Board of Directors

MARK DOWEL

Mark Dowel was appointed to the North Sydney Board in early 2008 and has been a Football Club Member since 1998.

Mark is a Life Member of the North Sydney District Junior Rugby League, a Director and the Treasurer of the Australian Universities Rugby League, a Life Member and the Vice President of Leagues Clubs Australia as well as a Director of Hornsby RSL Club.

From 1997 to 2012 Mark served on the North Sydney District Junior Rugby League Board and served as Vice President from 2002 to 2012.

Between 1988 and 2007 Mark not only coached various age groups U/7 to U/15 in the Asquith district but was a Football Committee Member of the Asquith Magpies Rugby League Football Club including Treasurer from 1995 to 1996, Secretary between 1997 to 1998, Vice President in 1998 and President from 1999 to 2007.

Additionally, Mark Served as a Director of the Asquith Leagues Club (now known as Magpies Waitara) from 1997 to 2007 with the final eight years as President.

Between 2008 and 2016 Mark served as Secretary/Treasurer of the New South Wales Tertiary Student Rugby League and from 2008 to 2017 Mark served as Team Manager to various touring teams for Australian Universities, New South Wales Universities and New South Wales Tertiary Student Rugby Leagues.

From 2012 Mark served as Manager of the North Sydney Harold Matthews Cup Team.

In 2018 he will Manage the North Sydney SG Ball Cup Team.

MARTY LAWSON

Marty Lawson, a lifelong fan of North Sydney Bears, grew up on Sydney’s northern beaches, playing rugby league, rugby union and cricket.

He has always maintained a passionate allegiance to the Bears, supporting them personally, professionally and financially over many years.

Marty is a licensed Customs Broker and General Manager and co-owner of J. J. Lawson Pty Ltd, a family business and proud sponsor of the Bears since the early 1980s.

After leaving school, Marty travelled through Europe and the USA before studying Commerce and Japanese at the University of Canberra in the early 1990s.

He went on to become a lead Sales Manager for Unilever before joining J. J. Lawson in 2002.

Marty still lives on the northern beaches with his wife, Heather, and their three school-age children – all Bears fans, of course!

Marty is an active weekend patrol member of South Curl Curl SLSC and passionate supporter of his children’s many extracurricular activities.

He is a regular runner, occasional triathlete and one-time Gold Coast marathon finisher and a Midnight Oil tragic.

PETER McGRATH

Peter joined the Norths Board in 2013 having been a football club member for many years.

Peter has worked in the Pulp and Paper Industry for 35 years, over the last 20 years in various executive roles living in the U.S.A. for six years, and secondments in Sweden, Vietnam and Singapore.

In Feb 2016, Peter joined as a partner, in Australian language translation startup Lingmo International Pty Ltd.

Peter is married (still happily) with four daughters, lives in Lindfield, but more importantly, was born in North Sydney.

JUSTIN OWEN

Justin joined the Board in January 2016 and serves as the Club’s Company Secretary.

Justin was appointed by the Governor-General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC as Senior Member of the Commonwealth of Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal in June 2017.

He is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of Australia and a Solicitor of the Supreme Courts of NSW and Victoria.

He previously held senior roles with the National Australia Bank (2010-2017) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (2007-2010).

He was General Manager of the Australian Hotels Association (NSW) between 1998 and 2007.

A graduate of Sydney University and UTS, he holds degrees in Arts and Law.

He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Justin occasionally writes for a range of publications including The Spectator and The Daily Telegraph.

Justin resides in Neutral Bay with his wife Rachel and two daughters Amelia (a regular Bears attendee who went to her first game at North Sydney Oval when one week old when Norths defeated Newcastle 25-24, 19 May 2012) and Alexandra.

SEAN WILES

Sean is Partner at McGrathNicol where he helps lead the Advisory practice in Sydney.

Sean specialises in performance improvement, transactions, risk and governance, and strategy, and has twenty years’ experience in professional services.

Sean commenced his career at KPMG, where he worked both in Sydney and the UK.  He has also spent time with the Private Equity firm, CVC Australia, where he was a Portfolio Manager, analyst and Board Member for various investee companies.

Sean is a qualified Chartered Accountant and member of Chartered Accountants ANZ.

Sean has been a member of the North Sydney District Rugby League Football Club for three years, and a life-long supporter of the North Sydney Bears.

He has been a Director of North Sydney District Rugby League Football Club since 2015, and since that time has helped the Club implement robust financial forecasts, reporting and cash controls.

Like many Bears supporters, Sean’s earliest memories of the red and black were of him perched in the famous Moreton Bay Fig in the early 1980’s watching the likes of Mark Graham, Don McKinnon and Paul McCaffrey ply their trade.