Catherine Brighid Livingstone (born 17 September 1955) is an Australian businesswoman who has held positions in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia,

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

Macquarie Bank Macquarie Group Limited (), more commonly known as Macquarie Bank, is an Australian multinational investment banking and financial services group headquartered in Sydney and listed on the ASX (). Macquarie's investment banking division is Au ...

, and

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...

Early life and education

Catherine Brighid Livingstone was born in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya, on 17 September 1955. In 1960, her family migrated to Australia. She attended

Loreto Normanhurst Loreto Normanhurst is an independent Catholic, primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls, located in Normanhurst, a suburb on the upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1897, Loreto has a curre ...

School. She graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting with first class honours from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. In 1992, she attended the International Program for Executive Development in Switzerland.

Career

After graduating, Livingstone joined the accountancy firm of

Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along ...

, working in both Sydney and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She then held several accounting and management roles at Nucleus Ltd, finally reaching the position of chief executive, finance, before being made the CEO of one of its subsidiaries,

Cochlear Limited Cochlear is a medical device company that designs, manufactures, and supplies the Nucleus cochlear implant, the Hybrid Electric acoustic stimulation, electro-acoustic implant and the Bone anchored hearing aid, Baha bone conduction implant. Bas ...

, in 1994. In January 1995 she was appointed a director of Cochlear (UK) Limited, and in December 1999 of Cochlear Europe. She resigned from both positions in September 2000. Livingstone was director of the

Sydney Institute The Sydney Institute is a privately funded Australian policy forum founded on the 23 of August, 1989. The institute took over the resources of the New South Wales division of the Institute of Public Affairs. Columnist and writer Gerard Henderso ...

from 1998 to 2005, director of the Rural Press Foundation, and chair and director of the Australian Business Foundation from 2002 to 2005. In 2000, she was appointed chair of Telstra Corporation, a position she retained until 2016. In January 2001 she became a member of the

(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) board. In November 2001 she was appointed chair, a position she retained until December 2006. Livingstone was an independent voting director of the Macquarie Bank and the

Macquarie Group Macquarie Group Limited (), more commonly known as Macquarie Bank, is an Australian multinational investment banking and financial services group headquartered in Sydney and listed on the ASX (). Macquarie's investment banking division is Au ...

from November 2003 to July 2013. From 2007 to 2008, Livingstone was president of Chief Executive Women. On 22 January 2008, it was announced that Livingstone would be a member of the panel conducting the review of Australia's national innovation system. From 2013 until 2013 she was on the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Council, and in March 2014, was elected president of the

Business Council of Australia The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is an industry association that comprises the chief executives of more than 130 of Australia's biggest corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable – a spin-off of the Co ...

for a two-year term, replacing Tony Shepherd. She was succeeded by

Grant King Grant King is an Australian engineer and business executive. He retired as Managing Director of Origin Energy in October 2016, and in November 2016 became President of the Business Council of Australia. He served as the chair of the Climate Chan ...

in November 2016. Livingstone replaced David Turner as chair of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in January 2017. In November 2018 she gave evidence at the Banking Royal Commission about her predecessor's poor performance and the lack of transparency in how the bank dealt with following up his refusal to repay 40% of his annual fees. She said that she knew that she had risked her professional reputation in joining the board, but had been determined to change its corporate culture. She retired after nearly six years in the position, in August 2022.

Non-executive directorships

From 2007 until 2013, Livingstone was a non-executive director of the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council. She joined the board of

WorleyParsons Worley Limited is an Australian engineering and professional services company which provides consulting and project delivery expertise to the resources and energy sectors, and complex process industries. History Early history John Grill (c ...

as a non-executive director in July 2007, and was still a member of the board but left sometime between then and December 2023.

The arts and education

Livingstone was a director of the Royal Institution of Australia from 2009 to 2011, and president of the

Australian Museum Trust The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural history museum in Australia and the fifth oldest natural ...

between 2012 and 2017. From 2013 and Livingstone is patron of the Australian Design Innovation Network, an initiative led by CSIRO, the UTS Business School, and the Design Innovation Research Centre. She has also supported various UTS research initiatives and been involved in industry bodies, think tanks, and forums on behalf of UTS, including the launch of the UTS Centre for Corporate Governance in 2003. From 2013 until 2015, she was a member of the John Grill Centre for Project leadership, at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, and from 2020 until 2022 a member of the Liveris Academy advisory board at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. Livingstone became the Chancellor of

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...

(UTS) on 1 December 2016, a position she retains . From 2017 and continuing in 2024, she has been a non-executive director of

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur a ...

Recognition and awards

*?: Fellow of

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 ...

*?: Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand *1999: Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship for Australia *2000: Chartered Accountant in Business Award *2001:

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

, for service to Australian society in business leadership *2001: Fellow,

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is an independent learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. History The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences was foun ...

(FTSE) *2008:

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AO) in 2008, "for service to the development of Australian science, technology and innovation policies, to the business sector through leadership and management roles and as a contributor to professional organisations"Officer of the Order of Australia
, ''It’s An Honour'', www.itsanhonour.gov.au, accessed 24-03-08 *2009: Honorary Doctorate in Science from

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

*2010: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business from Macquarie University *2014: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business, UTS, "in recognition of her commitment to leadership in design integration, science and technology innovation, corporate governance and her continued support of the advancement of women in business" *2014: Honorary Doctor of Letters, The University of Sydney *2014:

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...

*2015: Honorary Doctor of Science,

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

*2024:

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AC), "for eminent service to business, particularly through governance and strategic reform, to tertiary education, to science, technology and innovation capability development, and to the arts"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Livingstone, Catherine Living people 1955 births Businesspeople from Nairobi Australian people of British descent Australian women in business Commonwealth Bank people Kenyan emigrants to Australia Kenyan people of British descent Kenyan expatriates in Australia White Kenyan people Macquarie University alumni Academic staff of the University of Technology Sydney Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering