David Gonski
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David Michael Gonski (born 7 October 1953) is an Australian public figure and businessman. In 2008, ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' described Gonski as "one of the country's best-connected businessmen" and dubbed him "Mr Networks" for being "arguably Sydney's most networked man". A profile in 2010 by Australian author and ''Herald'' columnist
Malcolm Knox Sir Thomas Malcolm Knox (28 November 1900 – 6 April 1980) was a British philosopher who served as Principal of St Andrews University from 1953–1966 and Vice-president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1975–1978. Biography Knox ...
said that Gonski is "a quiet man, in some ways invisible, and cleaves to the shadows."


Early life and education

Gonski was born in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa, and his family migrated to Australia in 1961 in the wake of the
Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd o ...
. Gonski's father, Alexander, was a neurosurgeon of Polish background and a founding member of the
New South Wales Golf Club The New South Wales Golf Club is a links-style golf course designed by Alister MacKenzie in December 1926. It consists of 18 holes, two of which are beside the Tasman Sea and Botany Bay. The course is situated in La Perouse, New South Wales, a s ...
at La Perouse. His mother is Helene Blume. In a 2010 interview, Gonski recalls that one of his earliest recollections was his mother buying a lithograph by Australian artist, Charles Blackman; commenting that "there's no doubt that my love for Australian art came from her." Gonski is
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. He attended Sydney Grammar School and the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
, where he graduated with a
Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...
degree in 1976 and a
Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree (with the University Medal) in 1977.


Early career

Gonski practised as a
solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
with the firm of
Freehills Freehills was a commercial law firm operating in the Asia-Pacific region.Dun and BradstreeCompany360(database online), entry: Freehills Services Pty Ltd. Accessed 13 August 2011 It was known as one of the " Big Six" Australian law firms. In 20 ...
from 1977 to 1986, becoming their youngest ever partner at age 25, before leaving to co-found an investment bank. While at Freehills, he taught intellectual property law for the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales. He established a corporate advisory firm, Wentworth Associates Pty Ltd, which was acquired by
Investec Bank Investec is an Anglo-South African international banking and wealth management group. It provides a range of financial products and services to a client base in Europe, Southern Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Investec is dual-listed on the London S ...
in March 2001.


Business leadership

Gonski's business background is extensive, and it is estimated that he sits on more than 40 boards. Current prominent positions held in business include chairman, independent non-executive director of ANZ Bank;
Ingeus Ingeus Limited is a British-based, Australian provider of employment and health programmes, services for young people, training and skills support, Labour hire and probation services. It is notable in part, for being founded by Thérèse Rein, t ...
Limited;
Swiss Re Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd,
Swiss Re. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd ("Swiss Re") ...
Life and Health Australia Limited; ASX Limited (since 2008); and Investec Bank (Australia) Limited. He is a senior adviser to
Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
Australia Limited; chairman of the advisory board of Transfield Holdings (the private holding company of
Transfield Services Broadspectrum, formerly known as Transfield Services, was an Australian and New Zealand company that provided infrastructure maintenance services. Formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and later owned by Ferrovial, it was the ...
); and is a non-executive director of
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines ( abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in corporat ...
. His previous roles have included non-executive director of
John Fairfax Holdings Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald ...
(between 1993 and 2005); ANZ Bank (between 2001 and 2007);
Westfield Group Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio ...
(between 1985 and 2011); Consolidated Press; non-executive director and chair of
Coca-Cola Amatil Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of n ...
(1997 to 2017; and
ING Australia ING Bank (Australia) Limited ( trading as ING since 2017, and as ING DIRECT 1999–2017) is a direct bank operating in Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational Dutch bank, ING Group. ING Australia holds an Australian banki ...
. However, not all Gonski's efforts have yielded strong results. During the mid-1980s on Gonski's advice,
Frank Lowy Sir Frank P. Lowy ( ; born 22 October 1930) is an Australian people, Australian-Israeli people, Israeli businessman of Jewish Slovakian-Hungarian origins and the former long-time Chairman of Westfield Corporation, a global shopping centre comp ...
established Westfield Capital Corporation with Gonski as an advisor. WCC invested in the predecessor of
Ten Network Holdings Ten Network Holdings Ltd, commonly referred as Paramount Australia & New Zealand, is a major media company in Australia. Headquartered in Sydney, its major asset is Network 10, a free-to-air television network. Formerly a public company listed ...
that eventually resulted in Westfield losing several hundred million dollars. In August 2022, Gonski was appointed Chair of new retirement living provider Levande by EQT Infrastructure, following the acquisition of Stockland Group's 58 villages across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.


