Kirstin Ferguson

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Dr Kirstin Ferguson
KF 4.jpg
Kirstin Ferguson
Born
Melbourne, Victoria
NationalityAustralian
EducationPhD (QUT), LLB Hons (QUT), BA Hons (UNSW)
OccupationExecutive coach, columnist
Spouse(s)Glen
Children2
Websitewww.kirstinferguson.com

Kirstin Irene Ferguson is an Australian leadership expert, company director, public speaker, writer, and creator of the #CelebratingWomen campaign.[1] She is also a former Royal Australian Air Force Officer. In September 2018, Ferguson was appointed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as Acting Chairman of the ABC Board,[2] after the sacking of Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Managing Director Michelle Guthrie and the subsequent resignation of the board's chairman, Justin Milne.[3] When Ita Buttrose was appointed Chairman of the ABC in March 2019, Ferguson became the ABC's Deputy Chairman.

Early life[]

Ferguson was born in Melbourne and at the age of 5 when starting school, she moved to Sydney with her family. During her younger years she grew up in the Royal National Park south of Sydney living in the small town of Maianbar and attended Bundeena Primary School.[4] For the first two years of high school, she was a boarding student at Hurlstone Agricultural High School before finishing her final four years of high school in 1990 at SCEGGS Darlinghurst.[5]

Career[]

Ferguson enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1991, training as a cadet at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) from 1991 to 1994, also studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree for the cadetship's university component. Graduating as the dux of her ADFA class, she was posted to RAAF Base Amberley as a Flying Officer.[6]

Whilst serving in the RAAF, Ferguson also studied for a law degree at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and she left the Air Force in 1998, joining the Australian law firm Deacons (now known as Norton Rose Fulbright) as Director of Corporate Services.[5] After eight years at Deacons, in 2006 Ferguson became CEO of Sentis, an international consultancy offering cognitive-based safety training in the mining and resources industry. In 2010 while Ferguson was CEO, Sentis was named by BRW Magazine as the 5th Best Place to Work in Australia.[7]

While still CEO of Sentis, in 2008 Ferguson was offered a position on the board of directors for SunWater, which she accepted, and was then offered another board role.[6] In 2011, she became a full-time board director, and since then has served on the boards of Dart Energy, she was the first female director of the Queensland Reds Rugby Union team, and she has also served on the boards of CIMIC Group, the Queensland Theatre Company[5] and Layne Beachley's Aim For The Stars Foundation.[6] She was Deputy Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation until the end of her five-year term in November 2020. Ferguson is also a board member of SCA Property Group, EML Payments and Hyne & Son Timber.

Ferguson is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and a graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course and AICD International Company Directors Course.[8]

#CelebratingWomen campaign[]

In 2017, Ferguson started the #CelebratingWomen hashtag and social media campaign in response to the denigration women face online. During the campaign she celebrated two women, from anywhere in the world and from all walks of life, each day of 2017 to encourage, as she put it, "more celebration and less denigration of women".[9]

The #CelebratingWomen campaign saw Ferguson nominated for an Our Watch/Walkley Award for best use of social media.[10] It has also led to many spin off campaigns around the world and in various industries.

Writing[]

In 2018, she co-wrote the book Women Kind with journalist Catherine Fox, which focuses on the collective shared power of women's networks and women supporting each other.[11][12] The book was described by commentator and author Jamila Rizvi as "an impeccably researched love letter to those who hold up half the sky" and by Kate Jenkins, Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner, as "an essential and timely reminder of the collective power of women".[13] Women Kind was named Management & HR Book of the Year in the 2019 Australian Business Book Awards.[14]

Since 2021, Ferguson has written the weekly "Got A Minute?" advice column in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, where she answers reader questions on work, careers and leadership.[15]

In 2020, Ferguson was appointed as a Contributor to Forbes where she writes about "leadership and the leaders shaping our world".[16]

Academic career[]

Ferguson initially studied a Bachelor of Arts degree and majored in History for which she received an Honours degree in 1994 from the University of New South Wales. Ferguson then also completed a Bachelor of Laws degree with Honours from Queensland University of Technology in 2002. Ferguson completed a PhD through the School of Business at the Queensland University of Technology in 2015 and her thesis was called "A Study of Safety Leadership and Safety Governance for Board Members and Senior Executives".[17] Ferguson's PhD saw her awarded a Colin Brain Governance Fellowship[18] from QUT as well as the Dr Eric Wigglesworth Medal[19] by the Safety Institute of Australia for the contribution of her research to the fields of corporate governance and workplace health and safety, respectively.

