This Month
What to expect from the new governor-general, from those who know her
Praised for her integrity, empathy and roaring intellect, all those who have worked alongside Sam Mostyn, or seen her in action, expect great things when she starts her new role.
- Sally Patten, Hannah Wootton and Samantha Hutchinson
The advice that helped land HESTA CEO Debby Blakey the top job
HESTA chief Debby Blakey talks about how maths helps her to make decisions, how a key piece of advice from a mentor helped her land the top job, and why she likes 42-minute meetings.
- Updated
- Sally Patten and Lap Phan
The new governor-general - in her own words
Sam Mostyn has been one of Australia’s most influential company directors for many years, shaping policies on gender, climate and First Nations issues.
- Hannah Wootton
- Opinion
- Governance
Why boards need their strategy captured on one page
Good governance is about strategy and judgment, not compliance and process. How do boards get those things to the fore?
- Catherine Livingstone
Super funds nominating directors to boards ‘unwise’
Super funds that nominate a director to a company board may fail to change the organisation’s strategy and could lose flexibility to manage their investment, leading chairmen warn.
- Sally Patten
March
Meet Australia’s version of James Bond’s Q
After a stellar career as an academic researcher, Professor Tanya Monro now heads Canberra’s top-secret Defence Science and Technology Group.
- Julie Hare
Why this CEO is happy to admit he is ‘not particularly smart’
Intrepid Travel chief James Thornton says he did “OK” at school and isn’t that smart. But he was CEO by the age of 35.
- Sally Patten and Lap Phan
- Exclusive
- BOSS
Australia’s highest-paid directors revealed
Women now account for more than 30 per cent of directors on ASX 200 companies – but they still don’t perform as well as their male colleagues in the money stakes.
- Updated
- Patrick Durkin
Slash nine-year terms, end gender box-ticking: Livingstone
Catherine Livingstone has called for six-year terms for directors to help refresh boardrooms and urged a focus on diversity beyond the usual box-ticking metrics such as gender.
- Patrick Durkin and Hannah Wootton
- Exclusive
- Online trading
Equity traps in the growing pool of share schemes
Anna Ross crowdfunded capital to get her beauty empire off the ground, but some small-time investors have become desperate to get their money back.
- Patrick Durkin
Best career advice? ‘Get some feathers on your wings’
Damien Nicks, the chief executive of giant electricity and gas supplier AGL Energy, answers our CEO Q&A.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
How this CEO cuts hour-long meetings to just five minutes
Justin Graham of advertising firm M&C Saatchi also says he wants to compete on Survivor, but suspects he might be thrown off the reality TV show early.
- Sally Patten and Lap Phan
How this Deloitte auditor got his chance to rescue AGL as CEO
Becoming a CEO was never a goal that drove Damien Nicks’ career, but when the energy company hit its lowest point, he knew it was the right time to step up.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
Where boards are still going wrong
Only a few chairmen have dared look outside the usual pathways to the board to find a director with deep skills in technology, marketing or human resources.
- Sally Patten
Google’s Australian boss reveals her pet hate in the office
Ask Mel Silva, managing director of Google in Australia, what she doesn’t like at work and she doesn’t hold back.
- Cindy Yin and Sally Patten
Why business leaders can’t cope with criticism
Chief executives who insist on hiring “yes people” soon forget how to present an argument in public, speechwriter and author Lucinda Holdforth claims.
- Sally Patten
Meet Wei Li, the maths nerd who became BlackRock’s chief strategist
Wei Li’s rise from Shenzhen maths nerd to the upper echelons of the asset manager by 35 relied on an unusual strategy: making sure she was replaceable.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Can’t name a woman who chairs an ASX20 company? There is a reason
Despite the proportion of female directors on ASX20 boards surging to 44 per cent, none of them sit at the top of the table, analysis by the AICD found.
- Sally Patten
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
10 work hacks from the guru to CBA’s Comyn, Nadella and Branson
Adam Grant’s client list includes some of the biggest names in business. Chanticleer goes inside a private session between Grant and CBA boss Matt Comyn.
- James Thomson
How the AFL’s introverted CEO will win over NSW and Queensland
Lawyer and self-described “introvert” Andrew Dillon plans to drive the game further into the rugby league heartland of NSW and Queensland.
- Patrick Durkin