Community leadership

In 1999, Gonski was appointed as a director to the UNSW Foundation. He became
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the University of New South Wales and a member of the council of the university in 2005 and in 2007 became chair of the UNSW Foundation. Gonski is the first alumnus of the University of New South Wales to hold the position of chancellor at that university. He is chairman of the National e-Health Transition Authority, a
statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...
of the
Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
; and chair of the Sydney Theatre Company (since February 2010). Gonski is a non-executive director of
Infrastructure NSW Infrastructure NSW is an government agency, agency of the Government of New South Wales that provides independent advice to assist the NSW Government in identifying and prioritising the delivery of critical public infrastructure across the Austra ...
, an agency of the
New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...
. He is a member of the nomination panel for appointments to the boards of the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
and
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
and is patron of Raise Foundation and the
Australian Indigenous Education Foundation The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) is a non-profit organisation which provides scholarships to the Indigenous students in Australia. History The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation was established in 2008 by Andrew ...
. Amidst some controversy, Gonski succeeded David Murray as independent non-executive chairman of the
Australian Government Future Fund The Future Fund is an independently managed sovereign wealth fund established in 2006 to strengthen the Australian Government's long-term financial position by making provision for unfunded superannuation liabilities for politicians and other pu ...
on 3 April 2012. During 2011, Gonski was chair of the expert advisory panel of the Commonwealth Government's Review of the Funding of Schools in Australia, which the media commonly refers to as "the Gonski review". He has also served on the Takeovers Panel, an advisory body for the Commonwealth government. During 1996 and 1997, Gonski undertook a Review of Commonwealth Assistance to the Film Industry, presenting his report of that review in 1997. He was also a member of the committee appointed in 1998 to conduct an Inquiry into the Major Performing Arts Sector. Gonski's previous positions held include chair of the
Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
(between 2002 and 2006); president of the board of trustees of the
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...
(since 1997); chair of the
National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...
; chair of the board of trustees of Sydney Grammar School (between 2003 and 2010); chair of
Film Australia Film Australia was a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia in 1973. Its predecessors were the Cinema and Photographic Branch (1913–38), the Australian National Film Board (1939–1955, under diffe ...
. At various times he has served on the boards of
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney is a leading tertiary referral hospital and research facility located in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Though funded and integrated into the New South Wales state public health system, it is operated by St Vincent's He ...
; the
Bundanon Trust Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...
; Philanthropy Australia; and the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce; and other non-profit entities.


Gonski Reports

In April 2010, Gonski was commissioned by
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
, then Minister for Education in the
Rudd Government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) * Rudd government (2013) {{Dab ... * Rudd gov ...
, to be chairman of a committee to make recommendations regarding funding of education in Australia. The findings and recommendations of the committee were presented to the government in November 2011, whereafter deliberations were entered into by the federal and state governments to consider its content. The committee's report is known as the Gonski Report. Subsequently, the proposed reforms (an increase in funding) became known as "Gonski" and supporters urged governments to "Give a Gonski". The report was removed from the website by the incoming government after the 2013 federal election and is preserved by Australia's Pandora Archive. In 2017, Gonski chaired an independent panel, the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, commissioned to examine evidence and make recommendations on how school funding should be used to improve school performance and student outcomes. The second Gonski report, referred to as Gonski 2.0, was published on 30 April 2018.


Personal life

Gonski was a close friend and advisor to the late media baron
Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...
. Together with Lloyd Williams, he was an
executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...
of Packer's estate. While he provided advice to Packer, Gonski was also a director of Packer's media competitor, John Fairfax Holdings. He is close friends with
Izzy Asper Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper (August 11, 1932– October 7, 2003) was a Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate. He was the founder and owner of the now-defunct TV and media company CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and ...
,
Arthur Boyd Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...
,
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
,
Kerry Stokes Kerry Matthew Stokes (born John Patrick Alford on 13 September 1940) is an Australian businessman. He holds business interests in a diverse range of industries including electronic and print media, property, mining, and construction equipment. ...
and
Frank Lowy Sir Frank P. Lowy ( ; born 22 October 1930) is an Australian people, Australian-Israeli people, Israeli businessman of Jewish Slovakian-Hungarian origins and the former long-time Chairman of Westfield Corporation, a global shopping centre comp ...
. His mentor was the late
Kim Santow The Honourable Justice Geza Francis Kim Santow Order of Australia, AO (11 March 1941 – 10 April 2008) was an Australian Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales New South Wales Court of Appeal, Court of Appeal. Santow was the son of ...
. Gonski is married to a Boston-born dermatologist Orli Wargon, with whom he has three children: Michael, Kate and Timothy.


Honours

In 2002, Gonski was appointed an
Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(AO) for service to the community through Australian visual and performing arts organisations, through the development of government policy, and through the promotion of corporate sponsorship for the arts and for charitable organisations. He received the Centenary Medal in 2003. In 2007 Gonski was invested as a
Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(AC) for service to the arts through charitable support and the development of policy initiatives, to business and commerce as a company director, to education, and to the community through a range of philanthropic endeavours. At the University of New South Wales, Law Theatre G02 is named the Gonski Levy Theatre in his honour. In 2013, Gonski was ranked No. 19 on the
Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute or SWF Institute, or SWFI, is a global corporation analyzing public asset owners such as sovereign wealth funds and other long-term governmental investors. Initially, the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute focus ...
's Public Investor 100, and in 2018 named in the top five influencers in Australian education by the ''Australian Financial Review''. Gonski is a life fellow of the
Australian Institute of Company Directors The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) is a non-profit membership organization for directors. The AICD is a founding member of the Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI). History The origins of the AICD can be traced ba ...
and a fellow of
CPA Australia CPA Australia ("Certified Practising Accountant") is a professional accounting body in Australia founded in 1886. As of 31 December 2020, it has 168,736 members working in 150 countries and regions around the world. CPA Australia currently has 1 ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonski, David 1953 births Australian Jews Australian solicitors Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Businesspeople from Sydney Companions of the Order of Australia People educated at Sydney Grammar School People from Cape Town South African emigrants to Australia South African Jews South African people of Polish-Jewish descent University of New South Wales faculty University of New South Wales Law School alumni Living people Chancellors of the University of New South Wales Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Directors and Presidents of the Art Gallery of New South Wales