympian, David has served or currently serves as a director of a number of leading Australian companies, including Balmain Tigers, Wests Tigers, Australian University Sport, Manchester Unity Australia Limited and Sydney Markets Limited. David is also the Deputy Chairman of the Carbine Club of NSW.
David is committed to working with the close-knit Australian Baseball community to grow Baseball in Australia at all levels – from grassroots to international.
Glenn Williams was appointed CEO of Baseball Australia in April 2021. Prior to his appointment as CEO he held the role of General Manager Team Australia, overseeing Australia’s rise in world ranking from 13th to sixth from 2015-2020.
As an athlete, Glenn was a dual Olympian, Olympic silver medallist (Athens 2004) and a 15 year professional with three MLB organisations. He was the 19th Australian to play in the Major Leagues, debuting for the Minnesota Twins in June 2005 and inducted into the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
After a lifetime in baseball and having spent time at every level of the game, Glenn has developed a deep understanding and passion for baseball. He will aim to use that passion to drive the growth of Baseball in Australia.
Ian Williams joined the Baseball Australia board in 2018. Ian is former Australian Under 19 baseball representative, as well as having represented the Australian Wallabies (1984-1990) and Japan Brave Blossoms (1993).
After 20 years as corporate partner in international law firms, he is currently a director of ASX-New Hope Corporation and chair of McDonald Jones Homes.
Ian is interested in developing connections in Asia and implementing the “Baseball in Australia” strategy through improved governance and alignment between Baseball Australia and its member States and Territories.
Paige Ridgewell is a senior government executive responsible for developing strategy for procurement, supply chain and utilities for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
As Deputy Director General of Sport and Recreation in the Queensland Government she led the development and implementation of the Activate Queensland 2019-2029 sport strategy.
She has extensive experience in managing and directing teams to achieve high-level outcomes in strategy, policy and program development and has held board positions at national, state and local levels with a range of sports, including touch football, rugby union and judo. Paige holds a Bachelor of Leisure Studies, a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Policy.
John Boultbee is a highly experienced and respected figure in the Australian and international sporting community. He is a former head of the Australian Institute of Sport, the National Sports Tribunal and World Rowing.
John’s high performance sport experience is extensive and includes senior executive roles at Football Australia and Volleyball Australia along with high performance consulting to Rugby Australia, Cricket Australia and the NRL.
He is a lawyer by profession, has held board roles with UNHCR, Rowing Australia, World Rowing and Baseball Australia and has held an arbitrator role on the Court of Arbitration for Sport for 30 years. John’s deep experience in the sports industry is a significant asset to achieving Baseball Australia’s strategic objectives.
Anthony is an experienced director of sports administration and investment banking executive.
His broad experience includes; Father of three, Chair of Baseball NSW, Corporate finance executive at Barrenjoey Capital, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, working in both London and Sydney. Anthony is a Chartered accountant and has a Master of Business Administration (AGSM). Anthony is the Chair of our Finance and Audit Committee.
Graeme Lloyd is one of 37 Australian born players to make it to baseball’s elite – Major League Baseball. Born on the outskirts of Geelong, Lloyd was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays on 26 January 1988. After posting a 1.96 ERA for the Blue Jays ‘AA’ team, Lloyd was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers and made his major league debut on April 11, 1993. Together with David Nilsson, he formed the first ever Australian battery in the Major Leagues.
Lloyd won two World Series with the New York Yankees. He has over 40 years of local, national, and international experience in baseball.
During his sports career he earned many awards including a Comeback Player of the Year in 2001, Sports Australia HOF, 2013 Inaugural Australian and WA Baseball Hall Of Fame Inductee, and made the 75th Claxton Shield Diamond All-Star Team.
No other Australian pitcher owns a better lifetime ERA (2.34) over a long career.
Graeme hopes to bring Aussie Baseball into the next phase of growth with his on-field knowledge of the game and extensive experience with over 550 games in the MLB over 10 years. Graeme attended the Harvard Business School in 2019 and completed the Authentic Leader Development course to help his administrative acumen. Graeme hopes to take baseball to the next level through all the assets that the Baseball Australia Board has to offer. Graeme is part of several Board committees working on High Performance, HOF, and Heritage Committee.
Jessica Goddard is Sports Management professional with a broad range of experience and education across local government, community and elite sport (club and governing body), event management, digital, sports marketing, media and communications.
Jessica currently works at the National Rugby League as the Digital Experience and Services lead. Her remit broadly focusses on employing digital capability, products and services to help solve problems, improve digital experiences and drive business outcomes.
Previously, she spent 6 years at the Cronulla Sharks National Rugby League Football Club leading the marketing, communications and digital team.
Jessica brings her knowledge of the digital landscape to baseball and is excited to use her capability to continue the great work that is already being done across the sport to elevate and amplify Baseball in Australia.
Robert Hazan, originally from New York, is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen (GYG).
GYG is Australia’s fast growing food brand also operating in Singapore, Japan, and most recently the US.
Robert is an accredited coach and been involved with baseball in Australia at the grass roots level since 2008. He continues to be very active at his local club and currently has a son playing with the Cronulla Association in Sydney.
Robert proudly joined the BA Board in late 2020. He brings a strong international business background, experience with youth baseball and Little League in the US, and a genuine love of the game. Robert is passionately committed to the enormous growth opportunities for youth baseball and the ABL across Australia.
His post playing career has seen a successful business career in the building industry in multiple roles, prior to becoming a director and business owner almost a decade ago.
Catherine Beachley is a communication and strategy adviser and the principal of Eastwick Consulting. She has over a decade of experience providing advice on communications, government relations and stakeholder engagement across a diverse range of clients, industries and markets.
With extensive experience operating in Asia, Europe and Latin America, Catherine has a deep understanding of the cultural, social and political barriers and drivers to meaningful stakeholder engagement and brand awareness. She is regularly engaged on political campaigns in Australia and internationally and understands the critical importance of research and evidence-based strategy. She works with culturally and linguistically diverse stakeholders and media outlets to promote enduring brand equity and passionate fans.
Catherine has previously worked with Baseball Australia on research and stakeholder engagement for the Baseball IN Australia strategy and facilitated the Vision, Mission and Strategic Directions workshop at BaseballCon23. She looks forward to continuing her work with the passionate baseball community in Australia and seizing the massive homegrown and international opportunities for the sport.
