TEAM PROFILES

• Sue Cato

  PARTNER

  Sue has worked on business-critical issues and corporate activity for Australian and international corporations and entities for almost three decades. With an early career as a political staffer and having co-founded and then sold a corporate affairs company to multi-national interests, Sue established Cato Counsel in 2003 as a corporate communications company providing high-level strategic transaction support and public and corporate affairs advice. Cato Counsel evolved into C&C Partners in 2017. Sue is recognised as one of Australia’s leading issues management experts, having managed some of the largest issues confronting corporate Australia. Sue is a non-executive director of the creative precinct Carriageworks. She is also an advisory board member of Sydney Contemporary and a member of Chief Executive Women. She is a regular commentator on business issues for the national media.

• Clive Mathieson

  PARTNER

  Clive has worked at the most senior levels of the media industry, state politics and federal politics, giving him unique experience as a strategy and communications adviser to chief executives and boards. During a two-decade career in business journalism in Australia and Britain, Clive reported extensively on Australian and international companies. He spent five years as Business Editor of The Australian and then another five years as Editor. After leaving journalism, he served as Senior Adviser and Cabinet Director to NSW Premiers Mike Baird and Gladys Berejiklian, providing policy, strategic and communications advice on issues such as infrastructure, the Budget and the privatisation of state assets. Moving to federal politics, Clive was Deputy Chief of Staff, and then Chief of Staff, to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. In this role, he provided high-level advice to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues on policy and political issues.

• Melissa Patch

  SENIOR ADVISER

  Melissa combines high-level commercial and government experience to provide corporate and communications strategy advice, with a specific focus on issues and stakeholder management, regulatory matters and transactions. Melissa works across ASX-listed, private and not-for-profit entities, and has advised on numerous royal commissions, parliamentary inquiries and major policy and research projects. Melissa has worked in senior roles in the Prime Minister’s office including managing media strategy and engagement during federal election campaigns. She led former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s office in his post-government career, working domestically and internationally to manage media, legal affairs and foreign policy assignments. Melissa previously worked as a senior adviser to federal Cabinet ministers in the Trade, Tertiary Education and Agriculture portfolios and in senior political and departmental roles in the Queensland Government, including leading the media response to the suspension of live cattle exports to Indonesia and the 2011 Queensland floods.
  

• Ross Coulthart

  SENIOR ADVISER

  Ross is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist and author with over three decades' experience in newspapers and television, including reporting for The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC TV’s Four Corners, the Nine Network’s Sunday program and 60 Minutes and the Seven Network’s Sunday Night program. Ross is a five-time winner of Australia’s top national Walkley journalism prize – including the premier Gold Walkley – and has won a Logie Award and a New York Festival Gold Medal. He is the best-selling author of five books (his biography of First World War historian Charles Bean won the 2015 Prime Minister’s Literary Award). An accomplished communicator, respected public speaker and commentator, Ross is a Law graduate with expertise in analysing and explaining complex issues.

• Carrie Barrack

  SENIOR ADVISER

  Carrie has extensive experience across a variety of senior roles and organisations. Recently she led the investor relations function at Propertylink Group, working closely with the executive team to establish this function. Prior to joining Propertylink she was the group investor relations and corporate affairs manager for UGL Limited, a former ASX 200 listed engineering and construction company. Her investor relations expertise expands to crisis management and M&A and is enhanced by over 20 years in finance and accounting roles across public practice, the private sector and ASX-listed entities. Carrie holds a Bachelor of Economics from the Australian National University with a major in accounting and is a qualified CPA. She also holds a Diploma of Investor Relations with the Australasian Investor Relations Association.

• Jenny Wills

  SENIOR ADVISER

  Jenny’s experience in equity markets spans more than 20 years. She started her career in institutional equity sales on the pan-European desk at Goldman Sachs in London. After returning to Australia, Jenny spent 15 years working as a small-and mid-cap Australian specialist on various institutional sales desks. Her most recent roles included Deutsche Bank, where she was hired to establish the emerging companies team, and CIMB (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland and ABN Amro), where she was head of sales for emerging companies. During this time, she formed strong relationships within the Australian small and mid-cap investment community. This coupled with her extensive transaction experience brings a unique “front line” perspective to investor communications work. Jenny has a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) from The University of Sydney.

• Chloe Rees

  ADVISER

  Chloe provides clients with strategic communications advice in relation to financial, corporate, regulatory and policy issues. She has worked on significant cross-border transactions, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and has provided issues management counsel and litigation support for a broad range of clients, including ASX Top 100 companies, multinationals and high-growth companies. Chloe was previously legal counsel for Thomson Reuters based in London with a focus on corporate transactions and regulatory and technology matters. Prior to that she worked for Ashurst as a commercial disputes lawyer, advising major corporates, leading global financial institutions and government agencies. Chloe holds a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours), a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute for Company Directors. She is admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales.

• Amy Solomon

  ADVISER

  Amy combines extensive experience in strategic communications and issues management with a background in law and media. She has advised ASX-listed and international clients on communications strategy, stakeholder management, corporate transactions and litigation support for commercial and regulatory disputes. Amy previously practised as a lawyer at multinational law firm MinterEllison and later at a boutique firm specialising in entertainment and media law. Amy is also a skilled broadcaster and presenter. She has worked as a producer at ABC News and has been actively involved with leading community radio station FBi Radio for more than a decade, currently serving as secretary on its management committee. Amy holds a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) and a Bachelor of Business (with Distinction). She is admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales.