Our Board

David de Silva (Chair)

David received his Bachelor of law Degree from the University of Adelaide in 1987. He completed an Associateship with Justice Millhouse in the Supreme Court of South Australia before moving to the Territory in 1989 to complete his Articles of Clerkship with Poveys, and then working as a litigation lawyer with Cridlands.

In 1993, David became the Darwin partner of a Brisbane firm which evolved into De Silva Hebron, a legal firm which has now been in business in Darwin for over 20 years. De Silva Hebron is a medium size legal firm in the Darwin market and is predominantly focused upon serving the needs of the business community of the Northern Territory whilst maintaining a general practice.

Outside of law, David is the Chair of the boards of Power Generation Corporation trading as Territory Generation and Crimestoppers (NT) Ltd as well as serving on the boards of Darwin Waterfront Corporation, Tennis NT, Territory Equities Pty Ltd, and the Committee of the Carbine Club NT, in which he holds the position of President.

David is a former Board member of AFLNT, GTNT, the NTFL and Saint Marys Football Club, where he is a life member.

As well, David is the Tribunal Commissioner for the Darwin Football League and the Darwin Hockey Association, the Honorary Solicitor for Basketball NT, and he has been a volunteer at the Darwin Community Legal Service since its inception in 1990.

David and his partner, Wendy, have three children who have all been raised and educated in the Northern Territory.

John Glenn

From an initial career in music performance and management, John has gone on to roles in financial, project and logistical management for a variety of government, non-profit and private entities.

His career went full circle back to the arts and arts management when in 2006 he was appointed Operations Manager of Sydney Symphony, responsible for the Orchestra’s logistical and production management, as well as their intrastate, interstate and international touring program.

A stint as General Manager of Sydney’s State Theatre followed, before a move to Brisbane to become General Manager of the Venue Management Association (Asia and Pacific).

In November 2011 John became Executive Producer – Venue Utilisation at Queensland Performing Arts Centre, responsible for maximising commercial opportunities and the utilisation of the four theatre venues and other ancillary spaces.

A recent move back to his hometown of Adelaide now sees John in the role of Executive Producer – Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Commercial Ventures. Held annually in June, Adelaide Cabaret Festival is the biggest of its kind in the world.

Along with this John oversees Adelaide Festival Centre’s commercial ventures – leveraging relationships with agents and commercial producers nationally and internationally.

John also serves on the Board of Festivals Adelaide.

John and his wife Dianna have settled in the beautiful hills surrounding Adelaide and have a daughter that has probably seen more theatre shows in her first ten years than many people see in a lifetime…

Wendy Ludwig

Wendy is currently Director of Operations with the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor – Indigenous Leadership at Charles Darwin University. From the Territory, Wendy has a strong commitment to training and education and has been active in her advocacy for the visual arts and arts industry and various Aboriginal community organisations.

Whilst undertaking full time Community Work studies Wendy worked as a consultant researcher and interviewer for ANU’s Nth Australia Research Unit (NARU) and the NT Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.

After completing her studies Wendy worked as a lecturer and co-ordinator at what was then the Darwin Institute of Technology then NT University during which time she completed her undergraduate degree in Anthropology and History through the same institution.

In 1992 Wendy was recruited as Head of Faculty at the Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE’s Faculty for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in Cairns before taking on the role of Director of Studies of the Institute. During this time Wendy successfully achieved post-graduate qualifications in Education at the University of New England in northern NSW.

In 2006 Wendy was recruited as a Regional Manager with the Qld Department of Employment, Economic Development & Innovation (DEEDI) in Cairns before returning home to Darwin in 2013.

Charlie Falanga

Currently the Regional Business Executive Northern Territory, Charlie first came to the Territory as a Business Banking Officer back in 1986. Since that time, Charlie has worked in the Territory for all but 6 years, and always in Business Banking. Two of those years were spent in Alice Springs and the remainder in Darwin.

Over his career, Charlie has worked in mainstream Business Banking, Corporate and Commercial and International Banking. He is very passionate about assisting the Northern Territory business community to grow. Over the last 26 years he has seen a transformation in a large number of clients who were small businesses and today are major players in the business community.

Charlie has two children, both born in the Territory. One is now in the Airforce and the other is a Chef in Adelaide running his own business.

As a Banker, Charlie believes the Territory offers an opportunity to get close to the clients and have a better understanding of what they are trying to achieve. This, often resulting in a strong working relationship between the client and NAB.

Neville Pantazis

Neville Pantazis is the Director of Parap Fine Foods. Under Neville’s guidance Parap Fine Foods has developed into a food and wine emporium that began in Darwin in 1968 as a fruit and vegetable store by the Pantazis family.

Neville grew up in Darwin and after Cyclone Tracy the Pantazis family spent some time in Greece, upon his return Neville enrolled in the University of Tasmania and completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

He returned to Darwin keen to present art that excited and inspired him and began lecturing in art at what is now Charles Darwin University; all the while helping in the shop. The shopfront re-design incorporated a mini-gallery. As the business grew, Neville curated exhibitions, working with Darwin's independent galleries to present indigenous art shows.

Around the same time Neville became central to the creation of the first Darwin Glenti in 1989; a conscious effort to re-unite what many second generation members of the Greek community saw as a factional community, with Cypriots, Macedonians and Kalymnians rarely venturing beyond the boundaries of their own communities.

Neville is well known around Darwin as an accomplished businessman and art philanthropist.

Alastair Shields

Alastair was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Land Resource Management in March 2015. Prior to that, he acted as Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Territory Department of Business for most of 2014, and before that he was Deputy Chief Executive of the Northern Territory Department of the Attorney General and Justice. He is also Chair of the AustralAsia Railway Corporation.

Alastair was born and educated in Darwin and has more than thirty years of public sector experience in the Northern Territory, most of it at the Northern Territory Department of the Attorney General and Justice and its predecessors. Alastair has been involved in commercial negotiations for major projects in the Northern Territory, such as the AustralAsia Railway, Darwin City Waterfront and the Marine Supply Base. He has qualifications in Law and Accounting and a Masters in Public Administration. In 2007, he was awarded the Australian Government Lawyer of the Year by the Australian Corporate Lawyer’s Association.

Alastair’s community involvement includes approximately a decade as a Councillor of the National Trust of Australia (Northern Territory), including a short period as President in 1999. From 2009 from mid-2014, he was Deputy Chair of the Museum and Arts Galleries Board of the Northern Territory.

Harley Paroulakis

Harley is Chairman and CEO of the Paspalis Group of Companies.

His commercial experience is wide and substantial including senior positions with Merrill Lynch and Honeywell, and direct investment in a number of successful public private partnerships with Federal, State and local Governments.

He has completed a Bachelor of Commerce from Murdoch University and his Victorian Certificate of Education from Scotch College, Melbourne.

Married with two children, he is fully committed to Darwin’s commercial, cultural and artistic future. He is a sponsor and supporter of the Darwin Festival, Creative Partnerships Australia and particularly enjoys working with the CEO and his fellow directors of the Darwin Entertainment Centre in advancing the performing arts in Darwin.