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David Murray (Australian businessman)

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David Murray AO
David Murray in 2008
Born27 April 1949
NationalityAustralian
EducationSt Aloysius' College, Sydney

David Victor Murray AO (born 27 April 1949), is an Australian businessman. He was the inaugural Chairman of the Australian Government Future Fund Board of Guardians, serving between 2006 and 2012,[1] and Chair of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Business career

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Prior to his appointment to the Future Fund, Murray was the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Bank between 1992 and 2005. In Murray's 13 years as Chief Executive, the Commonwealth Bank transformed from a partly privatised bank with a market capitalisation of $6 billion in 1992 to a $49 billion integrated financial services company,[2] generating in the process total shareholder returns (including gross dividend reinvestment) at a compound annual growth rate of over 24 per cent, one of the highest total returns of any major bank in Australia.[3]

Murray holds a Bachelor of Business from the NSW Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration, commenced at Macquarie University and completed at the International Management Institute, Geneva. He holds an honorary PhD from Macquarie University and is a Fellow of the University of Technology, Sydney. He is an old boy of St Aloysius' College, Sydney.

In 2007 Murray was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the finance sector nationally and internationally through strategic leadership and policy development, to education, particularly fostering relations between educational institutions and business and industry, and to the community as a supporter of and fundraiser for cultural and church organisations.[4]

Controversies

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Murray has made public comments on attempts to mitigate climate change.[5][6][7][8] Against a backdrop of increasingly severe 2013 bush fires, he slandered an Australian group of scientists who he said lacked any "integrity" after they attributed the disasters to increased carbon emissions. This prompted the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society to publicly declare they were "disturbed" by his statements.[9]

Murray led a push against the Australian Stock Exchange in 2019 for companies to have a social licence included in their Corporate Governance Guidelines, labelling the proposal "politically correct nonsense".[10]

In 2018, Murray was appointed chairman of AMP Limited, resigning in August 2020 as a consequence of calls for his resignation from shareholders and political pressure due to the board's handling of staff allegations of harassment.[11][12][13]

Charitable Activity

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As of 2019, Murray is chair of The Butterfly Foundation[14] a registered charity helping people with eating disorders.

References

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  1. ^ "Board Member Profiles". About us. Future Fund Board of Guardians. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  2. ^ Murray, Lisa (16 July 2005). "Murray payout touches $28m". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  3. ^ Attard, Monica (24 June 2005). "David Murray (interview)" (transcript). Sunday Profile. Australia: ABC Radio. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Search: Murray, David Victor". It's an honour. Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  5. ^ Keane, Bernard (18 October 2011). "The Coalition game of deterring renewables investment". Crikey. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  6. ^ Packham, Ben (30 March 2012). "Outgoing Future Fund chairman David Murray says carbon tax will be 'very,very bad' for economy". The Australian. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  7. ^ "Govt rejects savage spray from Future Fund boss" (transcript). The World Today. Australia: ABC News. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  8. ^ Ireland, Judith (30 March 2012). "Carbon tax worst economic reform, says outgoing Future Fund chief". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  9. ^ Hannam, Peter (1 November 2013). "Climate change: scientists attack David Murray for 'serious slur'". The University of Melbourne.
  10. ^ Maak, Thomas (3 April 2019). "The ASX abandons push to require companies to have a social licence to operate. Was it only ever 'politically correct nonsense'?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  11. ^ AMP appoints former CBA boss David Murray as its new chairman ABC News 4 May 2018
  12. ^ David Murray's 'tone deaf' AMP board in shareholders sights Australian Financial Review 24 August 2020
  13. ^ Grieve, Charlotte (24 June 2005). "'It's time for a very significant shake-up': Political pressure mounts on AMP leadership". Australia: Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Support for Australians Experiencing Eating Disorders". Butterfly Foundation. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
Business positions
Preceded by Chief Executive Officer
of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia

1992 – 2005
Succeeded by
Preceded by
inaugural
Chairman of the Board of Guardians
of the Australian Government Future Fund

2006 – 2012
Succeeded by