Our People

Believing a career in 5-Star Hotel Management would allow the opportunity for extensive travel and overseas postings, Luke took on a casual role as a general duties and bottle shop attendant whilst studying an Accommodation Services & Hotel Management Diploma. Working his way through various roles and promotions whilst attaining his Bachelor of Business Degree, Luke quickly realised the opportunity the club industry held for him.

He worked as the Gaming Manager for Norths for multiple years proving his value to the club before taking on the Operations Manager role, gaining extensive experience in all areas of club management before the Board appointed him as CEO toward the end of 2011.

Believing one should never stop learning Luke has continued his studies with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, completed an MBA with the Macquarie Graduate School of Management whilst attaining CEO certification with the CEO Institute.

Luke leads a team focused on repositioning the Norths Collective portfolio to ensure it remains relevant to the communities in which their clubs operate. Coupled with a responsible and sustainable growth strategy, Luke is extremely proud of the role Clubs play in their community when managed well with an evidenced net benefit. As a Co-founding director of e-wholesale business Club Co amongst other director roles held throughout his career, Luke is impatient for the future and has his eyes set on commencing his Masters of Planning at UTS late in 2021.

As a husband to Shavonne and father of two cheeky boys, Luke enjoys balancing his commitment to improving the lives of members and employees of Norths Collective and his home family time with lots of travel when possible!

Sandeep is the numbers man and as Group Financial Controller, he is responsible for the Financial Operations of all of the venues under North Collective.

With over a decade of hospitality experience in financial management, 8 years being with Accor Hotels before moving to Norths Collective, Sandeep plays a key role, not only ensuring financial sustainability and maintaining consistency across all financial systems and reporting, but also in supporting the CEO and Board of Directors on development strategies for the group, thus driving forward and directly impacting long term growth.

Armed with a Master’s in Professional Accounting and a CPA, Sandeep thrives in the hospitality environment. A particular area in which he takes a keen interest, flows from his firm belief in the importance of guest experience, staff wellbeing and ongoing innovation. A person that he admires for his ability to motivate people and generate the best performance from his employees is the entrepreneur and notable all round creative genius Richard Branson.  Sandeep firmly believes and lives by the words “Take care of your employees, and they’ll take care of your business”.

As a key member of the leadership team, having a personality of caring about people is very important, and Sandeep is known at Norths Collective as a kind-hearted, warm and approachable kind of guy. His values are clearly evident and in addition to being commercially astute and driving discipline across controllable lines, has been part of what has made him so effective as financial controller.

 When Sandeep is not balancing spreadsheets, he’s out walking, exploring on his bike or getting creative in the kitchen. As balance comes in many forms – baking and then assuming the role as chief tester is another one of his many talents.

Education has always been a mainstay of Rob’s life, with the world of academia and his strong university background serving him well over the past 20 years in hospitality. Rob holds a Bachelor of Management in Leisure, Graduate Certificate of Applied Finance and Investment, a MBA, plus a Graduate Certificate in Information Technology.

With a flair for numbers and an appreciation of all things hospitality and business strategy, Rob naturally found the club industry a perfect fit, balancing the consistent delivery of guest experience with the finance, analysis, compliance and strategic elements required to be at the top of your game. Rob is one of the key driving forces behind all things gaming entertainment across the four Norths Collective properties, overseeing management and maintenance of all electronic gaming services to ensure sustainable and meaningful experiences through the provision of responsible entertainment services.

Rob is into all types of sport and has a pretty solid arm, being known to hit many a home run on the baseball field at weekends.

Health, fitness and bringing people together is what drives Carly. With a bounce in her step, an avid interest in all sports and genuine passion for health and fitness, she has grown the North Group Health and Fitness portfolio into a reputable operation in both Sydney and Tweed Heads. Carly completed a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Management at UTS, then set her sights on taking her skills global, to the bright lights and big city of London, where she worked in corporate health.

Her journey with the Norths Collective family began on her return to Oz, initially overseeing Norths Fitness and then spearheading the execution and launch of a brand new concept– developing the new Norths Fitness, a state-of-the-art health and fitness centre that delivers a personalised health and fitness experience for the club members and wider community. Carly has been a key driver of the success of Norths fitness.

With a passion for strategic development and leading change, next was the business development of Revolution Health and Fitness at Seagulls, transforming the group health & fitness offering into a commercially sustainable and successful operation. This saw Norths Fitness nominated as a finalist for the best club development award at the Clubs’ NSW Awards for Excellence in 2010.

Carly has completed an MBA at Macquarie Graduate School of Management, had two beautiful babies and upon returning to Norths Collective from maternity leave, added Group Risk to her portfolio. Her dual role oversees all Risk Management and Health & Fitness for the Group. By assisting the CEO and Executive Team she ensures that consistent risk polices, governance framework and information reporting mechanisms are adhered to, and the risk appetite is regularly reviewed. She also brings her personality, expertise and passion to the table when building a culture in which risk management adds value to decision making and strategic direction.

Carly has a passion for food, loves to seek out new restaurants, and is an avid follower of UFC. The hype of fight night saw Carly inadvertently give boxing a go – training in both boxing and Muay Thai. These days the wrestling techniques are reimagined for a younger audience, in wrangling two small children into bed, then enjoying the following moments of peace and calm.

There is something particularly special about being part of the shared experience that is live comedy – that extraordinary, mystical connection when people come together to laugh – the art of the performer and audience connecting with each other. In order for a stand-up comedian to be effective, there is a very personalised skill set and innate understanding of how to dance with the art of creating this connection.

