Ziggy Switkowski
Encyclopedia
Dr Zygmunt "Ziggy" Edward Switkowski (born 1948, Germany
) is a Polish Australian
business
man and nuclear physicist
.
He is most known as the former Chief Executive Officer
of Australia
's largest telecommunications company Telstra
, and for overseeing major aspects of the implementation and planning of its full privatisation through tranche
sales (known as the 'T1', 'T2' and 'T3' sales).
In 2011, he was appointed the Chancellor
of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
(RMIT University).
in 1948 to Polish
parents. His family migrated to Australia when he was one year old. He was raised in Melbourne
, and attended St Bernard's College in Essendon
– a suburb of Melbourne. He then studied at the University of Melbourne
, where he earned a Bachelor of Science
and a Doctor of Philosophy
in nuclear physics
, and went on to complete six years of postdoctoral research. In 1993, he graduated from the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School
.
, Switkowski served as Chief Executive Officer
of the telecommunications company Optus
and the photographic equipment company Kodak
(Australasia). He also served as Chairman and Managing Director of Kodak (Australasia) from 1992–1996. During this time, he also served as a non-executive director of the multinational packaging company Amcor
from 1995–1999.
In 1995, he received the Advance Australia Award
for outstanding achievement in industry
and commerce
.
of Telstra's pay television partner Foxtel
. Before his appointment, he was Group Managing Director of Telstra's Business and International Development division.
During his tenure at Telstra, Switkowski oversaw the introduction of a number of services to the company; such as its major internet service provider
subsidiary BigPond
, and substantial expansion of others; such as its advertising and directories subsidiary Pacific Access (later re-branded as Sensis
in 2002).
He oversaw the implementation of the second tranche
sale of Telstra (the 'T2' sale) on the Australian Stock Exchange
, New Zealand Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange
that began in September 1999. The first tranche sale of Telstra (the 'T1' sale) took place before Switkowski was appointed CEO of Telstra. He also oversaw the planning for the third tranche sale of Telstra (the 'T3' sale).
Switkowski resigned from Telstra on 3 December 2004, and was replaced by Solomon Trujillo
.
inquiry
into the viability of a domestic nuclear power
industry.
He was later appointed Chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
(ANSTO) by federal Minister for Science Julie Bishop
on 4 March 2007. Switkowski was originally appointed to the board of ANSTO on 1 January 2006, but stood down when appointed to the inquiry. After the completion of the inquiry, he was then reappointed to the board as Chairman on 1 March 2007. His term as Chairman concluded at the end of 2010.
The inquiry concluded that Australia is well positioned to increase its production and export of uranium
as well as adding nuclear power to its own energy mix. However, an independent panel of Australian scientist
s and nuclear experts have been critical of these findings, claiming that they relied upon flawed assumptions while dodging important questions such as the disposal of radioactive waste
and the potential greenhouse gas
implications of increased mining
.
– his first position after resigning from Telstra.
In 2006, he was appointed President of the Board of Directors of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image
on 1 January – for a three year term. He also took non-executive director roles with Healthscope
on 19 January, and with Tabcorp Holdings
on 2 October.
In 2011 he has been serving as a director of Rare Earth's miner Lynas Corporation as per
He also currently serves as Chairman or Opera Australia
and on the Board of Directors of the Business Council of Australia
.
of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
(RMIT University). He was officially appointed to the position on 1 January 2011.
, on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) is a Polish Australian
Polish Australian
Poland has been a source country of immigrants to Australia, in particular in the post-war period. Immigration from Poland has long tapered off, with Polish Australian population now part of the mainstream Australian community.-Demography:...
business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
man and nuclear physicist
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
.
He is most known as the former Chief Executive Officer
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 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...
's largest telecommunications company Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, and for overseeing major aspects of the implementation and planning of its full privatisation through tranche
Tranche
In structured finance, a tranche is one of a number of related securities offered as part of the same transaction. The word tranche is French for slice, section, series, or portion, and is cognate to English trench . In the financial sense of the word, each bond is a different slice of the deal's...
sales (known as the 'T1', 'T2' and 'T3' sales).
In 2011, he was appointed the 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....
of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
(RMIT University).
Early life
Switkowski was born in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1948 to Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
parents. His family migrated to Australia when he was one year old. He was raised in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and attended St Bernard's College in Essendon
Essendon, Victoria
Essendon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley...
– a suburb of Melbourne. He then studied at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, where he earned a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
and a Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
, and went on to complete six years of postdoctoral research. In 1993, he graduated from the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
.
Communications
Before his tenure at TelstraTelstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, Switkowski served as Chief Executive Officer
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 the telecommunications company Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
and the photographic equipment company Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
(Australasia). He also served as Chairman and Managing Director of Kodak (Australasia) from 1992–1996. During this time, he also served as a non-executive director of the multinational packaging company Amcor
Amcor
Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. Its headquarters are in Hawthorn, Victoria ; and it is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange....
from 1995–1999.
In 1995, he received the Advance Australia Award
Advance Australia Award
The Advance Australia Foundation was established in 1980. The AAF recognised "individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the growth and enhancement of Australia, the Australian people and the Australian way of life"....
for outstanding achievement in industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
.
