David Thodey AO, FTSE became the 19th Chancellor of the University of Sydney on 1 July 2024. He is widely recognised for his contributions over 30 years to science and technology, business, public service and the community, with significant experience in driving innovation in start-ups, large companies and public sector bodies.
In addition to his role as Chancellor, he is currently Chair of Xero, a global cloud-based accounting solution and Ramsay Health Care, a global hospital group. Prior to becoming Chancellor, he had been a member of Senate’s Finance Committee since 2022.
Previous roles include serving as chief executive of IBM Australia and New Zealand (1999–2001) and Telstra (2009–15), and as chair of the CSIRO (2015–21).
David is active in public policy and led an Independent Review of the Australian Public Service (APS). He also chaired a NSW Government-appointed panel to lead an independent review of Federal Financial Relations. Most recently, he led a user audit of the myGov government services digital portal.
David is an Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for ethical business leadership. He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science and Technology from Deakin University and an Honorary Doctor of Business from both University of Technology Sydney and the University of Sydney.
