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Aiming to broaden and strengthen its skillset and bolster its role in Australia’s preventive health environment, AUSactive has announced the appointment of Dr John Petrozzi and Dr Bikram Karmakar as two new Non-Executive Directors to its board.

Continuing its focus on supporting its members in improve the health and wellbeing of Australians, the appointments back AUSactive’s focus on supporting its members to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians, with Dr Karmakar and Dr Petrozzi having joined the board as of 1st July.

The appointments follow the recent departures of Kate Corkery and Sally Anderson from the AUSactive board.

Advising that the two new board appointments play a pivotal role in the strategic direction of AUSactive and that the pair’s expertise will elevate the collective board’s skillset, AUSactive Chairperson, Jayne Blake stated “we are delighted to welcome Bikram Karmakar and John Petrozzi to the AUSactive board and extend a very sincere thank you to Kate Corkery and Sally Anderson for their dedication during their time with us.

“Sally will remain connected to the AUSactive Board as she will be Chairing an Advisory Group going forwards, I look forward to continuing to work with her in this capacity.

“The appointment of Bikram and John brings to the table a vast range of industry and health related experience and knowledge.

“As the peak association for the health and exercise industry, it’s our mission to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians through greater advocacy, research and education while also professionalising the industry to instil consumer confidence.

“The extensive hands-on knowledge and experience John and Bikram have will be invaluable to this strategic direction.”

Commenting that it is a privilege to join the AUSactive board and supporting its commitment to addressing population and preventative health issues, Dr Karmakar explained “as a Sport and Exercise Physician with extensive experience in the health sector and working with allied health I share AUSactive's desire to improve health outcomes through lifestyle and exercise intervention.”

Noting that he is looking forward to working alongside other AUSactive board members and the executive team to position the Australian health and exercise industry as world leading, Dr Petrozzi added “Australia leads the world in many aspects of health and medicine and AUSactive’s strategic direction focuses on elevating the health and exercise industry, which is so important for preventative health. I’m honoured to be part of the journey.”

Dr Karmakar is a Sports and Exercise Physician and Chief Medical Officer for the Cronulla Sharks.

In addition to his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, he has completed his Master of Surgery and MBA (Executive) and is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP).

His diverse roles have included appointments with the International Cricket Council, Sydney Thunder, Cricket Australia, National Rugby League, and FIFA. In addition to his clinical practice, Bikram is an Adjunct Associate Lecturer at UNSW Medicine and a member of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM).

Dr Petrozzi, an allied health professional, health researcher and board director, completed a back pain focused PhD at The University of Sydney in 2021 involving the design and leading an Australia-wide randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of combined physical and psychological interventions for the management of chronic back pain.

A practicing chiropractor since 1998 at Body Mind Central, an allied health practice in Sydney Australia, where he continues to practice alongside his research roles, his experience includes workings for the NSW Health Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) - Pain Management Network, and ACI -State Spinal Cord Injury Network, The University of Sydney - Kolling Institute and Macquarie University Health Sciences.

As the largest association of exercise and active health professionals and facilities across Australia, AUSactive has more than 12,000 professionals, 3,000 fitness, yoga and Pilates businesses plus over 180 CEC providers and 35 Quality Accredited businesses who service an industry with more than 8 million active Australian consumers.

Click here for more information on the AUSactive Board. 

Images (from top): Dr Bikram Karmakar (left) and Dr John Petrozzi, Dr Bikram Karmakar and Dr John Petrozzi.

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