Alison Mary Watkins (born 29 December 1962)
is an Australian CEO and director. She has had roles at
McKinsey,
GrainCorp,
Berri Limited, and is a group managing director at
Coca-Cola Amatil.
She has been a member of the
Reserve Bank of Australia Board since December 2020, having previously served on their Takeover Panel.
She has also held a number of non-executive directorships, including at the Centre for Independent Studies.
In June 2021 she became Chancellor of the
University of Tasmania.
Early life
Watkins grew up on a farm in
Tasmania, Australia.
After boarding school she studied for a
Bachelor of Commerce at the
University of Tasmania.
During this period she met her now husband Rod, with whom she has four children.
After their university studies they moved to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
Career
Watkins' first role was Junior Associate at McKinsey, where she remained for 10 years.
In 1999 Watkins moved to
ANZ
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
** ...
as GGM Strategy & M&A, shifting after 18 months to lead their Regional banking division.
She then took a leading role as CEO of Berri Ltd.
Her first non-executive directorship was at Just Group. The first listed company she led was GrainCorp Ltd, where she was at the helm for 4 years.
She is a former group managing director at Coca-Cola Amatil
and is on the board of the
Business Council of Australia.
She was appointed a
Member of the Order of Australia in the
2022 Australia Day Honours
The 2022 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2022 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley.
The Australia ...
for "significant service to business through leadership roles with a range of organisations".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Alison
1962 births
Living people
Members of the Order of Australia
Australian businesspeople
University of Tasmania alumni
University of Tasmania faculty