Zygmunt Edward "Ziggy" Switkowski, (born 1948), is a

Polish Australian Polish Australians refers to Australian citizens or residents of full or partial Polish ancestry, or Polish citizens living in Australia. In 2006 52,254 Australian residents declared they were born in Poland. Cities with the largest Polish popu ...

business executive and

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

. His most public role was as the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Australia's largest telecommunications company

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 ...

from 1999 to 2004. During his tenure, he oversaw the

privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

of the then

government-owned corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

through a series of public tranche sales (known as the ''T1'', ''T2'' and ''T3'' sales). Currently, he is the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of both

NBN Co NBN Co Limited, known as simply nbn, is a publicly owned corporation of the Australian Government, tasked to design, build and operate Australia's National Broadband Network as the nation's wholesale broadband provider. The corporation reports ...

and Suncorp, a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

Healthscope Healthscope is a for-profit Australian company which operates private hospitals, medical centres and rehabilitation hospitals. The company is headquartered on St Kilda Road, Melbourne. It operates medical/surgical hospitals and a number of psyc ...

, Oil Search and

Tabcorp Tabcorp is Australia's largest gambling company, employing more than 5,000 people. It is the largest provider of wagering and gaming products and services in Australia. Tabcorp is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). History In ...

and the

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 Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University).Ziggy Switkowski BSc (Hons), PhD, FAICD, FTSE
. ''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

''. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved: 16 November 2010.

Early life

Switkowski was born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1948 to

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

parents. His family migrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

when he was one year old and settled in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He attended St Bernard's College in

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

(a suburb of Melbourne), and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

(at 24 years old) from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. He then completed six years of postdoctoral research following his doctorate.

Career

Communications

Before his tenure at

, Switkowski was

of Australia's second largest telecommunications company Optus and the photographic equipment company

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

(Australasia). He also served as chairman and

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Kodak (Australasia) from 1992 to 1996. During this time, he served as a non-executive director of the multinational packaging company Amcor from 1995 to 1999. In 1995, Switkowski received the

Advance Australia Award The Advance Australia Foundation (AAF) was established in 1980. The AAF recognised "individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the growth and enhancement of Australia, the Australian people and the Australian way of life". I ...

for outstanding achievement in industry and commerce.

Telstra

On 1 March 1999, Switkowski was appointed chief executive officer of Australia's public and largest telecommunications company Telstra, and to the board of directors of Telstra's

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

partner

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

. Before his appointment, he was group managing director of Telstra's Business and International Development division. During his tenure at Telstra, Switkowski oversaw the introduction of a number of services to the company; such as its major

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

subsidiary BigPond, and substantial expansion of others; such as its advertising and directories subsidiary Pacific Access (later re-branded as Sensis in 2002). Switkowski oversaw the implementation of the second tranche sale of Telstra (the 'T2' sale) on the Australian Stock Exchange, New Zealand Stock Exchange and

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

that began in September 1999. The first tranche sale of Telstra (the 'T1' sale) took place before Switkowski was appointed CEO of Telstra. He also oversaw the planning for the third tranche sale of Telstra (the 'T3' sale). Switkowski resigned from Telstra on 3 December 2004, and was replaced by

Solomon Trujillo Solomon Dennis "Sol" Trujillo (born November 17, 1951) is an American businessman, global media-communications and technology executive. He has served as the CEO of Telstra, US West, and Orange S.A., and has held executive positions in United St ...

.Murry, Lisa. Kruger, Colin. 20 September 2005
Sun comes out for Ziggy Switkowski
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''.

Fairfax Media 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' ...

. Retrieved 16 November 2010.

NBN Co

On 3 October 2013, Switkowski was confirmed as the new chairman and interim CEO of NBN Co by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and reverted to the role of Non-Executive Chairman from 2 April 2014 following the appointment of Bill Morrow as chief executive officer. This followed a decision to deliver the NBN with 'alternative technologies' such as Fibre to the node and the use of a Multi-Technology Mix (MTM).

