Dr Helen Nugent AC
BA (Hons), PhD, MBA (Dist), HonDBus, HonDUniv — Independent Non-Executive Director
Insurance industry experience
Helen was appointed as a Director of the company on 23 December 2016. She is a member of our Audit Committee, Nomination Committee and Risk Committee.
Previously, Helen was Chairman of Swiss Re (Australia) and Swiss Re (Life and Health) Australia, and a Non-Executive Director of Mercantile Mutual.
Other business experience
Helen has extensive financial services experience, having been Chairman of Funds SA and Veda Group and a Non-Executive Director of Macquarie Group and the State Bank of New South Wales. She also served on Westpac Banking Corporation’s executive team as Director of Strategy, and prior to that specialised in the financial services sector as a Partner at McKinsey & Company.
Helen’s experience as a Non-Executive Director extends to the energy sector and telecommunications. Currently, she is Chairman of Ausgrid, and previously was a Non-Executive Director of Origin Energy. She is also the Senior Independent Director at TPG Telecom.
Helen has given back extensively to the community in the arts, education and health and disability. In the arts, she has been Chairman of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, the National Opera Review, the Major Performing Arts Inquiry, and the Major Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council. In education, she was Chancellor of Bond University and President of Cranbrook School. In disability and health, she was Chairman of the National Disability Insurance Agency, and a former Non-Executive Director of the Garvan Institute for Medical Research.
She was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in January 2022, having previously received an AO and a Centenary Medal. Helen has been appointed as Chairman of the Order of Australia Association Foundation Limited effective August 2022. She has also been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the University of Queensland and Bond University. She has also been awarded an Order of Merit by the Australian Olympic Committee.
Directorships of other listed companies held in past three years:
- TPG Telecom (since 2020)