Tom Snow (right) with his late father Terry. Photo: Snow Medical.
There has been a changing of the guard at Canberra Airport, with a new board chair who, for the first time, is not a member of the Snow family, and two new directors.
The changes have led to speculation that the family may offload a stake in its ownership of the Airport, which the late Terry Snow bought in 1998 when it was privatised. But the Airport says that it is not on the table.
Tom Snow, one of Terry Snow’s four children, has left the board after 22 years to focus on the family’s philanthropic ventures; in particular, Snow Medical, which awards fellowships to Australian researchers and has established the Snow Centre for Immune Health.
Mr Snow paid tribute to his brother and Airport CEO Stephen Byron.
“It’s been awesome to serve as chair of Canberra Airport and as a board member since 2003,” he said.
“My brother Stephen is an absolute legend, and it’s been a genuine privilege working alongside him over many years.
“Dad expressed his wishes that we massively ramp up our philanthropic giving and I’m dedicating my time to growing Snow Medical, particularly in relation to the brain, which is considered one of the final frontiers of medical research.”
An Airport spokesperson said the new chair was Brad Geatches, who joined as a non-executive director in 2021 and brings more than 30 years of senior executive experience in aviation, ports, and mining.
The five-person board has also added two new independent directors: Andrew Hogg from Tourism Australia and Cath Ingram, a former senior partner at KPMG Australia.
They join existing directors, Mr Byron and Amanda Lampe, ensuring strong governance and continuity in leadership, the spokesperson said.
A change in the ownership structure was not being considered.
“The family had no intention of selling Canberra Airport in the medium to long term – even a minority share,” the spokesperson said.
“Canberra Airport is an asset that the family wants to keep for the long term.”
