100 Leaders interviewed
See their bios below

Picture
Catherine Livingston AO
Picture
Graham Bradley AM
Picture
Dr Charlie Teo AM
Picture
Ann Sherry AO
Picture
Prof Fred Hilmer AO
Picture
Prof Julianne Schultz AM
Picture
Dharma Chandran
Picture
Ilana Atlas AO
Picture
Jillian Segal AM
Picture
Mike Smith OBE
Picture
Julie Coates
Picture
David Gonski AC

52 female and 48 male leaders from 26 industries and 16 cities
across Australia and Asia were interviewed for Stepping Up
Biographies
The bios below reflect their positions at the time of publication and are in alphabetical order:
Alec Bashinsky
National Partner, People & Performance, Deloitte, Sydney, Australia
bio
Alec has been with Deloitte since 2005 and is responsible for around 6000 employees. Prior to this he was Senior Director Human Resources – Japan & Asia Pacific for Peoplesoft; Group Manager – Human Resources for Cisco Systems Australia/New Zealand; and Asia Pacific Human Resources Manager for 3Com. Alec is on the Board of Diversity Council Australia. He is Australian-born, has Ukrainian heritage and speaks fluent Russian. He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and Canada.
Professor Alec Cameron
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), University of Western Australia, Sydney, Australia
bio
Alec is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) at the University of Western Australia. Prior to this he was Dean of the Australian School of Business at UNSW from 2006 to 2012, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources and Infrastructure) at UNSW from September 2003 to 2006. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has served as a Director for the Centre for International Finance and Regulation; the Society for Knowledge Economics (SKE); Capital Markets CRC; the Australia India Institute; Uniseed; and NewSouth Innovations. Alec is Australian-born and has lived and worked in the United Kingdom and United States.
Amanda Mostyn
Executive General Manager, People & Development, ASX Group, Sydney, Australia
bio
Amanda has been EGM People & Development for ASX since 2006. Prior to this she was General Manager, Human Resources at the Sydney Futures Exchange from 1991 to 2005. She is a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and Australian Institute ofCompany Directors. Amanda is Australian-born.Amanda has been EGM People & Development for ASX since 2006. Prior to this she was General Manager, Human Resources at the Sydney Futures Exchange from 1991 to 2005. She is a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and Australian Institute of Company Directors. Amanda is Australian-born.
Andrew Macintosh
Chief Executive Officer, Hanhong Private Equity, Hong Kong, China
bio
Andrew is the CEO of Hanhong Private Equity and Adjunct Faculty at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. Prior to this he was the General Manager of National Australia Bank Hong Kong and Head of Private Bank for Westpac Hong Kong. He is a Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia.
Andrew is Australian-born and has lived or worked in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
Angela Tatlis
Managing Director, Invoke Performance, Melbourne, Australia
bio
Angela is the Managing Director at Invoke Performance. Prior to this she was the Executive Director at Melbourne Forum, Director of Regional Supply Services at Treasury Wine Estates and Director of Global Supply Best Practice and Performance at Fosters Group Ltd.
Angela is Chair of the National Association for Women in Operations and founder of the new Chief Supply Officers ANZ forum. She is Australian-born.
Ann Sherry AO
Chief Executive Officer, Carnival Australia, Sydney, Australia
bio
Ann is the CEO of Carnival Australia, a Non-Executive Director at Australian Rugby Union, and a Non-Executive Director at ING Australia and The Myer Family Company
Ltd. Prior to this she was the CEO of Westpac NZ, a Group Executive at Westpac and CEO at Bank of Melbourne. Ann was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2004. She is
Australian-born, speaks fluent French, and has lived and worked in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Annette Kimmitt
Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young Global, Victoria, Australia
bio
Annette has been the Melbourne Managing Partner for Ernst & Young since 2009. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, on the Board of Air services Australia and Chair of its Board Audit and Risk Committee. Annette is a Director of the Committee for Melbourne, the Melbourne Business School and the Victoria University Foundation.