Telstra
On 1 March 1999, Switkowski was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Australia's public and largest telecommunications company Telstra, and to the Board of DirectorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of Telstra's pay television partner Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
. Before his appointment, he was Group Managing Director of Telstra's Business and International Development division.
During his tenure at Telstra, Switkowski oversaw the introduction of a number of services to the company; such as its major internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
subsidiary BigPond
BigPond
BigPond is an Australian Internet service provider and is a product of Telstra. BigPond is Australia's largest ISP and based in Melbourne.- Internet :...
, and substantial expansion of others; such as its advertising and directories subsidiary Pacific Access (later re-branded as Sensis
Sensis
Sensis may mean:*The advertising and directories arm of Telstra Corporation, Australia*Sensis Corporation, a private company specializing in air traffic control and defense systems...
in 2002).
He oversaw the implementation of the second tranche
Tranche
In structured finance, a tranche is one of a number of related securities offered as part of the same transaction. The word tranche is French for slice, section, series, or portion, and is cognate to English trench . In the financial sense of the word, each bond is a different slice of the deal's...
sale of Telstra (the 'T2' sale) on 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....
, New Zealand Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
that began in September 1999. The first tranche sale of Telstra (the 'T1' sale) took place before Switkowski was appointed CEO of Telstra. He also oversaw the planning for the third tranche sale of Telstra (the 'T3' sale).
Switkowski resigned from Telstra on 3 December 2004, and was replaced by Solomon Trujillo
Solomon Trujillo
Solomon Dennis "Sol" Trujillo is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of Telstra, Australia's largest telecommunications company...
.
Nuclear research
On 6 June 2006, Switkowski was appointed to chair a Commonwealth GovernmentGovernment 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...
inquiry
Inquiry
An inquiry is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ways that each type of inquiry achieves its aim.-Deduction:...
into the viability of a domestic nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
industry.
He was later appointed Chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation is a statutory body of the Australian government, formed in 1987 to replace the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. Its head office and main facilities are in southern outskirts of Sydney at Lucas Heights, in the Sutherland Shire...
(ANSTO) by federal Minister for Science Julie Bishop
Julie Bishop
Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to...
on 4 March 2007. Switkowski was originally appointed to the board of ANSTO on 1 January 2006, but stood down when appointed to the inquiry. After the completion of the inquiry, he was then reappointed to the board as Chairman on 1 March 2007. His term as Chairman concluded at the end of 2010.
The inquiry concluded that Australia is well positioned to increase its production and export of uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
as well as adding nuclear power to its own energy mix. However, an independent panel of Australian scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s and nuclear experts have been critical of these findings, claiming that they relied upon flawed assumptions while dodging important questions such as the disposal of radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
and the potential greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
implications of increased mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
.
Other directorship
On 19 September 2005, Switkowski took a non-executive director role with Suncorp-MetwaySuncorp-Metway
Suncorp Group Limited is an Australian finance, insurance, and banking corporation based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of Australia's largest banks and its largest general insurance group, formed on 1 December 1996 by the merger of Suncorp, Metway Bank and the Queensland Industry...
– his first position after resigning from Telstra.
In 2006, he was appointed President of the Board of Directors of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image, or ACMI, is dedicated to the moving image in all its forms. It is located in Federation Square, in Melbourne, Australia, across four levels of the Alfred Deakin Building...
on 1 January – for a three year term. He also took non-executive director roles with Healthscope
Healthscope
Healthscope is an Australian company which operates private hospitals, a pathology business and medical centres. The company is headquartered in St. Kilda Road, Melbourne. The company operates medical/surgical hospitals as well as a number of psychiatric and rehabilitation clinics...
on 19 January, and with Tabcorp Holdings
Tabcorp Holdings
Tabcorp Holdings is an Australian company with interests in gaming, wagering and related media. It was formed through the privatisation of the Victorian Totalisator Agency Board in 1994. The TAB ran all off-track betting on horse racing, greyhound racing, and harness racing in Victoria, as well...
on 2 October.
In 2011 he has been serving as a director of Rare Earth's miner Lynas Corporation as per
He also currently serves as Chairman or Opera Australia
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
and on the Board of Directors of the Business Council of Australia
Business Council of Australia
The Business Council of Australia represents the chief executives of approximately 100 large Australian corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable - a spin-off of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia - and the Australian Industry Development...
.
RMIT
On 27 October 2010, it was announced that Switkowski would become the ChancellorChancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
(RMIT University). He was officially appointed to the position on 1 January 2011.
Personal life
Switkowski is married and lives with his wife near Cape SchanckCape Schanck, Victoria
Cape Schanck is a locality in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula and separates the wild ocean waters of Bass Strait from the slightly calmer waters of Western Port....
, on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
.
Other References
- 'Ex-Telstra chief to head nuclear review' ABC News, 6 June 2006
- 'Nuclear costs understated: report's critics' Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November 2006
- 'Peer review panel says Switkowksi's nuclear timeframe is unrealistic' The World Today – Tuesday, 12 December 2006 12:29:00
- Switkowski appointed ANSTO chairman, ABC News Online 4 March 2007