Kerry Elizabeth Schott (born 20 September 1944) is an Australian executive who has had roles in the business and government sectors. She was managing director and CEO of

Sydney Water Sydney Water, formally, Sydney Water Corporation, is a New South Wales Government owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Greater Metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the B ...

from 2006–2011. She is currently Chair of SW Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board Chair of the Advisory Board to EnergyCo NSW, and an Adviser to Aware Super. She is a patron of

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (IPA) is an industry body representing Australia’s infrastructure industry. Infrastructure Partnerships Australia was launched in 2005 by then NSW Premier Morris Iemma, and in Victoria by then Treasurer Joh ...

Early life

Schott graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with first class Honours from the University of New England, undertook a Masters of Arts at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, and a doctorate in economics at

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer co ...

Career

Her early career included investment banking for 14 years with senior roles at

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

, Bankers Trust and Whitlam Turnbull. Schott has also had roles as visiting professor at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

Universities, senior NSW Treasury official, chair of the Environmental Protection Authority, Director of NBN, Chair of Moorebank Intermodal Company, adviser to the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. T ...

and

Trade Practices Commission The Trade Practices Commission was an agency of the Government of Australia responsible for monitoring and enforcement activities under the Trade Practices Act 1974 The ''Competition and Consumer Act 2010'' (CCA) is an Act of the Parliame ...

er.She chaired the Energy Security Board from 2018-2021 and was tasked with redesigning the National Electricity Market for the increase in renewable energy. During her time as CEO of Sydney Water, Schott opposed a proposal by Australian Water Holdings (AWH) for a public-private partnership. The Independent Commission Against Corruption later heard that this proposal was part of a scheme by

Eddie Obeid Edward Moses Obeid (born 25 October 1943) is a retired Australian politician, and convicted criminal, who served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1991 and 2011, representing the Labor Party. He was the Minister f ...

that would earn the Obeids up to $60 million through their secret stake in AWH. Due to Schott's opposition, Obeid lobbied

Phil Costa Phillip John Costa (born 24 July 1949) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 until 2011, representing the electorate of Wollondilly. He served as Minister for Water and M ...

, water minister at the time to "sack the bitch", but she was retained with the minister later describing her performance as "nothing short of excellent". She continued to stand up against the alleged corruption around her, warning

Arthur Sinodinos Arthur Sinodinos (born 25 February 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former Liberal Party politician who has been Ambassador to the United States since February 2020. He served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister John Howard from 1997 to 200 ...

(acting AWH chairman), that the people at AWH were dishonest. In 2014, Schott chaired a panel that reviewed NSW electoral funding. The outcome ruled out full public funding of election campaigns, an option that had been favoured by the Premier

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...

and opposition leader

John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...

. In 2013-14, Schott oversaw the sale of NSW Coal Fired Power Stations to AGL, Origin, Energy Australia and the

Vales Point Power Station Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Mannering Park. It has two steam turbines ...

to a company owned by Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery.

Recognition

Schott accepted an Honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

in Economics from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 2014. She also received Honorary Doctorates from the Western Sydney University in 2015 and the University of New England in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schott, Kerry Living people Australian chief executives Australian women in business University of New England (Australia) alumni University of British Columbia alumni Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford 1944 births NBN Co people Sydney Water Officers of the Order of Australia