Leigh Hingston
Co-founder, Clubernance
Founding Director of VenueWorks and former CEO of Wollongong Golf Club, with fifteen years of board-level accountability in licensed clubs.
Leigh Hingston is a co-founder of Clubernance and the Founding Director of VenueWorks. His advisory is grounded in fifteen years of being accountable for the outcome, not just advising on it.
As CEO of Wollongong Golf Club he ran a $16M operation with six revenue streams, two venues, and 150 staff, carrying full board accountability across financial, people, compliance, and capital outcomes in a licensed environment. He delivered more than $10M in capital projects with no programme late or over budget.
He led the two-entity amalgamation of Wollongong Golf Club and City Diggers Club, which unlocked 98 gaming entitlements and $7M in assets, with 260 members voting in favour. He also negotiated the club’s role in The Globe Way, enabling a $230M CBD hotel development.
Qualifications and recognition
- Master of Business (Sport Management), Deakin University, 2016
- Bachelor of Business (Tourism Management), Southern Cross University, 2006
- Foundation Certificate in Corporate Governance, AICD, 2015
- Advanced Licensee, Liquor & Gaming NSW, 2023
- Club Manager of the Year, Golf Management Australia NSW, 2014-15
- Board Director, Destination Wollongong, 2015-2020
Wollongong, NSW · LinkedIn
Articles by Leigh Hingston
The AGM checklist for Australian registered clubs
What a club board has to get right before, during, and after the annual general meeting, from notice periods to minutes and statutory lodgements.
Director duties and section 191 conflict declarations
How material personal interests work for club directors under the Corporations Act, and how to run conflict declarations the board can stand behind.
Annual return deadlines for clubs, state by state
A plain-English guide to the annual reporting and return obligations registered clubs face, and how the deadlines differ across Australian states.
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