She is also a former Councilor and Victorian Chair of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Annette is Australian-born, has Maltese heritage and has lived and worked in the United Kingdom.
Arni Hole
Director General, Norwegian Royal Ministry for Children, Equity and Social Inclusion, Oslo, Norway
BIO
Arni is Director General in the Royal Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion; and heads the Department of Family and Equality. Prior to this she war Director General
of the Royal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Managing Director of the Norwegian Sports University, and Deputy Director General of the Royal Ministry of Research and Education.
Arni was born in Norway, speaks Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, French and German and has worked and lived in the United States, United Kingdom and France.
Bernard Salt
Partner, KPMG, Melbourne, Australia
BIO
Bernard is a Partner at KPMG, Social Editor at The Australian Newspaper, a bestselling author and adjunct professor at Curtin University Business School. Bernard is currently
Chairman of Tourism Forecasting Committee, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a member of Australian Institute of Management, an Affiliate of
Chartered Accountants and a Director of MLC Girls School. He is Australian-born.
Carol Schwartz AM
Non-executive Director, Stockland, Melbourne, Australia
BIO
Carol is currently the Chairman of Our Community and Founding Chair of the Women’s Leadership  Institute  Australia.  She  is  also  Director,  Yarra  Capital  Partners,  Director, Stockland,  Director, Bank of Melbourne,  Director,  Qualitas  Property Partners, board member St James Ethics Foundation, board member National Australia Day Council,
Executive in Residence at Melbourne Business School, council member of the Australian Innovation Research Centre, University of Tasmania, board member Centre for Advanced Journalism, University of Melbourne, member of the Enterprise Melbourne Advisory Board, member the Milken Global Advisory Council, member Harvard Kennedy Women’s Leadership Board and she is also the Co-Chair in Australia for Women Corporate Directors.
Catherine Livingston AO
Chairman, Telstra, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Catherine is the Chairman of Telstra Corporation Ltd, a Director of Macquarie Group Ltd, WorleyParsons Ltd and The George Institute for Global Health. She is a member of the
New South Wales Innovation and Productivity Council and is President of the Australian Museum Trust. Prior to this she served on the Boards of Goodman Fielder Ltd and Rural
Press Ltd, and was the Chairman of CSIRO and the President of Chief Executive Women. Catherine is a Chartered Accountant and became an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2008. Catherine is Australian-born.
Catriona Noble
Chief Executive Officer, McDonald’s Australia, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Catriona has been the CEO of McDonald’s Australia since 2010. Prior to this she had spent her entire career with McDonald’s and held various positions including Managing
Director, Chief Operating Officer and Director Corporate Strategy & Business Planning.  She is Australian-born.
Dr Charlie Teo AM
Director, The Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Charlie is the Director of the Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery at Prince of Wales Hospital, the Founder of Cure For Life Foundation and the Chairman of the
Scientific Advisory Board. In 2003 he was NSW State finalist for the prestigious Australian of the Year award and in 2005 he was awarded the Vocational Service Award by the Rotary
Club. In 2007 he was given the Paul Harris Fellowship for his contribution to International Health and Welfare and became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012. Charlie is Australian-born, has Chinese and Singaporean heritage, and has also lived and worked in
the United States.
Chris Komor
Principal, Willow Bend Station, Central NSW, Australia
BIO
Chris is the Principal of Willow Bend Station. Prior to this he was the Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at Amro Bank N.V. (Sydney) and Group Head of Mergers and Acquisitions
at Tricontinental Ltd. Chris was also a solicitor with Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson). He was born in the United States and has lived and worked in Australia.
Christopher Lim
Senior Manager, Ernst & Young Global, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
BIO
Christopher is a Senior Manager in the Human Capital practice of Ernst & Young’s Kuala Lumpur office.
Christopher was born in the United Kingdom, has Chinese heritage and speaks fluent Malay. He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Australia.
Con Tatlis
Finance Director, Invoke Performance, Melbourne, Australia
BIO
Con is the Financial Director of Invoke Performance. Prior to this he received a degree in applied chemistry and worked for Shell in research and development, then later held a
sales role in a Mobil owned company. Con was born in Greece, speaks fluent Greek, and has lived and worked in Australia.
