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PBG Foundation Announces the Appointment of Dr. Regina Crameri as Director of CADRE-OCE at the University of Melbourne

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 02 February 2026 13:21pm

PBG Foundation proudly acknowledges the appointment of Dr. Regina Crameri, Director of PBG Foundation, as Director of the Centre for Advanced Defence Research and Enterprise – Operating in Complex Environments (CADRE-OCE) at the University of Melbourne.

Chairwoman of PBG Foundation, Aruba Cham, formally recognised Dr. Crameri’s appointment as a significant milestone, both for CADRE-OCE and for PBG Foundation’s long-standing commitment to advancing resilient, ethical, and systems-based solutions for communities operating in complex environments, particularly across the South Pacific.

CADRE-OCE is internationally recognised for its work at the intersection of defence, health security, biosecurity, humanitarian response, and systems resilience in high-risk and resource-constrained settings. Dr. Crameri’s appointment strengthens the Centre’s leadership at a time of growing regional complexity, climate stress, and interconnected human, animal, and environmental health challenges.

For PBG Foundation, this appointment opens a powerful pathway to advance its core belief: that Australian systems, initiatives, and applied expertise can, and should, be responsibly mobilised to support the resilience, dignity, and long-term wellbeing of Pacific Island nations.

“At PBG Foundation, our work is grounded in a simple and enduring belief: that Australia possesses world-class systems, knowledge, and technological capability; and that these strengths are at their best when they are shared in partnership with our Pacific neighbours.

Australia’s institutions have a proven capacity to operate effectively in complex environments, across health, biosecurity, and resilience. Dr Crameri’s appointment to lead CADRE-OCE creates an exceptional opportunity to translate this capability into practical, regionally relevant outcomes; supporting Pacific communities through collaboration, respect, and long-term systems thinking.” Aruba Cham, Chairwoman, PBG Foundation Limited.

Looking ahead, PBG Foundation and CADRE-OCE are exploring opportunities for deeper collaboration, including the potential co-hosting of a Pacific Island Resilience Conference in Vanuatu in early 2027. The proposed conference would focus on integrated health security and CBRN/biosecurity resilience for humans, animals, and plants, reflecting a One Health-informed approach to regional stability and preparedness.

Such an initiative would align with PBG Foundation’s mandate as a Public Benevolent Institution: to support vulnerable communities through structured, ethical, and non-profit-driven engagement; bridging research, policy, and on-the-ground capability in a manner that is respectful, collaborative, and locally anchored.

“The Centre for Advanced Defence Research and Enterprise – Operating in Complex Environments (CADRE-OCE) recognises the strong alignment between our established strategic priorities and the mission of the PBG Foundation. At CADRE-OCE we translate research into practical capability by integrating discovery science, systems engineering, and operational transition through trusted partnerships. By leveraging our existing mission-driven portfolio and national ecosystem orchestration, we look forward to supporting PBG Foundation’s objective to drive measurable, community-led impact across the Pacific—strengthening resilience, ensuring sovereign capability, and improving safety for communities facing disaster or distress.” Professor Regina Crameri, Director, CADRE-OCE

PBG Foundation congratulates Dr. Crameri on her appointment and looks forward to the opportunities this leadership role creates for responsible collaboration between Australian institutions and Pacific communities; guided by shared values, scientific rigour, and a commitment to long-term regional resilience.

About PBG Foundation

PBG Foundation is an Australian-based Public Benevolent Institution dedicated to advancing resilience, wellbeing, and systems-level capability in vulnerable and disaster-prone communities, with a particular focus on the South Pacific. Through structured partnerships, ethical governance, and applied expertise, PBG Foundation works to deliver sustainable, dignified outcomes across health, infrastructure, and community resilience.

For more information, visit: www.pbgphilanthropy.org

END OF RELEASE.

PBG Foundation Limited is an Australian-registered Public Benevolent Institution (PBI), governed by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and dedicated to alleviating poverty, distress, and disaster-related hardship.

