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More than a third of The University of Western Australia's Business School Board is now made up of female members, following the appointment of Anne Nolan, Director General of the WA Department of Finance.

Ms Nolan was joined by Peter Coleman, Managing Director and CEO of Woodside and John Willinge, founder and CEO of Alverstoke Group, as the UWA Business School Board's newest members.

Following the appointment of Diane Smith-Gander in July, the Board now has five female members.  Ms Smith-Gander is a Director of Wesfarmers Limited, Transfield Services, CBH Group and the National Broadband Network Co Limited

The other women on the Board are Winthrop Professor Fiona Wood, Head of UWA's Burn Injury Research Unit and Director, Burns Service of Western Australia; Water Corporation CEO Sue Murphy; and Winthrop Professor Izan H.Y. Izan, Deputy Dean, UWA Business School.

At 35.7 per cent, this makes the Board's female representation significantly higher than that of many ASX200 companies, which have an average of 13 per cent, and ASX100 companies, which average 16.1 per cent female representation, according to the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

UWA Business School Board Chair Mark Barnaba said each new member had their own area of expertise and brought an impressive range of skills to the Board.

UWA's Business School Dean, Winthrop Professor Phil Dolan, said the new Board members would bring a great deal of experience to the School.

"Collectively, Mr Coleman, Ms Nolan and Mr Willinge bring many years' experience at the highest levels of the public and private sectors.  This experience will be invaluable to the UWA Business School as we continue to engage with the business and wider community," Professor Dolan said.

Mr Coleman has 27 years' experience in the global oil and gas industry, and has been Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Woodside since joining the company in May 2011.  He holds a Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Business Administration.

Ms Nolan was recently appointed Director General of the WA Government's newly established Department of Finance.  She has substantial experience in public sector management through her previous roles as Director General of Department of State Development, Deputy Director General of Department of Premier and Cabinet, Co-ordinator of Energy - Office of Energy; and Executive Director at Treasury.

Mr Willinge is the founder and CEO of Alverstoke Group LLC, an investment firm based in New York, and serves as a Board member on a number of public and private companies in the United States and Australia.

He is a current David Rockefeller Fellow and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, in addition to a BAppSc and BCom.  He has previously worked at leading financial services firms including Rothschild, Goldman Sachs and Thomas Weisel Partners, where he was a partner.

Mr Willinge is a Patron of The Hackett Foundation and Chair of the US Chapter of the Business School's Ambassadorial Council, and the Chair of UWA in America, a not-for-profit organisation established to promote alumni activities for UWA graduates in the US.