Craig Drummond
Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Craig has been the CEO of Bank of America Merrill Lynch since 2009. Prior to this he held  various  roles  with  Goldman  Sachs  JB  Were  including  Chief  Operating  Officer, Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer. Craig is a Senior Fellow of FINSIA and is a Chartered Accountant. Craig is a Director of Scotch College, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Australian Financial Markets Association and the Geelong Football Club. He is a Member of the Business Council of Australia and a Member of the University of New South Wales’ Australian School of Business Advisory Council.
Craig is Australian-born.
David Gonski AC
Chairman, Future Fund of Australia, Sydney, Australia
BIO
David is Chairman of Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd, ASX Ltd, Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd and Ingeus Ltd. He is Chancellor of the University of New South Wales and Chairman of the National Health Transition Authority Ltd. Prior to this David was a member of the Takeovers Panel, President of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Director of ANZ Bank Ltd, Director of the Westfield Group, Chairman of the Australia Council for the Arts and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sydney Grammar School. He was born in South Africa and now lives and works in Australia.
David Kelly
Research Director, China Policy, Beijing, China
BIO
David  is  Research  Director  at  China  Policy,  a  Beijing-based  research  and  advisory company, and a Visiting Professor at Peking University. Prior to this he was Professor of China Studies at UTS, Sydney. He has held senior positions at the National University of Singapore, the University of New South Wales and the Australian National University. He held a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Chicago. David was born in Australia, has lived and worked in China and Singapore, and speaks fluent Chinese.
David Olsson
Partner, King & Wood Mallesons, Beijing, China
BIO
David is a Partner of King & Wood Mallesons based in Beijing and leads the firm’s banking and finance practice in China. Prior to this he headed the firm’s Melbourne and Hong
Kong office as well as working in London and the Middle East. David is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of China-Australia Chamber of Commerce and the founder of its
Financial Services Working Group.
Debra Singh
Former General Manager of Dick Smith, CEO of Fantastic Furniture, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Debra was former Group CEO of Household goods. Prior to that she was CEO of Fantastic Furniture and General Manager of Dick Smith Australia, New Zealand and India; the former. Previous to that she was the Managing Director of Woolworths Wholesale India, and General Manager of Human Resources Woolworths Supermarkets, leading the people strategy for 130,000 employees. She is a Member of Chief Executive Women and on the Advisory Counsel of Executive Women’s Business. Debra was born in New Zealand and has lived and worked in Australia and India.
Dellys Kelly
Founder, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia
BIO
Dellys was Founder of the University of Southern Queensland in 1958 and was awarded a Fellowship of the University in 2009. She was Chair of the Toowoomba Women’s Council of the Liberal Party for 27 years and has been an active fundraiser for her entire adult life.
At 81 she is still actively involved in event management and fund-raising for the Liberal Party. She has 14 great-grand-children. Dellys was born in 1932 in Toowoomba, Southern Queensland.
Dharma Chandran
Chief Human Resources Officer, Leighton Holdings, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Dharma is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Leighton Holdings. Prior to this he was Ernst & Young’s Far East Area Leader of the Performance and Reward Practice during
which he completed a secondment with Suncorp as Interim Group Executive, Human Resources. Dharma spent a number of years with Westpac Banking Corporation where he was initially Group General Manager of Employee Relations, Performance and Rewards and later, General Manager of Strategy and Human Resources for the Consumer Banking division. He is Malaysian-born, is of Sri Lankan-Tamil ethnicity and speaks fluent Bahasa
Malay/Indonesian. He has lived and worked in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Diana Cross
Australasia Human Resources Leader, Arup Group, Melbourne, Australia
BIO
Diana is currently Head of Human Resources for Arup in Australasia and has been with the company since 2004. Diana is also an Officer of the Board for the Australasian region. Prior to this she worked in senior Human Resources roles within Spherion Group, Nortel and Honeywell. She is Australian-born.
