Jennifer Westacott is an Australian business executive. She served as the chief executive 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 ...

(BCA) from 2011 to 2023. She is the current chancellor of

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus public research university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university in its current form was founde ...

. She grew up in Springfield in New South Wales, Australia and completed her secondary education at Henry Kendall High School. She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

. She also holds a Graduate Management Certificate from the Monash Mt Eliza Business School and was a Chevening Scholar at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Following a career in the NSW and Victorian public sectors, she was a senior partner at

KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...

in Sydney, Australia from 2005 to 2011, before assuming the role of chief executive of the Business Council of Australia. She is also a non-executive director of

Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...

Recognition

She received an honorary doctorate from the University of New South Wales in 2017. In 2018, Westacott was awarded an

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) for her service to policy development and reform, cross sector collaboration, equity and business. Westacott was later elevated in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours to a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) for eminent service to business, to tertiary education administration, to the mental health sector, and to the community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westacott, Jennifer Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Companions of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian businesspeople University of New South Wales alumni Australian women in business