New Executive Officer of the Church announced

The Churchwide Office is delighted to welcome Mr Brett Hausler as the new LCANZ Executive Officer of the Church (EOC). Bishop John Henderson made the announcement this morning after staff devotion.

Brett will fulfil a long-term wish to work for the church when he becomes the next EOC early next year. He will succeed Peter Schirmer, who has served as EOC since 2012 and has resigned in order to pursue other opportunities.

Currently Chief Governance Officer and General Counsel for AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator Ltd), Brett said he felt called to apply for the role, which will enable him to pair his work with his passion for church service.

‘I’ve always had a desire to work for the church at some stage and probably the key driver is that I’ve volunteered for many years, but I’ve found that my involvement has always been limited due to my daily work commitments’, Brett said. ‘This is an opportunity to focus on what I’m passionate about, and in a role that will be able to perhaps leverage some of the skills and knowledge that I’ve developed over the years in other roles.

‘I believe God called me to apply for this position and that he has equipped me well and blessed me through my work roles and in my faith life to serve in this way. I’ve been fortunate to have been responsible for a wide range of areas throughout my career and I would hope that they will assist me in performing the EOC role.’

Brett’s name will already be known to some in Lutheran circles. He serves as chair of the Board for Lutheran Education Australia (BLEA), having joined BLEA as a director in early 2013.

In his current position with AEMO, he oversees corporate functions including governance, legal, risk management, audit, compliance, insurance and transmission procurement, and has recently been involved in establishing a new subsidiary to assist the NSW government in implementing its energy roadmap. Previous responsibilities have also included public affairs, finance, regulatory affairs and human relations.

Before starting with AEMO in 2009, Brett was General Manager, Corporate Services at the National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO), held various executive roles in the energy industry and also worked as a lawyer in private practice.

Among his voluntary church service, Brett was a member of the LCA’s reference panel for its governance and administration review, served on the Victoria District’s regional education governance committee and is a past member of Luther College Council.

While his new role will involve significant changes both professionally and personally for Brett in that he will relocate from Melbourne to Adelaide along with his wife, Heather, in due course, he said those changes would ‘pale into insignificance in terms of the purpose of the role’.

‘To me, it’s so important in life that what you do is aligned with your purpose’, he said. ‘I am looking forward to seeing where God will lead us as a church in the coming years. My great hope is that we as a church will bring love to life for those in our communities as we serve.’

A keen tennis player, snow skier and AFL fan, Brett and his wife Heather have two adult children, Caitlin and Ethan, who are studying at university. The family’s church home is St Pauls Box Hill in suburban Melbourne.