Prof Fred Hilmer AO

Professor Fred Hilmer AO is one of Australia’s most respected business leaders, academics and public policy thinkers, with a career spanning senior university leadership, corporate governance, management consulting and national economic reform.

He served as Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of New South Wales from June 2006 until January 2015, leading one of Australia’s largest and most complex universities through a period of significant change and growth. Prior to this appointment, Professor Hilmer was Chief Executive Officer of John Fairfax Holdings Limited from 1998 to 2005, where he led the organisation through major industry and structural challenges.

Professor Hilmer is widely sought after for his expertise in general management, strategy, industrial relations, competition law and public policy. Before joining Fairfax, he was Dean and Director of the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at UNSW and a Director of Port Jackson Partners Limited. Earlier in his career, he was a Director of McKinsey & Company, where he managed the Australian practice.

His academic and professional credentials span law, business and economics. Professor Hilmer holds a law degree from the University of Sydney, a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance, where he was appointed a Joseph Wharton Fellow. He also served on the Faculty of Law at the University of Pennsylvania and practised law in Australia earlier in his career.

Professor Hilmer has played a significant role in shaping Australian economic and management policy. He served on the Committee of Inquiry into Management Education, was a member of the Commonwealth Higher Education Council, chaired the Business Council of Australia’s Employee Relations Study Group, and, most notably, chaired the National Competition Policy Review Committee in 1992–93 — a landmark review that reshaped Australia’s competition framework.

His contributions have been formally recognised with numerous honours. In 1991, the Australian Institute of Management awarded him a special John Storey Medal for distinguished contributions to management thinking. In 1998, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to management education, competition policy and workplace reform.

In the corporate sector, Professor Hilmer has served as Chairman of Pacific Power, Deputy Chairman of Foster’s Brewing Group Limited, a Director of Westfield Holdings Limited, and as a director of several other major Australian companies.

A prolific author and thought leader, Professor Hilmer has written extensively on strategy, organisation design, industrial relations and economic reform. His books include When the Luck Runs Out, New Games/New Rules, Strictly Boardroom (co-author), Working Relations, Management Redeemed, and The Fairfax Experience – What the Management Texts Didn’t Teach Me. His work continues to influence leaders across business, government and academia.