Board & Governance

Ben Kearney is the Independent Chair of TasRecycle.

He is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Lottery and Newsagents’
Association (ALNA), advocating for over 4,000 small and family-owned businesses across
Australia. With more than a decade at ALNA, he has driven significant legislative changes
benefiting small businesses, including improved unfair contract term protections and the
prohibition of online betting on lottery outcomes.

A passionate small business advocate, Ben serves on the board of the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia (COSBOA) and contributes to key committees, including the ACCC’s Small Business & Franchising Consultative Committee.

Ben is also really interested in sustainability, which began in his childhood on Tasmania’s west coast, participating in local bottle deposit schemes. In 2003, he created Australia’s first plastic shopping bag-free town in Coles Bay, Tasmania, inspiring global action. This initiative earned him the titles of Australian of the Year – Local Hero and Tasmanian of the Year in 2005.

Holding a Master’s degree in Business and a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy from the
University of Tasmania, Ben combines academic knowledge with experience as a former small business owner. Ben’s journey from grassroots community initiatives to national leadership showcases his ability to translate local insights into broader policy impacts.

Ashley is a senior policy and public affairs advisor with diverse private and public sector experience.

His previous roles include advising government and Ministers on international trade (particularly WTO law and policy), and consulting to the banking sector on ethical finance and sustainability policy. Prior to this, as a solicitor in private practice, he advised in the conduct and resolution of large-scale oil and gas infrastructure disputes at two international firms in Melbourne and Perth.

Currently, he leads public policy engagement for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (Australia) (formerly Amatil).

Edward Dowse is an experienced finance and commercial leader and board director with 20 years of experience across a range of industries, including fast moving consumer goods, manufacturing, transportation, and recycling.

Edward leads Lion’s involvement in container deposit schemes across Australia and New Zealand, and has been involved in the establishment of schemes in NSW, ACT, QLD, WA and VIC. He currently sits on the boards of Marine Stores Pty Ltd (one of the supercollectors in South Australia and the Northern Territory), and the Scheme Coordinators in Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria. He is also an alternate director of the NSW and ACT Scheme Coordinators.

Prior to Lion, Edward spent over 10 years at Ernst & Young advising major lenders, investors, and corporates in relation to business performance, strategic options analysis, financial restructures, and turnarounds in both Australia and Europe.

Laura Green is an experienced leader with over 18 years of experience in corporate development, strategy and finance across a range of industries.

Laura currently leads Group Corporate Development at Asahi Beverages, including responsibility for mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures.  She currently sits on the board of the Scheme Coordinator in Victoria and is also an alternate director of the NSW and ACT Scheme Coordinators.

Prior to joining Asahi, Laura spent over 10 years as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse executing a range of transactions (mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity raisings including IPO’s) and strategic advice mandates for private equity, government and corporate clients. Laura has also held several corporate development and strategy roles at leading Australian corporates in her career post investment banking.

Danielle is a senior finance leader with over 14 years of experience in commercial finance.

She currently serves as Head of Finance for the Licensed division at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Australia, where she leads performance management and supports the development and execution of business strategy across both alcohol and non-alcohol portfolios.

Since joining CCEP in 2012, Danielle has held a variety of finance roles, including leading major strategic initiatives and transformational projects.

Danielle is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Accounting from the University of Technology Sydney.

Julian Sheezel is a senior executive with broad experience over 25 years in corporate affairs, corporate taxation, politics, government and business in Australia and Asia.

Julian leads the Group Corporate Affairs & Sustainability team at Asahi Beverages including responsibility for Government relations, external communications, public policy, regulatory matters and corporate reputation.

Julian has been heavily involved in Container Deposit Schemes since 2018 when he became a Board member of Exchange for Change (NSW) and Exchange for Change (ACT), the CDS Scheme Coordinators for NSW and the ACT.

Prior to joining Carlton & United Breweries / Asahi Beverages in 2017, Julian had careers in corporate taxation, politics and government. He worked in international corporate tax roles in Melbourne and Hong Kong with KPMG. He then served in senior political party roles in Melbourne and Canberra for more than a decade before being Chief of Staff to the Australian Minister for Revenue and Financial Services.