Jillian Rosemary Broadbent (born 1948) is an Australian economist and businesswoman. She has served on the boards of many organisations, encompassing finance, the arts, and other sectors. Broadbent was chancellor of the

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 ...

for 11 years up until late 2020.

Early life and education

Jillian Rosemary Broadbent was born on 23 April 1948. She is the daughter of John Raymond Broadbent (Major General). She attended

Ravenswood School for Girls Ravenswood School for Girls (often referred to as Ravenswood or Ravo) is an independent, Uniting Church, day school, day and boarding school for Prep to Year 12 girls, situated in Gordon, New South Wales, Gordon, an North Shore (Sydney), Upper N ...

, and at the age of 16 enrolled 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 ...

, where graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts majoring in economics, and mathematics.

Banking career

Broadbent begun her career as an economist with the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. Th ...

. She spent 30 years in the banking sector in Australia and overseas, latterly as a senior executive and departmental head at Bankers Trust Australia.

Board and other roles

From 2005 to 2006 she was president of

Chief Executive Women Chief Executive Women (CEW) is an Australian organisation that supports women entrepreneurs and those in leadership positions and those aspiring to be senior executives. It provides a network of women in these positions, as well as funding lead ...

. From 2011 until 2017, Broadbent was inaugural chair of the

Clean Energy Finance Corporation The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is an Australian Government-owned green bank that invests in clean energy, to help achieve Australia's national goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The CEFC invests billions of dollars on behalf of th ...

. In 2017 she (along with Graeme Samuel and John Laker) formed a panel of inquiry into the culture of the

Commonwealth Bank of Australia The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

. In the commercial sector, Broadbent has served on the boards of

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 ...

, Woolworths, and Macquarie Limited. She has also served in arts and non-profit organisations, including the boards of SBS, the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

, the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...

, and

Sydney Dance Company Sydney Dance Company is a contemporary dance company in Australia. They have performed at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theater in New York, the Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, and the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow. His ...

. She was a founding director of the

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (ABO) is an Australian period instrument orchestra specialising in the performance of baroque and classical music. Founders The orchestra's founder and artistic director is Paul Dyer. In 2013 Dyer was ...

. Broadbent was chancellor of the

(UOW) for 11 years, until September 2020. She also has been a director of the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary Exchange (organized market), securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or c ...

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...

, and

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

Awards and honours

In 2001, Broadbent was awarded the

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". In 2003, she was appointed 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 ...

for service to economic and financial development of

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 ...

. On Australia Day 2019, Broadbent was appointed a

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 ...

"for eminent service to corporate, financial, clean energy and cultural organisations, to higher education, and to women in business". In 2018 she was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. It is the oldest learned society in the Southern Hemisphere. The Society traces its ...

. Broadbent holds honorary degrees from

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 ...

(2000) and the UOW (2021).

Ben Quilty Ben Quilty (born 1973) is an Australian artist and social commentator, who has won a series of painting prizes: the 2014 Prudential Eye Award, 2011 Archibald Prize, and 2009 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. He has been described as one of Au ...

's 2021 portrait of her hangs in UOW's new Arts and Social Sciences building, which was named after her in recognition of her role as the University's third chancellor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadbent, Jillian 1948 births Australian women in business Businesspeople from Sydney Companions of the Order of Australia Officers of the Order of Australia University of Sydney alumni Chancellors of the University of Wollongong Living people Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales