Catherine Livingstone AC
Citation
Catherine Livingstone was born in Kenya, immigrating to Australia with her family as a young child. Graduating Bachelor of Arts (Honours) majoring in Accounting from Macquarie University in 1977, Catherine spent six years with Price Waterhouse & Co. before public practice gave way to corporate accounting. Her first major corporate role was as Chief Financial Officer of Nucleus Ltd., followed in 1994 by her appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Nucleus subsidiary, Cochlear Ltd. As CEO, Catherine guided the company through its listing on the Australian Stock Exchange and in the process became the first female CEO of a listed ASX company. During her six years as CEO, Catherine oversaw Cochlear develop into a multi-billion dollar global enterprise. At the start of the new millennium, Catherine Livingtone used her considerable expertise in finance, accounting and management to shift career focus from executive roles to non-executive directorships. In so doing, she elevated her career into the upper echelons of corporate life in Australia with a multitude of commercial board appointments that included Chair of Telstra Ltd (2000-2016), Chair of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (2017-2022) and present Chair of Pacific National. Although Catherine has been actively involved in corporate life over the last three decades, a multitude of not-for-profit and government sector organisations sought to utilise her considerable expertise. At senior level, Catherine chaired the boards of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (2001-2006) and the Business Council of Australia (2014-2016), was President of Chief Executive Women (2007-2008) and the Australian Museum Trust (2012-2017), was Patron of the Australian Design Innovation Network (2013-2015) and since 2016 has been Chancellor of the University of Technology Sydney. In addition to these leadership roles, she has variously been a member of the councils of Royal Institution of Australia, Prime Minister’s Advisory Council, NSW Innovation and Productivity Council, Australian Design Council, Growth Centre Advisory Committee, Australian Ballet and the Sydney Institute. In recognition of her contribution across a broad range of areas, Catherine Livingstone has been recognised in many ways. She is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2002) and the Australian Academy of Science (2014). In 2000 Catherine received the Chartered Accountant in Business Award and has been the recipient of several doctorates (honoris causa) from universities including Murdoch (2009), Macquarie (2010), Wollongong (2013), Sydney (2014), and UTS (2014). In 2003 Catherine was awarded the Centenary Medal and in 2008 she was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia. In 2024 Catherine Livingstone was elevated to Companion in the Order of Australia for eminent service to business, tertiary education, science and technology, innovation and the arts.