Diane Grady AM
Non-Executive Director, Macquarie Group, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Diane is a Non-Executive Director of Macquarie Group and Bluescope Steel. She is also a member of the McKinsey Advisory Board, Chair of Ascham School and Chair of the
Hunger Project Australia. Previously Diane was a Director of Woolworths Ltd, Lend Lease Ltd, a Trustee of the Sydney Opera House and President of Chief Executive Women.
Before becoming a director, Diane was a partner of McKinsey & Co leading the Retailing and Consumer Goods practice in Australia and the firm’s Change Management practice
globally. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009 for services to business and promoting women leaders. Diane has an MBA from Harvard, a Masters in Chinese Studies from the East West Centre at the University of Hawaii, and a Bachelor of Arts in European History from Mills College.
Doug Buckley
VP Commercial, Shell Australia, Perth, Australia
BIO
Doug has been the Vice President Commercial at Shell Australia since 2009. Prior to this he was General Manager of Optimisation at Shell Energy Europe and General Manager
of Sakhalin LNG Marketing Services BV. He is also a Director of Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited and its subsidiary companies.
Edyta Torpy
Oceania Diversity & Inclusiveness Leader, Ernst & Young Global, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Edyta is the Oceania Diversity and Inclusiveness Leader at Ernst & Young. Prior to this she was the Human Resources Relationship Senior Manager at Ernst & Young Australia,
Human Resources Manager at Arthur Andersen and Human Resources Specialist at Caltex. Edyta was born in Poland, speaks fluent Polish and now lives and works in Australia.
Professor Fred Hilmer AO
President & Vice-Chancellor, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Fred has been the President and Vice-Chancellor of UNSW since 2006 and is also a Director of Westfield Holdings Limited. Prior to this he was the CEO of media company John Fairfax Holdings Ltd and had been Dean and Director of the Australian Graduate
School of Management (AGSM) at UNSW. He has served as a director of a number of Australian companies including Port Jackson Partners Ltd and McKinsey & Company. Fred was born in Australia, speaks conversational German and now lives and works in Australia.
Gabriel Yam
Director, Arup, Hong Kong, China
BIO

Gabriel is a Director of Arup, Hong Kong, China. He received his secondary school education in Brisbane and graduated from the University of Queensland in 1995. Upon his return to Hong Kong he joined an Australian engineering consulting company Meinhardt
(C&S) Ltd and worked on many large scale infrastructure projects like the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong Disneyland and extension line for the Mass Transit Railway. He was the project manager for construction of the Australian International School in Hong Kong with Leighton Asia as the contractor. He is married to an Australian-Chinese, has two children and currently works for Arup on many challenging
engineering projects.
Dr Geoff Raby
Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Raby & Associates (former Australian
Ambassador to China), Beijing, China
BIO
Geoff is Chairman and CEO of Geoff Raby & Associates and an independent, Non-Executive Director on the boards of Fortescue Mining Group, OceanaGold, and SmartTrans. Prior to this he was the Australian Ambassador to China and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has recently been appointed as Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow at Monash University and was appointed by the Minister of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to the International Education Advisory Council. Geoff is Australian-born and has lived and worked in China, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom.
Georgia (Anon)
Vice President, Investment Banking, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Georgia is highly qualified and skilled banker with a 15-year career in global and Australian investment banks. Georgia’s true identity will not be revealed as she shares her story anonymously in Stepping Up about why she recently opted out of this career. She is Australian born.
Giam Swiegers
Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Giam is the CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australia and is a member of Deloitte’s Global Board and the Global Board of Governance Committee. He began his career as an auditor
for Deloitte in South Africa and currently serves on the UTS Vice-Chancellor’s Industry Advisory Board. Giam was born in South Africa, speaks fluent Afrikaans, and has lived and worked in the United States. He now lives and works in Australia.
Graham Bradley AM
Chairman, Stockland, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Graham  is  the  Chairman  of  Stockland  Corporation,  HSBC  Bank  Australia,  Energy Australia and Anglo American Australia. Graham is a director of Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation and is a former director of Singapore Telecommunications. Prior to this he was President of the Business Council from 2009 to 2011 of Australia and Managing
Director of Perpetual Ltd. He is a Director of the European Australian Business Council and a Member of the Order of Australia. Graham was born in Australia.
