Our Team

The New Way to Stay team provides a combination of industry experience, along with personal empathy for improving lives.

Louise Mace - Founder and Managing Director

Louise founded New Way to Stay in 2015 after navigating complex later-life decisions for her late father and recognising the need for a clearer, more coordinated approach. With over 35 years in senior leadership roles for global health care organisations across Australia and New Zealand, and extensive experience working alongside clinicians across almost every hospital discipline, she drew on her expertise to design a better way forward. In collaboration with Les Mace, she launched a unique, client-focused process that helps families make confident, proactive choices in ageing and care. In the final years of her corporate career, Louise managed a business unit within a health care organisation dedicated to aged care, giving her direct insight into the gaps and challenges faced by older Australians and their families. That experience, combined with her personal journey supporting her father, shaped a service model built to simplify decision-making, prevent common pitfalls, and provide the clarity and support families need at critical times. For the past decade, Louise has focused exclusively on New Way to Stay, guiding scores of clients towards stronger choices and better outcomes. Her extensive networks across health, aged care, legal, and financial sectors put the business in a rare position to deliver truly integrated support for older Australians and their families.

Les Mace - Director

Les has built a distinguished career in the Australian financial services industry spanning more than 40 years. Over this time, he held senior leadership roles, including 15 years as a Chief Executive Officer, and developed extensive governance experience as a Company Director. His board work has included serving on multiple Boards, multinational working committees, and industry associations, where he has contributed to shaping policy and advancing professional standards. As Chief Executive of a large financial services Licensee, Les carried responsibility for the advice provided by financial planners nationwide. He is deeply committed to ensuring clients receive trusted, high-quality advice that is always delivered in their best interests—a principle that has guided his career. Drawing on this expertise, Les has become a strong advocate for integrating financial planning into the broader aged care journey. He has helped design practical, holistic solutions that address not only financial matters but also the wider needs of older Australians and their families. At New Way to Stay, he has been instrumental in building robust operational processes that ensure the business delivers consistent, client-focused outcomes. Since joining the Board in 2018, Les has applied his leadership and skills to support New Way to Stay’s mission of helping Australians plan with confidence for later life.

Wynette Monserrat - Client Advocate

Wynette has a Bachelor of Science with Honours and a Master of Business Administration and has held senior management roles in healthcare for over 30 years. Her experience spans the delivery of community therapies for chronic diseases, advanced wound care treatments and continence management. Wynette’s corporate background in community health and aged care, and her personal experience in caring for a brother with an acquired brain injury, has fuelled a passion for helping older people to live a happy and healthy life.

Tanya Harper - Client Advocate

Tanya worked in both the public and private sector at management levels in corporate communications for nearly 30 years prior to undertaking a new business direction focussing in the workers compensation/liability area where she operated her own business for over ten years gaining the trust and respect of the people around her for her ability to listen and interpret people’s needs, and communicating tailored solutions to meet their requirements. Tanya’s personal experience in managing the decline of her own ageing parents provides a valuable insight into how best to help families navigate their way through this difficult process.

Libby Bakewell - Client Advocate

Libby is based in Melbourne and has over 30 years of experience working in the aviation industry including as a commercial pilot, and many years specialising in risk management, safety compliance, auditing and training. She also has direct experience in trauma counselling and is tertiary qualified in mediation and conflict resolution. In addition to a career of being responsible for the safety and wellbeing of others, Libby has gained direct empathy after taking on the role as advocate for her father's physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing. That experience has driven Libby to be part of a team that is committed to supporting older adults and their families to deliver an effective gateway that will provide them with tools, advice and knowledge they require, to effectively navigate the transition into ageing.

Gemma Chilton - Communications Specialist

Gemma has a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney, and has spent over a decade working in media, publishing and marketing. She is passionate about applying her experience as a writer and communicator to New Way To Stay's mission of empowering ageing Australians.

Our Founder’s Story

In 2014, Louise was at the threshold of a hard-earned career in health care. She and her husband had started to build their dream home and were celebrating the happy stage of life that saw her become grandmother to a growing brood.

That same year, she received a phone call from her ageing father with the difficult news that his health had taken a serious decline. It was a phone call that would change her life and his. He was in hospital and the prognosis was dire.

In the months that followed, her father’s ability to live independently declined. He wanted to stay in his own home and was not prepared financially, emotionally, practically, and physically. He reluctantly found himself in unchartered waters, without a map or a compass.

Louise felt compelled to step up and reprioritise her own life so she could help him navigate the complex journey he was on. She left her career to become his full-time advocate and began to experience fatigue.

After her dad passed away, Louise reflected deeply. The question kept coming back to her.

“What if we had been better prepared and had access to a professional advocate to help us navigate what needed to be done?”.

In 2016 New Way to Stay was conceived.

Combining industry skills with personal experience today we are a dedicated team with a robust process that is providing guidance and support to many clients throughout their transition into ageing.