Morrish Alexander "Tim" Besley (born 14 March 1927) is an Australian engineer, businessman and former senior public servant. He was Chairman of the Commonwealth Bank between 1988 and 1999, and oversaw the company's privatisation.

Life and career

In 1950, Besley migrated to Australia from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING, ATSE 1975-2005 THE FIRST 30 YEARS
Retrieved 18 April 2015 for work as a Civil Engineer on the

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

. Besley joined the

Commonwealth Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Go ...

in 1967, soon moving into the Department of External Territories. Between 1973 and 1976 he was employed in the Treasury Department, before being appointed to head the

Department of Business and Consumer Affairs The Department of Business and Consumer Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1975 and May 1982. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be ...

in 1976. During his Secretary appointment he commenced a law degree at Macquarie University. Between 1988 and 1999, Besley was Chairman of the Commonwealth Bank board, overseeing the privatisation of the bank. From 1990 to 2001 he was Chairman of

Leighton Holdings CIMIC Group Limited (formerly Leighton Holdings) is an Australian construction contractor. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries ...

. Besley served as the Chancellor of Macquarie University between 1994 and 2001. In 2000, Besley was appointed the Chairman of an Independent Inquiry into Telecommunications Services. The inquiry found services generally satisfactory, but identified that progress needed to be made in rural and remote areas before privatisation of

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...

could be considered.

Awards

Besley was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society in civil engineering and corporate governance. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in January 2002 for service to the community through the promotion of economic and social development, the advancement of science, innovation and education, and for distinction at the forefront of government and corporate responsibilities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besley, Tim Living people 1927 births Place of birth missing (living people) New Zealand emigrants to Australia Australian public servants Companions of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal University of Auckland alumni Macquarie University alumni People from New Plymouth 20th-century Australian businesspeople 20th-century Australian engineers Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Chancellors of Macquarie University Commonwealth Bank people