Drug cheats, tantrums, bribery, corruption, the elation of winning, the despair of losing. As a career sports administrator, chef de mission of six Australian Olympic teams and a member of the International Olympic Committee executive, Australian... read more

Carolyn Creswell says it is street smarts rather than high‑end business knowledge that has driven the success of her muesli business, Carman’s Fine Foods. Twenty years ago, when she was just 18, she took a punt on a small muesli-making and... read more

Ian Silk is another in a long list of executives who were the first in their families to go to university. Now the CEO of Australia’s largest industry superannuation fund, AustralianSuper, he says he’s got the best job in the industry.... read more

fiercely, dangerously competitive." Demographer Bernard Salt first showed a fascination with history before he turned 10. Rather than curiously quiz his parents for information about their past and how he came to be, Salt says, he cross-examined... read more

Almost two decades at the heart of global finance gives James Shugg a unique perspective on the world’s economic problems and Australia’s responses to the challenges they create. BBC and ABC economic commentator James... read more

During a recent interview, INTHEBLACK asked Cuffe his thoughts on Australians’ attitude to giving and philanthropy. “People often say Australians are stingy in the area of giving but the average Australian is generous,” says... read more

Chris Cuffe is a quiet achiever of the most admirable kind. He is tall and slender, with the easygoing nature of a man who spent his childhood on a farm. He has a sharp brain and a steely resolve that propelled him to build funds management into... read more

  The interviewer being interviewed– it could be an awkward moment, but Kerry O’Brien, one of the most highly respected broadcasters Australia has had the fortune to produce, is obliging and gracious. And clever, and witty, and... read more

Harley-Davidson is a name often associated with tattoos, unkempt hair and a band of denim-clad bikers roaring down some lonesome highway. The most common tattoo in the world happens to be “Harley-Davidson”. “Mum” ranks... read more

From a small country town to the hallowed halls of Princeton University, and now 12 months at the policy coalface as the Australian Government’s Treasury Secretary, Dr Martin Parkinson is considered one of the most influential men in... read more

Mark Bouris is a thinker. He’s not much of a planner, his assistant will tell you, but he has big ideas. Hundreds and hundreds of them. All the time. And because he’s more of a thinker than a doer, he surrounds himself with people who... read more

Michael Kirby has one of the most astute and trusted legal minds of our time. Like others with this gift, it seems he was destined for it. Identified at primary school as a bright spark, the retired Australian High Court judge went on to attend a... read more

Astonishing in his ability to embrace the power of the future, Woolworths chairman James Strong – who oversaw the retail chain turn over $A55 billion in the past financial year – could never be accused of swinging up the corporate... read more

The progress and reforms achieved by China in its modern era of openness have created unprecedented economic productivity and prosperity. The resultant growth has given the country an international prestige that not only does its population proud,... read more

Bill Shorten, Assistant Treasurer and minister for financial services and superannuation in the Australian Government, is widely respected as both a doer and a thinker. He is passionate about improving the financial security of Australians. The... read more

From heading up family planning in the 1970s to chairing the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in the 1980s, Wendy McCarthy has learnt to juggle a host of skills – which comes in handy in her present role on the board of Circus... read more

David Gyngell's father, Bruce, was the first man on Australian television. The younger Gyngell grew up with the TV business in his blood and the larger-than-life media baron Kerry Packer on his home patch.David Gyngell also grew up with James... read more

A stampede of tribal, roaring fans powers the multimillion-dollar business that is the Australian National Rugby League. But while the NRL relies on frenzied club passion to thrive, there is no room for such sentiments in the boardroom. NRL chief... read more

Philosopher Peter Singer has been voted one of Australia’s 10 most influential public intellectuals. He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and... read more

Simon McKeon, named Australian of the Year in January this year, likes to think of himself as a jack-of-all-trades – but few people who know him would dispute that he is a master of the corporate, not-for-profit and government sectors. He is... read more

Outspoken, controversial and known for a style of management he calls “Employees First, Customers Second”, HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayar attributes the self-confidence that underpins his success to an upbringing in the small town... read more

The A$30 million enterprise that is the Sydney Theatre Company is back in the financial glamour zone, thanks to young theatregoers, generous sponsors, philanthropists, government funding and loyal subscribers. “It’s the pure acts of... read more