Cricket great Justin Langer and Elizabeth Perron join Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas’ panel for brand Perth

Perth’s Lord Mayor has hit a six with the latest recruit for his “brand Perth” forum: Aussie cricket great Justin Langer. Langer — a former Test player and current head coach of the Australian national team — will join a new forum focused on working out what makes Perth tick. He will join some of Perth’s most influential people and Perth ratepayers in a brainstorming session later this year. Langer is a true West Australian sporting great. Perth-born and bred, he made his first-class debut for WA during the 1991–92 Sheffield Shield competition and his Test debut the following season. After retiring from the game in late 2009, he took up coaching. Just nine years later he was appointed coach of the national team. Mr Langer isn’t the only Perth high-flyer who will be joining the new “brand Perth” forum. The West Australian can exclusively reveal today that he will be joined by businesswoman and philanthropist Elizabeth Perron. Ms Perron is Perron Group director and chair of the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and took over her father Stan Perron’s $4 billion empire in 2018. The late Mr Perron built his business from the ground up after leaving school at just 14. Perron group owns shopping centres across Australia, office towers, real estate, shares and lucrative mining royalties. The forum is a chance to “make Perth even better,” Ms Perron declared. “I am passionate about Western Australia and believe that the vibrancy and spirit of Perth as our capital city is of the utmost importance,” she said. “I hope by my participation in the forum I can join others in considering what makes Perth such a special place and how we can make it even better.” Another person who helps make Perth special is Leo Agnello. For 30 years, his cafe Bocelli’s Espresso has been serving Perth’s coffee lovers in Forrest Place. Now, he will serve on the forum, providing valuable insights gained from a lifetime of experience in the CBD.