David Gonski
Encyclopedia
David Michael Gonski, BComm
Bachelor of Commerce
A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...

, LLB
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

, AC
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

, (born 7 October 1953) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n public figure and businessman. The Sydney Morning Herald has described him as "one of the country's best-connected businessmen" and dubbed him "Mr Networks" for being "arguably Sydney's most networked man".

David Gonski was born in 1953 in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. His family migrated to Australia in 1961. He attended Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

 and graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (with the University Medal) from the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

. He practised as a solicitor with the firm of Freehills
Freehills
Freehills is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia it is considered one of the 'Big Six' law firms.-Offices:Freehills has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane in Australia...

 from 1977 to 1986, becoming their youngest ever partner at age 25, before leaving to co-found an investment bank. While at Freehills, he taught Intellectual Property for the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales. Law Theatre G02 is named the Conski Levi Theatre in his honour.

Current positions held include:

Business:
  • Chair, Investec Bank
    Investec Bank
    Investec is an international specialist banking and asset management group. It provides a range of financial products and services to a select client base in three principal markets: the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia. Investec is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the...

     (Australia) Ltd
  • Chair, Coca-Cola Amatil
    Coca-Cola Amatil
    Coca-Cola Amatil is an Australian company that bottles and distributes The Coca-Cola Company soft drinks and other beverages in several countries...

  • Chair, Australian Stock Exchange
    Australian Stock Exchange
    The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....

    .
  • Chair, Ingeus Limited.
  • Director, Westfield Group
  • Director, Singapore Airlines
    Singapore Airlines
    Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...



Other:
  • Chancellor
    Chancellor (education)
    A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....

    , University of New South Wales
    University of New South Wales
    The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

    , from 2005. David Gonski is the first person to hold the position of Chancellor at UNSW who is also an alumnus of the University.
  • Chair, National e-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA)
  • Chair, Sydney Theatre Company
    Sydney Theatre Company
    The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....

    , from February 2010
  • Ambassador, Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (www.aief.com.au)
  • Board member, Infrastructure NSW
    Infrastructure NSW
    Infrastructure NSW was created by incoming New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell in 2011. The aim of the agency is to manage the delivery of state infrastructure projects. In May, O'Farrell appointed former Liberal Premier Nick Greiner as Chairman, and in June, Paul Broad was appointed as the...

    .


Previous positions held include:
  • Chair, Australia Council for the Arts, 2002-2006.
  • Director, John Fairfax Holdings, 1993-2005.
  • Director, ANZ 2001-2007.
  • President of the Board of Trustees, Art Gallery of New South Wales
    Art Gallery of New South Wales
    The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...

    , from 1997
  • Chair, National Institute of Dramatic Art
    National Institute of Dramatic Art
    The National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...

     (NIDA).
  • Chair, Board of Trustees, Sydney Grammar School
    Sydney Grammar School
    Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

    , 2003-2010


Gonski was appointed as a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2007. In 2002 Gonski had been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to the community through Australian visual and performing arts organisations, through the development of government policy, and through the promotion of corporate sponsorship for the arts and for charitable organisations. He received the Centenary Medal
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...

 in 2003.

Gonski was a close friend and advisor to the late media baron Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...

. Together with Lloyd Williams
Lloyd Williams
Lloyd W. Williams was an officer in the United States Marine Corps who served and died in World War I.A famous saying is attributed to Captain Williams, who was serving as a company commander in the 5th Marines...

 he is executor
Executor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...

 of Packer's estate. While he provided advice to Packer, Gonski was also a director of the Packer's media competitor Fairfax. He is close friends with Arthur Boyd
Arthur Boyd
Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...

 and Frank Lowy
Frank Lowy
Frank Lowy, AC is an Australian-Israeli businessman. He is a co-founder of the Westfield Group, operator of over 100 shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Great Britain...

 and his mentor is the late Kim Santow
Kim Santow
The Honourable Justice Geza Francis Kim Santow AO was an Australian Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal....

.
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