So, it would come as no surprise that forays as a stand-up comedian and a passion for entertainment in many forms have always been a big part of Robert’s life. Therefore, a role with Norths Collective where people, connection and innovation are at the forefront of the brand was the perfect fit since 2012. Today he is heading up the digital transformation of the Group as Brand and Digital Innovation manager.

Robert has been in the club industry for two decades, in the early days behind the bar and then applying his slew of qualifications, with a Bachelor of Business in Marketing, Bachelor of Information Systems and Master of Business Administration to all things marketing. Working in hospitality and also assuming the role as marketing manager of the Central Coast Bears NRL Bid in 2010, set him up for where he is today with Norths Collective where sport, hospitality and entertainment meet.

Robert has over the past 9 1/2 years has been working with Norths Cammeray, and as part of his role, has repositioned the club as a true entertainment destination in Sydney. They won their first ever Australian Club Entertainment award in 2019 for the Club category of ‘Excellence and Commitment to Entertainment’.

Today, being in the midst of a global pandemic, digital technology has certainly captured our imagination and is rapidly developing in response to extraordinary demands – at the heart of this digital transformation is people. Robert’s role is ultimately focused on serving the needs of guests, enhancing the efficiency of employees and driving results on the bottom line. Technology is the enabler to meet these objectives. On a day-to-day basis, Robert ensures any cross-business marketing opportunities are actioned and delivers the latest in digital and marketing technologies to allow for sound business decisions to be made and for targeted communications to be developed for Norths Collective.

Robert is always looking to bring a touch a humour to what he does and outside of work is a die-hard move buff, offering a more critical view to the 450 films and counting he’s reviewed on his blog. He’s also an uber-passionate North Sydney Bears Supporter, having grown up watching the mighty Bears in the 90’s at North Sydney Oval.

Tony is an accomplished and diverse General Manager bringing over 30 years’ experience in hospitality to Norths Collective, where he has been heading up The Greens since 2015.

Tony has experience across a multitude of venue offerings both in Sydney and the UK, owning and operating his own catering business and then pivoting back into the space in which he thrives – high volume, fast paced, multifaceted businesses. Tony spearheaded the transformation of the bowling club after the re-launch, refining the product, creating a fun and inclusive culture and challenging the status quo of what bowling clubs can bring to the community – seeing The Greens evolve into the contemporary urban food, beverage, entertainment and events precinct and community hub that it is today. Tony is looking forward to heading up Norths Collective’s latest club addition, The Verandah which still has a lot of planning to go for an anticipated Spring 2021 launch.

Tony is a family man through and through, he loves spending time with his kids, bringing people together and sharing his passion for food and good times

Ty is a born and bred Brit and a seasoned hospitality pro with over 20 years in the industry, learning the ropes bussing tables at the tender age of 13 in the UK, moving onto managing nightclubs, bars and restaurants before falling in love with the Aussie way of life and moving to the sunnier shores of Sydney. Ty has previously run the Establishment Bar, one of Merivale largest property precincts. He came on board for the planning and pre-opening period of The Alcott, taking the GM role and proudly leading the launch of our most recently refurbished property. Ty relishes the opportunity in working closely with communities where he has laid his new roots. Ty is a confessed DIY man, often has a drill or paintbrush in hand and loves to take his two dogs for long walks around Sydney’s beautiful Northern parks and beaches.

The Club industry has always been part of Stuarts life, being a real people person, his earlier days were spent in Sydney where he started out collecting glasses in pubs and then moving into larger hotel groups and clubs, developing a love for the industry, the people and the connection to genuine hospitality. After moving to the Gold Coast, Stuart set up and ran his own espresso business until the opportunity arose for the General Manager role of Seagulls club where he joined the Norths Collective family in 2012. He’s embraced shaping the venue and driving its success over the past decade, building strong relationships with the community and the charitable initiatives it supports. 

Stuart is passionate about bringing a unique perspective to finding solutions for challenges that arise. He’s created a collaborative environment fostering cohesion between his team members, which in turn has developed a culture of resilience, continual improvement and new ways of approaching things in order to achieve the best possible results for his people and for the community. 

When he’s not at work, you’ll find Stuart cooking up a BBQ feast for his friends and family, being the number one cheer squad for his daughter at swimming or putting in the training hours as he prepares for the super challenge that is the Iron Man race.

Our people are the heart of our company, so as People and Culture Manager, Cathy Forbes is responsible for making sure that heart beats.

In charge of all things HR, including but not limited to overseeing the recruitment process, induction, training, employee benefits, payroll and managing conflict, Cathy takes it all in her stride as she ensures staff feel supported and that their needs are met.

Cathy was briefly a school teacher before joining Seagulls Club in 1976. She started on tray service and dropped a glass her very first shift. Still, she came back for more, and ended up working cashier, bar, pokies and reception before making her way into accounts, payroll and landing in HR in 2000. Her ability to work through tough situations and achieve favourable outcomes makes her a key part of the management team at Norths Collective.

Having been a part of the team for more than 4 decades, if there’s a rumour about Seagulls’ past, Cathy can usually confirm or deny it and will even have a funny anecdote to accompany the claim. To date, her most notable memory of her time at Seagulls has been hosting the Rocky Horror Picture Show. That will be a hard one to top!

When not ensuring Norths Collective people are taken care of, Cathy can be found reading, exercising, op-shopping or solving cryptic crosswords.