AusLeisure

Catherine Greaves has been named as the new Chief Executive of Life Saving Victoria (LSV), replacing current postholder Dr Nigel Taylor who is set to retire after almost two decades in the role and another decade serving at the helm of Surf Life Saving Victoria, before LSV was formed in 2002.

Becoming only LSV’s second Chief Executive, Greaves joins Victoria’s peak water safety and lifesaving authority with more than 20 years’ experience in the community, health, education and emergency management sectors.

LSV President Paul James said Greaves (pictured) would replace Dr Taylor from 1st June, going on to stated “we’re excited to announce Catherine Greaves is the new CEO of Life Saving Victoria.

“With an extensive background in behavioural science, law and governance, Catherine has successfully led reform and improvement initiatives across a range of sectors including local and state government - skills we’re very much looking forward to utilising in lifesaving.

“This includes her work as the interim CEO of the Country Fire Authority last year, where she led their transition through the Victorian Fire Services Reform.

“I want to take this opportunity to welcome Catherine to our organisation and thank our incumbent CEO Nigel Taylor for his significant contribution to the Victorian lifesaving movement.

“The water safety landscape has changed considerably during his time serving as our CEO, with the merging of Royal and Surf lifesaving in Victoria to form Life Saving Victoria almost 20 years ago, the addition of lifesaving to the emergency services sector, the inclusion of swimming and water safety as a compulsory part of primary education, and countless other influential developments that have seen a significant rise in water literacy across Victoria.

“Nigel has been an instrumental asset to Life Saving Victoria, and we wish him well in his retirement.”

Greaves is set to continue this legacy in lifesaving through her strong commitment to community and volunteers, and says an emphasis on values-driven and people-focused leadership is crucial to shaping culture and achieving organisational outcomes.

Looking forward to her new role, Greaves commented “I’m acutely aware that I’ll be stepping into the role following one of the most tragic drowning tolls in Victoria since record keeping began, and plan to use my skills and experience gained across the health, education and emergency management sectors to work with staff, volunteers and communities to reverse this unacceptable trend.

“This includes further reinforcing Life Saving Victoria’s strong foundations and iconic brand by securing sustainable funding solutions, promoting the value of volunteerism, and cementing our position as the trusted go-to authority when it comes to water safety education, research and innovation.

“This will help to further the important work already underway at Life Saving Victoria, including the renewal of public pools, swimming and water safety programs in regional centres, and enhancing the value we contribute to local emergency response plans through our strong network of volunteers, lifesaving clubs, partners and aquatic facilities in our role as a recognised agency of Emergency Management Victoria.

“This really is just the tip of the iceberg, which is one of the things I’m most looking forward to about starting in the new role - the sheer variety of the organisation and being able to use my experience and skillset to keep people safe around water.

“The end goal is of course to see the entire Victorian population learn swimming and water safety skills, and I’m absolutely committed to continue Life Saving Victoria’s trajectory of one day making this a reality.”

Related Articles

17th May 2021 - Life Saving Victoria offers swim teachers free licence renewal in June

15th April 2021 - WynActive centres attain Platinum Pool accreditation

13th April 2021 - Life Saving Victoria partners to create 240 new Victorian Swim Teachers

17th March 2021 - Aquarena Aquatic and Leisure Centre’s achievements recognised with LSV Platinum Pool Award

4th March 2021 - Life Saving Victoria announces more benefits for swim teachers

22nd February 2021 - Brimbank’s Sunshine Leisure Centre achieves Life Saving Victoria Platinum Pool accreditation

1st February 2021 - Life Saving Victoria marks 30-year Australian Water Safety Education Centre partnership

14th December 2020 - Additional funding announced for Life Saving Victoria to ensure water safety this summer

7th December 2020 - Victorian aquatic industry shows resilience through a challenging year

21st September 2020 - Aligned Leisure-Managed Eltham Leisure Centre secures swim safety excellence award

18th May 2020 - Life Saving Victoria launches online safety and first aid education

4th May 2020 - Otium Planning Group’s Bruce Mackay shares key learnings on re-opening centres post COVID-19

24th April 2020 - Werribee Outdoor Pool achieves Life Saving Victoria Platinum Pool accreditation

17th April 2020 - Life Saving Victoria releases new CPR and First Aid home training courses

6th April 2020 - Life Saving Victoria coordinates online Professional Development Series

5th April 2020 - Life Saving Victoria delivers revised online CPR and First Aid Training for Essential Workers

2nd April 2020 - Life Saving Victoria announces club closures and patrol cessation

24th February 2020 - Life Saving Victoria launches updated online School Swimming and Water Safety Toolkit

26th November 2019 - Life Saving Victoria launches new SwimSafe safety campaign for public pools

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.