Ferguson has been an Adjunct Professor at the QUT School of Business since 2015. In 2020, Ferguson was named QUT Business School Alumnus of the Year.[20] Ferguson was the only Australian named by Thinkers 50 in a list of 30 international leadership and management “thinkers to watch” for 2021.[21]

Honours and awards[]

  • 1993 – Awarded Chief of Defence Force Air Force Prize as top graduating Air Force cadet at the Australian Defence Force Academy[8]
  • 1998 – Received the Australian Defence Medal for her service in the Australian Defence Force[8]
  • 2003 – Awarded Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship[22]
  • 2014 – Named by the Australian Financial Review as one of Australia's 100 Women of Influence[23]
  • 2018 – Queensland Award for Excellence in Women's Leadership by Women & Leadership Australia[24]
  • 2020 – QUT Business School Outstanding Alumni Award[25]
  • 2021 – Only Australian[26] to be named on Thinkers50 Radar List of top 30 international thinkers in management and leadership to watch[27]

References[]

  1. ^ "#CelebratingWomen shows the power of women boosting women".
  2. ^ "Kirstin Ferguson nominated to be acting chair".
  3. ^ "From the military to ABC chairman: Kirstin Ferguson vows to be 'different'". ABC News. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  4. ^ Ferguson and Fox, Kirstin and Catherine (2018). Women Kind. Murdoch Books.
  5. ^ a b c Who's Who Australian Women. ConnectWeb. 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "From the Air Force to law to chief executive to board director: Leadership lessons from Dr Kirstin Ferguson". SmartCompany. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Best places to work in Australia".
  8. ^ a b c "Non-Executive Director – Kirstin Ferguson".
  9. ^ Quaggin, Lucy (8 March 2017). "#CelebratingWomen Is The Campaign That Every Woman Needs To Know About". Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  10. ^ "2017 Our Watch Finalists Announced".
  11. ^ "Meet The Woman Tipped To Be ABC's New Interim Chair". With Her In Mind. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Doubt the sisterhood? Read Women Kind & stand corrected". Women's Agenda. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Women Kind".
  14. ^ "Australian Business Book Awards".
  15. ^ "Kirstin Ferguson's Got An Answer for Everything". The Sydney Morning Herald.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "www.forbes.com".
  17. ^ Ferguson, Kirstin. "A Study of Safety Leadership and Safety Governance for Board Members and Senior Executives" (PDF). QUT. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  18. ^ "The Colin Brain Governance Fellowship".
  19. ^ "Contribution to OHS education recognised".
  20. ^ Technology (QUT), Queensland University of. "Outstanding Alumni Awards". QUT. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  21. ^ Hislop, Madeline (22 January 2021). "Dr Kirstin Ferguson only Australian named in global top thinkers list". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  22. ^ "To examine innovative strategies and procedures for responding to the needs of ADF families in the event of a family member dying whilst in service".
  23. ^ "Financial Review Women of Influence".
  24. ^ "2018 State Award Winner Dr Kirstin Ferguson". www.wla.edu.au. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  25. ^ "QUT".
  26. ^ "Kirstin Ferguson only Australian named in Global Top Thinkers List". Women's Agenda.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ "Dr Kirstin Ferguson only Australian named in global top thinkers list".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Media offices
Preceded by Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Acting)
September 2018 – February 2019 		Succeeded by
New title Deputy Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
28 February 2019 – present 		Incumbent
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