Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report – 2022Reserve Bank Board

Philip Lowe

BCom (Hons) (UNSW), PhD (MIT)

Governor and Chair

Governor since 18 September 2016
Present term ends 17 September 2023

Philip Lowe’s appointment as Governor took effect in September 2016. Prior to that, he was Deputy Governor from February 2012 and held various senior positions at the Reserve Bank, including Deputy Governor, Assistant Governor (Economic) and Assistant Governor (Financial System), where he was responsible for overseeing economic and policy advice to the Governor and Reserve Bank Board. He spent two years at the Bank for International Settlements working on financial stability issues. Mr Lowe has authored numerous papers, including on the linkages between monetary policy and financial stability. He is a signatory to The Banking and Finance Oath.

Other roles

Chair – Payments System Board
Chair – Council of Financial Regulators
Chair – Bank for International Settlements Committee on the Global Financial System
Chair – Financial Markets Foundation for Children
Member – Financial Stability Board
Member – Trans-Tasman Council on Banking Supervision
Director – The Anika Foundation

Michele Bullock

BEc (Hons) (University of New England), MSc (LSE)

Deputy Governor and Deputy Chair

Deputy Governor since 2 April 2022
Present term ends 1 April 2027

Michele Bullock was appointed as Deputy Governor on 2 April 2022. She is Deputy Chair of the Reserve Bank Board and Deputy Chair of the Payments System Board. Prior to her current role, Ms Bullock was Assistant Governor (Financial System), responsible for the Bank’s work on financial stability and oversight of the payments system. Ms Bullock has also held a variety of senior management positions in the Bank. She was Assistant Governor (Business Services), Assistant Governor (Currency), Adviser for the Currency Group and, prior to that, Head of Payments Policy Department.

Other roles

Deputy Chair – Payments System Board
Member – Bank for International Settlements Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures

Wendy Craik AM

BSc (Hons) (ANU), PhD (Zoology) (British Columbia)

Non-executive member

Member since 7 May 2018
Present term ends 6 May 2023

Wendy Craik is an independent public policy advisor, including on issues related to natural resource management, and has over 25 years’ experience in public policy. Senior positions she has held include Commissioner at the Productivity Commission, Chief Executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, President of the National Competition Council, Chair of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Executive Director of the National Farmers Federation and Executive Officer of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Dr Craik has also been a director on a number of boards mainly in the Australian public sector. Dr Craik was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001 for her contribution to industry development and social issues impacting on rural industries. In the 2007 Australia Day Honours, she was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the natural resource sector of the economy, particularly in the areas of fisheries, marine ecology and management of water reform, and for contributions to policies affecting rural and regional Australia. Dr Craik is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Academy of Technology, Science and Engineering.

Other roles

Chair – CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Advisory Board
Chair – ONE Basin CRC
Chair – Steering Committee, National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program – South East Queensland
Member – Advisory Board, The Centre for Strategy and Governance
Member – Advisory Board, Public Leadership Research Group, Howard Library of the University of New South Wales
Member – Consultative Committee, Future Drought Fund

Reserve Bank Board committee membership

Member – Remuneration Committee

Ian Harper AO

BEc (Hons) (Queensland), MEc, PhD (ANU)

Non-executive member

Member since 31 July 2016
Present term ends 30 July 2026

Ian Harper has extensive experience in public policy development, academia and economic consulting. Professor Harper chaired the Competition Policy Review (Harper Review), served as a member of the Financial System Inquiry (Wallis Inquiry) and was the inaugural Chairman of the Australian Fair Pay Commission. He spent two decades as a Professor at the University of Melbourne – first as the NAB Professor of Monetary and Financial Economics (1988–1992), then as the Ian Potter Professor of International Finance (1992–2002) and the Sidney Myer Professor of Commerce and Business Administration (2002–2008) at the Melbourne Business School. Professor Harper spent eight years as an economic consultant – first as a director of Access Economics Pty Ltd (2008–2011) and then as a partner of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (2011–2016). In the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Professor Harper was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to education in the field of economics, and to public and monetary policy.

