David Murray AO

David Murray is one of Australia’s most respected leaders in banking, finance, and corporate governance. He served as Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 13 years, guiding the bank through major transformations, including its evolution from a partly government-owned institution into a fully integrated financial services company. Under his leadership, the bank achieved total shareholder returns with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 24%, and he oversaw the historic merger with Colonial Limited, the largest corporate merger in Australian history.

David spent 39 years with the Commonwealth Bank, joining in 1966 and retiring as CEO in 2005. Later that year, he was appointed by the Australian Government as the inaugural Chairman of Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, serving a statutory term of five years plus an additional year.

He is currently a Senior Advisor at Credit Suisse, a member of the Oliver Wyman Senior Advisory Board, and a consultant to Olbia Pty Ltd, and has held numerous public sector advisory roles. David has also been actively involved with philanthropic, industrial, and financial organisations, including as a life member of the Financial Markets Foundation for Children and Director of Tenix Pty Ltd.

David holds a Bachelor of Business from the NSW Institute of Technology and an MBA from Macquarie University, and has received honorary doctorates from both the University of Technology Sydney and Macquarie University. He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for services to banking and corporate governance, and in 2007 was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his contributions to finance, corporate governance, and the community.

With unparalleled experience in banking and finance, David Murray is a highly sought-after speaker on leadership, corporate governance, the economy, macroeconomics, and finance, offering audiences insights grounded in decades of practical, high-level expertise.