Andrew Michael MacLeod is an Australian/British philanthropist, businessman, author, humanitarian lawyer, and former aid worker. Since 2020 MacLeod has served as chairman of private equity firm Macson Investments, CEO and chair of British-based Griffin Law, a non-executive director of Saudi-based Arabian Leopard Fund, UAE-based Burnham Global, and has several senior visiting and governance roles at universities in Australia and the UK. He was formerly a humanitarian official with both the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. He is co-founder of Swiss/US charity Hear Their Cries. He maintains a Commission as an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

reserve officer. He served as Chief of Operations of the United Nations Emergency Coordination Centre in the

international response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake The international response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake was widespread and immediate, as many countries, international organizations and non-governmental organizations offered an abundance of Humanitarian aid, relief aid to the affected regio ...

in Pakistan. Previously he was CEO of the Committee for Melbourne, non-executive director of New York-based Cornerstone Capital, an affiliate senior associate to the Center for Strategic International Studies in

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

; sat on the Sustainable Accounting Advisory Board; advised numerous charities, was General Manager Communities, Communications and External Relations at global miner Rio Tinto, a board member and formerly chairman of Principles for Social Investment.

Early life and education

MacLeod was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He was educated at St Michael's Grammar School in Melbourne, where he was Captain of the School, and obtained his combined Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degree from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

in 1993, where he also swam for the Sandy Bay swimming club. MacLeod also holds a Master of Laws (International Law) from the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

and a Graduate Diploma in International Law from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. In 2021 MacLeod finished a course of theological studies and was awarded an Associateship of King's College, the AKC.

Career

Humanitarian

MacLeod worked with the

(ICRC) in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

during the

Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

and in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. It was for his first deployment to the Balkans that MacLeod was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal, with a second award of the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal for Rwanda (Great Lakes). From 2003 to 2005 MacLeod was head of Early Warning and Emergency Preparedness for

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

. In 2005, MacLeod worked as Chief of Operations of the United Nations Emergency Coordination Center which provided information and coordination to the NGOs and United Nations agencies delivering aid and relief after the Pakistan earthquake. MacLeod then became the first "Relief to Recovery Transition" specialist, ensuring no drop-off in service delivery to the people in the transitional period. He remained in Pakistan until 2008. MacLeod left the United Nations in 2009 after a year-long deployment to The Philippines. MacLeod became critical of the lack of effectiveness and efficiency of the United Nations as he saw it. He raised a number of criticisms of the humanitarian system in his book "A Life Half Lived", including the UN's failure to crack down on UN staff

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...

and hebophilia. He has also been published in several newspapers on the subject. Macleod's techniques have resulted in court orders against fathers requiring them to pay child support and allow children to assert nationality rights based on patriality.

Business

Between 2010 and 2012, MacLeod served as CEO of the Committee for Melbourne, an independent network of Melbourne leaders working for Melbourne's liveability and economic prosperity. He also served as General Manager Community, Communications and External Relations for global giant Rio Tinto. From 2013 to 2019 Macleod was a member of the management board of New York-based Cornerstone Capital. Now he is Chairman of Griffin Law, a Non-Executive Director at Burnham Global, a member of the Audit and Risk Committee at Risk Advisory Group, and a senior advisor to UK based Critical Resource. He is a graduate member of the

Australian Institute of Company Directors The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) is a non-profit membership organization for directors. The AICD is a founding member of the Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI). History The origins of the AICD can be traced ba ...

Academic

He served as a visiting professor at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and was an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania Law School. He is a Vice Chancellor's Distinguished Fellow at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

and formerly sat on the Council at Keele University.

China and One Belt One Road

Professor MacLeod is a public policy expert focusing on a number of issues including China's

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...

, the legality of Taiwan's status, as well as issues of international commerce, trade, finance and counter-terrorism.

Published works

MacLeod is the author of ''A Life Half Lived'' published by New Holland Press in 2013, ''Stop the Bollocks,'' ''Things I Would Have Told My Mother,'' ''Maria: A Lonely Tear That Never Dries'' and ''Doing Good by Mistake: A Humorous Look at NGOs in Disaster.''

Sport

MacLeod won the silver medal for the 200m Butterfly at the

World Masters Games The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years which, in terms of competitor numbers, has developed into the largest of its kind. Governed by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the World Mas ...

in 2002.

Travel

According to NomadMania MacLeod is verified as visiting every country in the world, bar one.

Awards and honours

MacLeod is a recipient of the Australian Defence Medal for his service as an Army Reserve Officer. He was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal twice. He was awarded the Deakin University Distinguished Fellows award, the University of Tasmania Foundation Distinguished Alumni award and the Young Britons Foundation Global Award for Freedom. In 2024 Macleod was awarded a �
Legal Hero
�� award for his work protecting children by the Law Society of England and Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Andrew People educated at St Michael's Grammar School University of Tasmania alumni Alumni of the University of Southampton Melbourne Law School alumni Living people Australian public servants Australian officials of the United Nations British officials of the United Nations Year of birth missing (living people) Businesspeople from Melbourne Associates of King's College London