Person

Switkowski, Zygmunt Edward (Ziggy) (1948 - )

AO FAA FTSE

Born
21 June 1948
Rheine, Germany
Occupation
Business executive, Nuclear physicist and University Chancellor

Summary

Ziggy Switkowski is one of the few scientifically trained business leaders in Australia. He earned his doctorate and undertook postdoctoral research in nuclear physics before heading Australia's largest telecommunications companies, including Optus, Telstra and the NBN Corporation. Switkowski chaired the Australian Government's inquiry into uranium mining processing and nuclear energy in Australia before becoming Chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation in 2007. From 2011 to 2021 he was Chancellor of RMIT University.

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Details

Chronology

1949
Life event - Migrated to Australia
1972
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Melbourne
1992 - 1999
Career position - Non-executive Director, Kodak (Australasia)
1993
Education - Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
1996 - 1997
Career position - CEO, Optus Communications
1999 - 2005
Career position - Chief Executive, Telstra Corporation
2005 -
Career position - Director, Suncorp Group Limited
2006
Career position - Chairman, Prime Ministerial Task Force, Review of Uranium Mining Processing and Nuclear Energy in Australia
2007
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)
2007 - 2010
Career position - Chairman, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
2011 -
Career position - Chairman, Suncorp Group Limited
2011 - 2021
Career position - Chancellor, RMIT University
2013 -
Career position - Chairman, NBN Co.
2014
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) - For distinguished service to the community, particularly to tertiary education administration, scientific organisations and the telecommunications sector, to business, and to the arts
2015
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

Published resources

Resources

See also

Helen Cohn

Created: 14 May 2019, Last modified: 15 June 2022

EOAS ID: biogs/P006353b.htm

This Edition: 2026 February - 1926 Centenaries
Kooyang - Gariwerd calendar - Late summer: late January to late March - season of eels
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"... the rengitj, as a visible mark or imprint on the land, is characterised as a place of origin, the repository of all names, as well as a kind of mapped visual expression of the connection between people and places which is to be carried out in the temporal sequence of the journey." Fanca Tamisari (1998) 'Body, Vision and Movement: In the footprints of the ancestors'. Oceania 68(4) p260