The Retirement Living Council has announced its newly elected president as Marie-Louise MacDonald, the Chief Executive Officer of Masonic Care WA.
Ms MacDonald, known to all as ‘ML’, started her career as a Registered Nurse and has been involved in the sector for more than two decades. She has 35 years of experience in executive management in Australia and overseas across retirement, aged care, industrial relations, health care and government policy development.
Ms MacDonald has been elected president until February 2021 and will be supported by Nicholas Playoust (AEH Group) and Tony Randello (Lendlease), who have been elected vice-presidents.
“The role of retirement living in providing accommodation, services and support for our growing population of older Australians is increasingly important as medical and technological advances have given us all greater expectations of our life expectancy,” Ms MacDonald said.
“The Retirement Living Council has put our sector on notice, and I am committed to embracing our 8-point plan to guarantee a great resident experience. I am a passionate ambassador for our newly released Retirement Living Code of Conduct and will be out there over coming months promoting widespread adoption of the Code.”
“Adoption of the code will help give those considering lifestyle and housing options have complete confidence in the retirement living sector and ensure we give them the respect they deserve for making the wise move to live in our retirement villages.”
“One of my first priorities will be to roll out our industry accreditation scheme and education courses for those involved in village management and village sales. Widespread industry adoption will ensure high quality services for those making the decision to move to a retirement village and those currently living in villages.”
“I want to pay special tribute to my predecessor, Alison Quinn, for her leadership over the past two years as we took a hard look at our sector practices. Her guidance and commitment to developing the 8-point plan to guide the sector with its critical initiatives such as the code of conduct and accreditation scheme have given us a platform and roadmap for the future.” Ms MacDonald said.
Ben Myers, Executive Director of the Retirement Living Council, said Ms MacDonald had been an active participant in the Western Australian and the national sector over a number of years.
“She has also played a key role in the revision of our retirement village manager and sales manager education programs to equip them to better meet the expectations of those living in retirement villages.”
