Episode 15: Michael Chaney AO, Chair of Wesfarmers and Northern Star Resources

Finding the Front

Hey everyone & thanks again for tuning into another cracker of an episode of Euroz Hartleys “Finding the Front”! We thank all our listeners for their continued and growing support, and wonderful feedback on the show.

This episode we have a very special and privileged opportunity to chat with someone who is widely regarded as one of this countries most successful, admired and highly respected corporate and business leaders, Mr Michael Chaney AO.

Brought up in Perth, Michael Chaney’s career speaks for itself. Over 20 years at Wesfarmers where he was Managing Director for 13, a Director of BHP for 10 years, Chair of the National Australia Bank Board of Directors for 10 years, Chair of the Woodside Petroleum Board of Directors for some 11 years, Chancellor of the University of Western Australia, President of the Business Council of Australia, re-joining the Wesfarmers Board of Directors in 2015 as Chair, a position he still currently holds and Chair of leading WA gold miner Northern Star, a position he still currently holds.

In this wide ranging conversation, Michael reflects on his upbringing, family, education, employment pathway, business decisions and his decorated corporate career providing some captivating insights into his life and what has shaped him. The chat provides some absorbing thoughts and observations, including the origins and building Wesfarmers and the Bunnings business, his time at NAB including the GFC and the challenges of the banking sector, the honour of being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, Australia as a destination to do business, the cycle of rising interest rates and rising inflation, the current supply chain restrictions, the future of education, his views on the role of Boards, Management and maintaining culture, and the current global challenges facing the world.

An episode not to be missed, we hope you enjoy.

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