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Kimberly kovacs

Ambassador for Change and Good Will

Kimberly Kovacs serves as Ambassador for Change and Good Will for PBG Foundation, supporting the Foundation’s commitment to community resilience, ethical development, and long-term humanitarian stewardship.

Kim brings more than two decades of executive leadership across technology, capital markets, sustainability, and emerging growth enterprises. Her career has spanned roles as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, board member, and investor within both public and private companies operating in highly regulated and capital-intensive environments. This experience has shaped a disciplined understanding of governance, accountability, and the structural foundations required to sustain long-term value.

 

Her early executive work included serving as a founding CFO within environmental and technology ventures, where she led venture financing initiatives and navigated complex regulatory frameworks. She subsequently co-founded and led a SaaS-based equity compliance platform acquired by a global software provider, reinforcing her experience in compliance architecture and scalable systems design.

 

Over time, Kim’s leadership extended into venture capital and angel investment networks at a national level, including governance and advisory roles within innovation-driven organisations across diverse U.S. markets. Through these roles, she has supported entrepreneurs, strengthened capital formation pathways, and advanced disciplined growth strategies anchored in transparency, governance, and operational excellence.

More recently, her work has focused on sustainable materials innovation and regenerative production systems. As a leader in fibre-based biomaterials and climate-adaptive industrial hemp initiatives, she has contributed to the development of environmentally responsible alternatives to conventional pulp and single-use plastics. This work reflects a systems-level approach to sustainability: integrating agriculture, manufacturing, and supply chain resilience with measurable environmental outcomes.

Kim’s engagement with PBG Foundation arises from a shared belief that technological capability must be guided by ethical frameworks and institutional discipline. She recognises that infrastructure constraints and resource vulnerability amplify humanitarian risk, and that durable solutions require careful governance, respect for local sovereignty, and long-term stewardship.

As Ambassador, Kim represents the Foundation’s values in public forums, contributes to awareness of responsible philanthropy, and supports engagement with stakeholders who share an interest in sustainable, systems-based development. Her role is honorary, focused on advocacy and principled representation.

 

Her association with PBG Foundation reflects alignment of purpose: that resilience is built through structure, that innovation carries responsibility, and that meaningful impact requires integrity, patience, and institutional clarity.

Dr Regina Crameri

Director

Dr Regina Crameri brings decades of experience across science, government, defence, and institutional leadership to her role as Director of PBG Foundation.

With a background in biomedical science and applied research, Regina’s early career involved academic and research appointments in Australia and internationally. This foundation led into senior roles within Australia’s defence, innovation, and research ecosystems; environments characterised by public accountability, complex governance, and long-term national interest.

Over time, Regina’s work expanded from research into the design and stewardship of large, multi-stakeholder programs. She has worked closely with government, industry, universities, and international partners in areas including health, critical technologies, and capability development, where alignment between policy intent, organisational structure, and delivery is essential.

Regina has also held numerous board and advisory positions, contributing to governance, risk management, and institutional resilience across public, not-for-profit, and sector-based organisations. Her leadership style is grounded in realism: an understanding of how institutions function in practice, where misalignment erodes outcomes, and how long-term value is sustained through disciplined oversight.

As Director of PBG Foundation, Regina oversees operational delivery, strategic development, and program integrity. She ensures the Foundation’s humanitarian work is not only compassionate, but effective; guided by evidence, accountability, and a clear understanding of how complex systems behave over time.

Her role is central to translating PBG Foundation’s values into action: ensuring that ambition is matched with capability, and that every initiative is delivered with care, credibility, and respect for the communities it serves.

Aruba de Groot-Cham

Chairwoman & Director

Aruba de Groot-Cham’s work is grounded in the long-term stewardship of institutions operating where law, science, governance, and human consequence converge. Her leadership reflects a commitment to building structures that endure ethically, legally, and culturally, beyond the immediacy of individual projects or personalities.

