Maxwell William "Max" Moore-Wilton AC (born 27 January 1943) 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 corporate executive and former public servant, colloquially known as "Max the Axe".

Before becoming head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is an Australian Government department. The Department was first established in 1911...

, Max served as a senior executive in the Trade

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the government of Australia charged with advancing the interests of Australia and its citizens internationally...

 & primary industries portfolios, General Manager of the Australian Wheat Board, Director-General of the NSW

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 Department of Transport, NSW Maritime Services Board, manager of Australian National Lines

Australian National Lines

The Australian National Line was an Australian Government owned overseas and coastal shipping line that operated in Australia between 1956 and 1998, when the container shipping operations and naming rights were bought by French shipping line CMA CGM....

 and at the 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....

.

Max became head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1996, shortly after John Howard

John Howard

John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

 became Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

. He immediately implemented cuts of more than 11,000 staff, including six department heads and proceeded to aggressively outsource various government services. He also oversaw the passing of the Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), which gave the Prime Minister the power to hire and fire heads of departments. As a result he was accused of turning the public service into an "ideological office family", although the ALP

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 were also accused of this during their time in office.

In December 2002 he left this role to become the CEO

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 of Sydney Airport Corporation Limited

Sydney Airport Corporation Limited

Sydney Airport Corporation Limited is the private operator of Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia.Southern Cross Airports Corporation Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent company of SACL, which is controlled by a number of entities including MAp Airports.In 2002, the Australian Federal ...

 (SACL), which is majority owned by Macquarie Bank, after the Federal government

Government of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

 gave it a 99 year contract to lease and operate the airport. During his time there he implemented various cost increases to users and staff cutbacks. In addition, SACL announced plans to add a high-rise office block, a multi-level car park and retail space. These plans were controversial, considering the fact that Local councils

Local government in Australia

Local government in Australia is the third tier of government, administered by the states and territories which in turn are beneath the Commonwealth or federal tier. Unlike New Zealand, the US or the UK, there is only one level of local government in all states, with no distinction such as...

, who usually have jurisdiction over such matters, had none.

He quit this role in April 2006, but currently serves as SACL's Chairman. He is also a Board Member of the Committee for Sydney.