Our leadership team
Our dedicated team at Rio’s Legacy is committed to building a brighter future by providing comfort, strength, and hope to those in need.
Mike Baird
Mike Baird AO was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, representing the electoral district of Manly in the NSW Legislative Assembly. Mike entered NSW state politics in 2007. He held several shadow ministries before serving as Treasurer from 2011 to 2014, and then as Premier from 2014 to January 2017, when he retired from politics.
Mike was also a member of the National Australia Bank executive leadership team from 2017 to 2020 as Chief Customer Officer – Corporate and Institutional Banking (2017-2018) and Chief Customer Officer – Consumer Banking (2018 – 2020), before being appointed as CEO of HammondCare in 2020.
Mike is passionate about family, sport and looking after community’s most vulnerable. He is Chairman of the Australian Business Growth Fund and sits on the Boards of Surfing Australia and Cricket Australia. Mike has been appointed as the inaugural Patron of Rio’s Legacy.
Angela Deacon
Director & Founding Member
Angela Deacon is a Business Leader with expertise in the areas of leadership, coaching and transformational cultural strategies. She has a grounding in elite sport having served 8 years as an Australian Olympic and Commonwealth Games Coach. From 2014 -2021 Angela was Director of Judo Australia, one of the longest serving Olympic sports, where she mentored the organisation through critical cultural challenges.
In 2021 Angela transitioned to Director of Combat Institute of Australia, a new entity under the auspice of Sport Australia. Angela is a founding Director of Rio’s Legacy. In addition to her professional career, her achievements and contribution to elite sport saw her inducted into the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame in 2009.
Scott Fowler
Chairperson & Founding Member
Scott is a people and process orientated business leader, with a record of delivering results through building strong teams, high employee engagement and focused discipline to E2E processes – Strategic and “hands on” with People, Change Management and Financial Expertise.
Scott has an extensive leadership background as the Finance Director Health Care – Asia Pacific for Kimberly – Clark International (2011 – 2014), General Manager Australia and New Zealand for Halyard Health (2014 – 2020), before being appointed as the Group Chief Executive Officer for Acurio in September 2020. Scott has a passion to serve and help others and is also a founding Director of Rio’s Legacy.
Franz D’Lima
Company Secretary & Legal Consultant
As an experienced Company Director and General Counsel with over 20+ years’ experience, Franz has worked for leading international Banking, Healthcare, FMCG and B2B companies, including Visa International and Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
Born and educated in London, Franz has lived in Bangkok and worked in a variety of legal jurisdictions in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and now calls Sydney home. He is a specialist in M&A, strategic alliances, risk management, ethics, and compliance. He is currently Group General Counsel and Company Secretary of Acurio Group. Franz enjoys sports including running, cycling, and kayaking and is a keen supporter of Rio’s Legacy.
Dr. Bijender Gautam
Associate Professor
Associate Professor Bijender Gautam, known to his friends as BJ, is a dedicated Consultant Paediatrician with over 21 years of experience in South West Sydney, specialising in the care of newborns and children with complex medical needs. He is the Director and Founder of Macarthur Paediatrics, providing expert care and support to young patients and their families. As a Clinical Associate Professor at Oceania University of Medicine and a Senior Conjoint Lecturer at Western Sydney University, he brings a wealth of knowledge and mentorship to the next generation of medical professionals.
BJ’s commitment to paediatrics and his passion for supporting children with life-limiting conditions have made him an invaluable advocate for Rio’s Legacy, where he is a steadfast supporter of our mission. Outside of his professional life, BJ enjoys cricket, running, and travel, and he brings the same energy and dedication to these pursuits as he does to his work in paediatric care.
Karen Fowler
Co Founder & Director (Rio’s Mum)
Karen and her husband Ryan Co-Founded Rio’s Legacy after losing their son Rio in January 2018. Karen is a registered Psychologist with extensive experience working in Victoria, NSW, and Queensland in the fields of educational psychology, public mental health (acute and continued care) as well as private practice.
As a dedicated mother of three (Remi, Rio & Levi), Karen is at the heart of Rio’s Legacy as a mother who knows what it means to lose a son to a terminal illness. Driven to help others, Karen is passionate in seeing Rio’s Legacy serve and help children with a life – limiting condition and their families.
Ryan Fowler
Co Founder & CEO (Rio’s Dad)
Alongside Karen, Ryan Co-Founded Rio’s Legacy after losing their son Rio in January 2018. With an extensive background across education (both secondary and tertiary), sport as well as student wellbeing and pastoral care programs, Ryan’s aim is to simply nurture and support families who need it, when they need it.
Guided by his son Rio, Ryan’s overall mission is to navigate the paediatric palliative care landscape in Australia – the challenges, the successes, the ongoing need to improve paediatric palliative care for all children and their families; so, we can bring about change, awareness and see support for children with a life – limiting condition and their families continue to grow nationwide.
Learn more about Rio’s Legacy
Let’s put families back together
Join us in making a difference where together we can build more hospices for children with life-limiting conditions and their families around Australia.
Let’s continue building supportive spaces for families
Join us in making a difference where together we can build more hospices for children with life-limiting conditions and their families around Australia.