Other roles

Dean and Director – Melbourne Business School Limited
Chair – Australian Statistics Advisory Council
Chair – Stipends Committee, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
Director – Harper Associates Australia
Director – Robert Menzies Institute

Reserve Bank Board committee membership

Member – Remuneration Committee

Carolyn Hewson AO

BEc (Hons) (Adelaide), MA (Econ) (Cantab)

Non-executive member

Member since 30 March 2021
Present term ends 29 March 2026

Carolyn Hewson is a former investment banker with over 35 years’ experience in the finance sector. She was previously an executive director of Schroders Australia Limited and has extensive financial markets, risk management and investment management expertise. She served as a panel member on the Australian Government’s Financial System Inquiry in 2013. Ms Hewson is also a former director of BHP Group, Stockland Group, BT Investment Management Limited, Westpac Banking Corporation, AGL Energy Limited, the Australian Gas Light Company, CSR Limited, AMP Limited, South Australian Water and the Economic Development Board of South Australia. Ms Hewson was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001 for her service to Australian society in business leadership. In the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours, she was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for her service to the community through support for charitable organisations, particularly YWCA, and to business. Ms Hewson is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Other roles

Non-executive Director – CSL Limited
Non-executive Director – Infrastructure SA

Guy Debelle

BEc (Hons) (Adelaide), PhD (MIT)

Deputy Governor and Deputy Chair

Deputy Governor from 18 September 2016 to 16 March 2022

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Governor, Guy Debelle was Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) from March 2007, where he had oversight of the Bank’s operations in the domestic and global financial markets. Dr Debelle previously worked at the Australian Treasury, the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements, and was a Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003. From May 2015 until May 2017, Dr Debelle was Chair of the Bank for International Settlements Foreign Exchange Working Group, which developed the Global Code of Conduct for the Foreign Exchange Market. From June 2019 to December 2021, he was Chair of the Global Foreign Exchange Committee. Dr Debelle is a signatory to The Banking and Finance Oath.

Other roles

Chair – Council of Financial Regulators Climate Change Working Group

Resolution passed by the Reserve Bank Board

Members paid tribute to Guy Debelle’s contribution to the Bank over many years and most recently as Deputy Governor. On behalf of all members, the Governor expressed appreciation for Dr Debelle’s contribution to the Board’s deliberations, drawing on his extensive expertise in macroeconomics and financial market operations. The Governor also acknowledged Dr Debelle’s significant contribution to the development of Australia’s contemporary monetary policy framework. Members recognised Dr Debelle’s contribution to the stability of Australia’s financial markets during challenging periods for the global and Australian economy, and his leadership in establishing the Global Code of Conduct for the Foreign Exchange Market. Members commended Dr Debelle’s dedication to public policy and his service to the nation in a career at the Bank spanning 25 years.

Mark Barnaba AM

Chair

Member since 23 July 2018
Term ends 30 August 2023

See above for Mr Barnaba’s professional details.

Sandra Birkensleigh

BCom (UNSW)

Member

Member since 9 September 2015
Term ends 8 September 2023

Sandra Birkensleigh has extensive experience in financial services, with a particular focus on risk management, compliance and corporate governance. Ms Birkensleigh’s career includes 24 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she was formerly a Global Lead for Governance Risk and Compliance, a National Lead Partner for Risk and Controls Solutions, and a Service Team Leader for Performance Improvement. Ms Birkensleigh holds several directorships and is chair of the audit committees for most of the organisations listed below. She is a qualified chartered accountant, a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In February 2020, Ms Birkensleigh was reappointed to the Audit Committee for a further three years.

Other roles

Chair and Non-executive Director, Audit Committee Member and Remuneration Committee Member – Auswide Bank Limited
Non-executive Director, Audit and Risk Committee Chair and Remuneration and Nominations Committee Member – Adore Beauty Limited
Non-executive Director, Audit Committee Chair and Risk and Remuneration Committee Member – Horizon Oil Limited
Non-executive Director, Audit Committee Chair, Risk Committee Member and People and Remuneration Committee Member – MLC (Insurance) Limited
Non-executive Director, Audit Committee Chair, People and Remuneration Committee Member – National Disability Insurance Agency
Non-executive Director, Risk Committee Chair and Strategy Committee Member – 7-11 Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries
Non-executive Director, Audit Committee Chair – The Tasmanian Public Finance Corporation

Rahoul Chowdry

BCom (Hons) (Calcutta)

Member

Member since 14 February 2018
Term ends 13 February 2023

Rahoul Chowdry has extensive experience in the professional services industry, which enabled him to build a reputation as a leading adviser on governance, regulation and risk to major banks and other large financial institutions in Australia and Canada. Until the end of 2017, Mr Chowdry was the Global Banking and Capital Markets Assurance Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a partner for almost 30 years in the firm’s financial services practice. He is a qualified chartered accountant and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand.

Other roles

Senior Advisor – MinterEllison
Member – Audit & Risk Committee, MinterEllison Board of Partners
Non-executive Director, Risk Committee Chair, Audit Committee member, Nominations Committee Member and Remuneration Committee Member – AMP Limited
Non-executive Director, Risk Committee Chair and Audit Committee Member – AMP Bank Limited

Alison Watkins AM

Member

Member since 3 February 2021
Term ends 16 December 2025

See above for Ms Watkins’ professional details.