Greg Couttas
Partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Greg has been a Partner in Deloitte since 1988, during which time he served as Lead Client Service Partner for AGL Energy, APA Group, Centennial Coal, CSR, Rinker Group and
Woolworths. Greg is a member of the Board of Partners of Deloitte Australia and Chairman of the firm’s Audit Committee. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in
Australia and a member of the Audit Committee for the University of New South Wales. He is Australian-born and has Greek heritage.
Greg Stanmore
Managing Director, Spencer Stuart, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Greg is the Managing Director at Spencer Stuart. Prior to this he was the General Manager at James Hardie Building Products and Manager at LEK Consulting. He was also a Project Manager at CRI Ltd and Site Engineer at Bovis Lend Lease. He has an MBA from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. 
Hayden Flinn
Partner, King & Wood Mallesons, Hong Kong, China
BIO
Hayden is a Partner in the King & Wood Mallesons Hong Kong office. His work includes negotiating joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions in the Asia region. His experience spans the Asia Pacific region including Hong Kong, India, Philippines, China and Singapore. Hayden was born in Melbourne and has lived and worked in Hong Kong since 2001.
Hugh Mackay
Social Researcher and Writer, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Australia’s leading social researcher, Hugh is the author of fourteen books, including five
novels. In recognition of his pioneering work in social research, he has been awarded
honorary doctorates by Charles Sturt, Macquarie, NSW and Western Sydney universities.
He is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and a recipient of the University of
Sydney’s alumni award for community service. A newspaper columnist for over 25 years,
Hugh is currently an honorary professor of social science at the University of Wollongong.
Previous appointments have included deputy chairman of the Australia Council, chairman
of the board of trustees of Sydney Grammar School and the inaugural chairman of the
ACT government’s Community Inclusion Board. Hugh is Australian-born.
Ilana Atlas
Non-Executive Director, Coca-Cola Amatil, Sydney, Australia 
BIO
Ilana Atlas is a Non-Executive Director of Coca-Cola Amati Ltd, Suncorp Group Ltd and Westfield Holdings Ltd. She is the Chairman of Bell Shakespeare Company and a
Councilor of the Australian National University. Her last executive role was as Group Executive, People at Westpac. Prior to this she was a Partner in the law firm Mallesons
Stephen Jacques where she also held a number of management roles including Executive Partner, People and Information and Managing Partner. Ilana is Australian-born and has lived and worked in the United States.
Dr Jacqui Abbott
Head of Flexibility and Diversity, Allens Arthur Robinson, Sydney, Australia
BIO
Jacqui has been with Allens Arthur Robinson since 2008 and has subsequently launched the flexibility program, refreshed the gender program and expanded the understanding and awareness of the broader diversity agenda within the firm. Prior to this Jacqui has worked
as Workplace Diversity and Flexibility Manager at Orica, Workplace Culture Manager at Shell Australia and People Strategy Manager at Ernst & Young/Arthur Andersen. Jacqui is a board member of Diversity Council Australia. Her PhD explored the latest thinking related to management and employee perspectives of work/life benefits in large multinationals. Jacqui is Australian-born.
James MacKenzie
Chairman, Mirvac, Melbourne, Australia
BIO
James is the Chairman of Mirvac, Non-Executive Director at Pacific Brands, Director of Melco Entertainment Ltd and Co-Vice Chairman of Yancoal Australia Ltd. Prior to
this he was a Partner in both the Melbourne and Hong Kong offices of an international accounting firm now part of Deloitte.  James lived in Hong Kong from 1984 to 1994 and
was responsible for the establishment of the firm’s China desk in 1984. Subsequently, James led the transformation of the Victorian Government’s Personal Injury Schemes initially as Chief Executive Officer of the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and later as Chairman of TAC and the Victorian WorkCover Authority (WorkSafe Victoria). James
is a Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.