Nuclear research

On 6 June 2006, Switkowski was appointed to chair a Commonwealth Government

inquiry An inquiry (also spelled as enquiry in British English) is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ...

into the viability of a domestic

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

industry. He was later appointed chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) by federal Minister for Science

Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Curtin ...

on 4 March 2007. Switkowski was originally appointed to the board of ANSTO on 1 January 2006, but stood down when appointed to the inquiry. After the completion of the inquiry, he was then reappointed to the board as chairman on 1 March 2007. His term as chairman concluded at the end of 2010. The inquiry concluded that Australia is well positioned to increase its production and export of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

as well as adding nuclear power to its own

energy mix The energy mix is a group of different primary energy sources from which secondary energy for direct use - such as electricity - is produced. Energy mix refers to all direct uses of energy, such as transportation and housing, and should not be c ...

.Uranium mining, processing and nuclear energy – opportunities for Australia
/ref> However, an independent panel of Australian scientists and nuclear experts have been critical of these findings,
/ref> claiming that they relied upon flawed assumptions while

dodging Dodging and burning are terms used in photography for a technique used during the printing process to manipulate the exposure of select areas on a photographic print, deviating from the rest of the image's exposure. In a darkroom print from a fil ...

important questions such as the disposal of

radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons r ...

and the potential

greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...

implications of increased mining.

Other directorships

On 19 September 2005, Switkowski took a non-executive director role with Suncorp-Metway – his first position after resigning from Telstra.Biography – Zygmunt E Switkowski
Suncorp-Metway. Retrieved 16 November 2010. Since then he has become the chairman as of the 2011 Annual General Meeting. In 2006, Switkowski was appointed president of the board of directors of the

Australian Centre for the Moving Image ACMI, formerly the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, is Australia's national museum of film, television, videogames, and art. ACMI was established in 2002 and is based at Federation Square in Melbourne, Victoria. During the 2014-15 finan ...

on 1 January – for a three-year term. He also took non-executive director roles with

on 19 January, and with

Tabcorp Holdings Tabcorp is Australia's largest gambling company, employing more than 5,000 people. It is the largest provider of wagering and gaming products and services in Australia. Tabcorp is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). History I ...

on 2 October.Media Release: Dr Ziggy Switkowski appointed to the Tabcorp Board
19 December 2005.

. Retrieved 16 November 2010. In 2011 Switkowski was serving as a director of Rare Earth's miner Lynas Corporation as per the director's Share Purchase Notice. Switkowski also currently serves as chairman of

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

and on the board of directors of the Business Council of Australia. Switkowski currently serves on the Board of Oilsearch. In August 2021, Switkowski was appointed as Chairman of

Crown Resorts Crown Resorts Limited is Australia's largest gaming and entertainment group that owns and operates two of Australia's leading gambling and entertainment complexes, Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exc ...

, Australia's largest gambling, gaming and entertainment company.Ziggy Switkowski to stand down as RMIT Chancellor
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 7 September 2021

RMIT

On 27 October 2010, it was announced that Switkowski would become the

of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University). He was officially appointed to the position on 1 January 2011. On 7 September 2021, Switkowsi announced that he would step down from the position of Chancellor of RMIT by the end of October 2021, two weeks after he was appointed as Chairman of Crown Resorts.

Honours

In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Switkowski was appointed as 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 "distinguished service to the community, particularly to tertiary education administration, scientific organisations and the telecommunications sector, to business, and to the arts". Switkowski is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD) and also of the

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...

(FTSE). In 2015 he was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA).

Personal life

Switkowski is married and lives with his wife near

Cape Schanck Cape Schanck is a locality at the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, approximately south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local governme ...

, on Melbourne's

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogra ...

.PR's for the judge
10 September 2005. ''

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 ...

''.

. Retrieved 16 November 2010.

References

External links

Ziggy goes nuclear – ABC Interview

Ziggy Switkowksi Interview – CEO Forum Group

* ttp://www.smh.com.au/news/national/nuclear-costs-understated-reports-critics/2006/11/21/1163871403156.html 'Nuclear costs understated: report's critics' Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November 2006
'Peer review panel says Switkowksi's nuclear timeframe is unrealistic' The World Today – Tuesday, 12 December 2006 12:29:00

{{DEFAULTSORT:Switkowski, Ziggy 1948 births Living people Australian people of Polish descent People educated at St. Bernard's College, Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Australian chief executives Telstra people NBN Co people Chancellors of RMIT University Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Scientists from Melbourne Businesspeople from Melbourne