Nicholas Whitlam speaks at the University of Wollongong

Dec 02, 2004

Company director and banker, Mr Nicholas Whitlam, presented an address on corporate governance at the Graduate School of Business and Professional Development's annual Town and Gown function at the University of Wollongong yesterday (Wednesday 1 December).

Mr Whitlam has over 30 years experience in all aspects of banking and finance and is presently Chairman of Whitlam & Co and a director of the Port Kembla Port Corporation and the Whitlam Institute. He started his banking career at JP Morgan in 1969, working first in New York and then in London. From 1975 to 1978 he was with American Express Building in Sydney and then Hong Kong, before joining Banque Paribas, also in Hong Kong.

He was Managing Director and CEO of the State Bank of New South Wales from 1981 to 1987, having joined the board of the Rural Bank (as the State Bank was then known) as an executive Commissioner in 1980.

Mr Whitlam was then Managing Director of the private investment bank, Whitlam Turnbull & Co, from 1987 to 1990. In 1990 he established Whitlam & Co, a private investor, through Whitlam & Co he has had long-term assignments as an adviser to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Asian Capital Partners and Deutsche Bank AG.

In the public sector, apart from his role at the State Bank, Mr Whitlam has served at various times on the boards of the Australian Trade Commission, Export Finance & Insurance Corporation, Integral Energy and the NSW Development Corporation.

Mr Whitlam was Chairman of the board of the Australia Graduate School of Management (AGSM) from 1986 to 1997 and continues as a member of the AGSM Advisory Council. He has served on the Council of the University of New South Wales, and was the inaugural Chairman of the Whitlam Institute within the University of Western Sydney, 2000-2002.

Mr Whitlam holds degrees from Harvard College (AB cum laude, 1967) and London Business School (MSc, 1969) and was awarded an honorary doctorate (Hon DUniv) by the University of New South Wales in 1996.

-RP