Q&A with Mark Menze, CEO of Animal Aid

Animal Aid CEO, Mark Menze.

What is something people don’t know about you?

As a teenager I had a fledgling acting career and did extras work on Neighbours. I’m sure if you go back to the Scott and Charlene days you might grab a glimpse of my great 80’s haircut.

What has been your most memorable moment?

Becoming a father- on both occasions.

What would your final meal be?

Lasagne and lots of it.

What event, past or present or future would you like to witness?

The reunion of Silverchair. I haven’t seen them live so if they reunite I’ll be the first to get tickets.

What is your favourite television show?

Breaking Bad.

What is your favourite book?

Anything Jack Reacher.

What four guests, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party?

John Howard, Dr Hugh Wirth, Robin Williams and my Grandfather Barney Egan.

Do you have any pets?

Our home is graced with 4 cats and 2 dogs. We also have lots of foster kittens during kitten season. We’ve got about 100 foster families with Animal Aid and my wife and I are just one of them.

What are you working on right now?

The redevelopment of our veterinary clinic. At the moment the clinic has some old infrastructure as it’s in an old building, which is far from ideal. And it’s actually in another separate entrance to the property. What we have is the Elizabeth Walker Centre, which is an admin building constructed in 2010 and is quite modern. So what we’ve decided to do is re-purpose that building as a vet clinic.

What keeps your passion for animals alive?

Just seeing the good work that the Animal Aid people do every day and the lengths they go to helping animals and people in need. Their passion drives my passion.

Which object that you’ve lost do you wish you still had?

My wedding ring. Its somewhere buried in the sand on Eastern Beach, in Geelong. I took the family down to Eastern Beach for the day and I took my wedding ring off to put it in a bag for safe keeping … turns out it wasn’t so safe. I’ve actually lost two weeding rings.