In an announcement by SBS it is noted that Mr Savvides has significant management and board experience working in Government owned enterprises and not for profit organisations, notably as the former Managing Director of Medibank Private. He also currently serves as Chairman of World Vision Australia.
Mr Savvides was the one who gave Marcos Baghdatis the trophy when the Cypriot tennis player won, in January 2010, the Sydney International Tennis tournament, to which Medibank Private was the main sponsor.
SBS also announced that Emeritus Professor Sally Walker AM has been appointed as a non-executive director. The appointment of Ms Walker and Mr Savvides was announced by the Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield and it is for a period of five years.
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of SBS is Michael Ebeid and the chairperson of the Board is Bulent Hass Dellal. The other non-executive members of the Board are: Daryl Karp, Bill Lenehan, Dot West and Peeyush Gupta.
The SBS Chairman Dr Hass Dellal AO said: “On behalf of the Board and the SBS team, I’d like to congratulate George Savvides and Professor Sally Walker AM on their appointments and welcome them to the SBS Board.
“As SBS continues to evolve and respond to the needs of contemporary multicultural Australia, our new Deputy Chair and Board member will bring valuable insights and professional expertise from different sectors to the Board.
“We look forward to their contributions in steering SBS at a time when the media landscape continues to experience change at a rapid pace, and when SBS’s role in promoting greater understanding and appreciation of the diversity of Australian society has never been so important,” Dr Dellal added.