Her professional background spans advanced legal training, biomedical research, and senior oversight roles across philanthropic, advisory, fiduciary, and civil society contexts. With postgraduate qualifications in law and medical science, Aruba has worked extensively in environments where regulatory integrity, scientific discipline, and human outcomes must be held together under sustained pressure. This multidisciplinary foundation has shaped a leadership style defined by rigour, clarity, and respect for consequence.

Aruba’s early professional formation took place within biomedical research, contributing to internationally peer-reviewed work in oncology, lipid science, and infectious disease treatment. This grounding instilled a deep respect for evidence, systems behaviour, and the risks inherent in poorly designed intervention. Her subsequent legal training, including specialist focus in international war crimes, extended this perspective into questions of governance, accountability, and the protection of rights within complex civil and criminal frameworks.

 

In her role as Director and Chairwoman of PBG Foundation, Aruba provides strategic oversight and guardianship of institutional integrity, ensuring that the Foundation’s charitable activities are conducted lawfully, transparently, and in alignment with Australian regulatory standards. Her focus is on governance architecture, compliance discipline, and long-term defensibility, ensuring that PBG Foundation remains resilient, credible, and respectful of local sovereignty and dignity in all jurisdictions in which it operates.

Alongside her philanthropic governance work, Aruba holds leadership roles in national sporting institutions in Vanuatu, including serving as President of the Vanuatu Archery Federation. Through these roles, she supports youth development, cultural continuity, gender equity, and international representation, using sport as a vehicle for discipline, confidence, and community cohesion.

Aruba has lived and worked in the Pacific region for over two decades and is a naturalised citizen of Vanuatu. Her leadership is informed by direct engagement in communities where governance decisions carry immediate and tangible consequences. Accustomed to cross-cultural and multi-jurisdictional environments, she operates with composure across legal systems, institutional cultures, and geopolitical boundaries.

Above all professional roles and institutional appointments, Aruba’s greatest responsibility and source of perspective is her role as a mother to five children: Zsa Zsa, Zelda, Zeus, Zahira, and Zlatan. This lived experience grounds her understanding of stewardship not as an abstract principle, but as an obligation to future generations.

As Chairwoman, Aruba’s contribution to PBG Foundation is defined by attentiveness to what institutions often avoid: time, consequence, and responsibility. Her leadership is anchored in the belief that trust is not asserted, but cultivated; through patient governance, disciplined care, and an unwavering commitment to the long horizon.

Peter Bowman

Founder, Director & Secretary

Peter Bowman is the Founder and Ambassador of PBG Foundation, established to support long-term, community-led development across the Pacific region through the application of Australian standards of governance, accountability, and practical capability.

The Foundation was born from Peter’s conviction that meaningful and lasting change depends on strong systems, ethical frameworks, and respect for local context. Drawing on decades of professional experience across finance, governance, and complex environments, he envisioned an organisation that would prioritise dignity, safety, and resilience over short-term intervention or symbolic aid.

Peter began his career in financial services in 1998 within funds management and institutional finance, working across private banking and advisory settings during periods of significant economic and structural change. Over time, he developed a deep appreciation for the role that sound governance, transparency, and disciplined decision-making play in achieving sustainable outcomes, particularly where resources are scarce and the consequences of failure are felt most acutely.

 

These insights shaped the founding ethos of PBG Foundation. As Director, Peter contributes by articulating the Foundation’s mission, championing ethical and well-governed philanthropy, and supporting constructive engagement with partners, communities, and stakeholders. His role is focused on stewardship of values, long-term vision, and the responsible application of expertise in service of the Foundation’s charitable purpose.

Peter is also recognised internationally as a peace envoy and humanitarian diplomat, and is a holder of a laissez-passer issued by the International Commission for the Protection of Civilians (ICPC). These roles reflect a broader commitment to civilian protection, stability, and principled engagement in complex environments, and align closely with the humanitarian objectives of PBG Foundation.


Through his association with PBG Foundation, Peter seeks to contribute to institutions and initiatives that leave communities stronger than they were found. His work reflects a belief that progress; whether social, institutional, or humanitarian, is built through integrity, restraint, and a willingness to invest in outcomes that endure.