Mark Baker

The Office of the Coordinator-General is the Tasmanian Government's principal investment attraction body. The Executive Director of the Northern Cities Major Development Initiative facilitates and leads the design and management of funding programs and civic infrastructure projects that drive significant economic growth in Northern Tasmania.

• Working across the Australian, State and Local Governments and agencies along with other key stakeholders to achieve the outcomes of Northern Cities initiatives across the North and North West of the State.
• Managing the Tasmanian Government's interest in the $571 million Launceston City Deal.
• Maintaining appropriate cost control to meet budget restrictions of projects.
• Represented OCG to public by giving presentations and speeches and participating in community events.
• Building relationships with government officials, including senior bureaucrats and Ministers to secure funding and support for projects.

NTDC is an economic development agency whose goal is to see Northern Tasmania achieve economic, social and community growth with a focus on better educational outcomes, improved health, higher incomes and falling levels of disadvantage.

• Developed and maintained wide-ranging and collaborative relationships with all levels of government and regional stakeholders.
• Designed and implemented inaugural Regional Collaboration Forum that led to agreed list of Regional Priority Projects and government funding in excess of $100 million.
• Negotiated new membership agreement to place organisation on a sustainable footing for future.
• Oversaw sourcing of external revenue for regional economic development projects, strategies and reviews.
• Led operational oversight and budgetary supervision for organisation.
• Devised new promotional approaches to boost member engagement.
• Oversaw staff recruitment and development initiatives to keep workforce skilled and effective.
• Led Board of Directors through recruitment, risk management and policy development.
• Provided best-practice advice to Board of Directors as Company Secretary.
• Orchestrated positive media coverage and stakeholder relations as public face of the company.

Australian Community Media has more than 160 regional and rural publications in every state and territory.

• Responsible for the newsrooms of 18 mastheads and products in South Australia and Tasmania, including The Examiner in Launceston and The Advocate in Burnie.
• The Examiner nominated two times for Newspaper of the Year and The Advocate once.
• Overseeing, teaching and developing more than 70 staff across multiple locations.
• Responsible for public, stakeholder, interest groups and political management of newspapers and their reputations.
• Managed budgets and costs of newspaper production.
• Legal responsibility for content published in line with various legislation including contempt and defamation legislation.
• Participated in regular professional development and senior executive strategic planning.

The Examiner is the oldest newspaper in Tasmania and third oldest in Australia.

• Responsible for news coverage as the 14th editor of The Examiner in 172 years.
• Built and maintained relationships with key political leaders on all sides through mutual trust and respect.
• Introduced regular staff training and teaching sessions that strived for continuous improvement and learning.
• Maintained and strengthened the newspaper's influence in Northern Tasmania with agenda-setting series and campaigns and regular public political debates.
• Planned and oversaw 175th anniversary celebrations for The Examiner, which resulted in award-winning publication.
• Study tour of United States' newsrooms under prestigious PANPA Hegarty Scholarship.

As a journalist I covered a variety of rounds including police and courts, sports, feature writing, local government and state and federal politics as Chief Political Reporter before becoming Chief of Staff.

• Wrote, edited and produced stories for multiple platforms, including internet and digital channels.
• Built and maintained strong and enduring relationships based on mutual trust and respect with politicians, advisors and public servants from all three levels of government.
• Applied understanding of public opinion, social media and traditional media use to create engaging and attention-grabbing stories.
• Wrote all variety of styles including long-form features, news reports, opinion editorials, travel writing, vehicle reviews, political and social commentary.
• Work was published across the country in Fairfax Media's stable of regional and metropolitan mastheads.

StGiles is a dynamic, multi-faceted organisation that supports people of all ages with a wide range of needs, including children and adults with developmental delays and disabilities and those who have acquired a disability as the result of illness or accident.

• Helped recruit and appoint new chief executive officer.
• Engaged in strategic planning and cultural reset of company.
• Involved in recruitment of new board members.
• Supported the creation of organisation's mission and vision statements for use by all employees.

Board director of business membership group with a strategic vision to grow Northern Tasmania's economy, livability and vibrancy.

• Helped develop strategy and policy for executive officer to execute.
• Reviewed and reset strategic plan.
• Increased media presence and reputation of organisation.
• Collaborated with organisation on public events and provided master of ceremony skills.

The Clifford Craig Foundation is a charity that supports the North and North-West communities to improve health outcomes through medical research, education of health professionals, and funding of medical equipment and patient facilities within the hospitals.

• Instigated board review that led to board renewal, greater diversity and succession planning.
• Increased media coverage and community knowledge of organisation through traditional media, social media and marketing strategies.
• Involved in strategic plan review and reset and risk register development.
• Oversaw and approved medical research grants of more than $500,000 per year.
• Involved in public educational lectures on research outcomes.

The National Automobile Museum of Tasmania is the state's premier public display of vehicles and motorbikes showcasing Australia's motoring heritage.

• Facilitated decision making by building consensus and developing solutions.
• Provided recommendations on board of directors on group's effectiveness, actions and future plans.
• Oversaw business-wide changes to modernise procedures and organisation.
• Worked closely with NAMT leadership, including board of directors, to strategically affect direction of operations.