Jennifer Westacott facts for kids
Jennifer Westacott is an important Australian leader in business and education. She used to be the main boss (called the chief executive) of the Business Council of Australia (BCA) from 2011 to 2023. Now, she is the chancellor of Western Sydney University, which means she is the head of the university.
Jennifer grew up in a place called Springfield in New South Wales, Australia. She went to Henry Kendall High School. Later, she studied at the University of New South Wales and earned a special degree called a Bachelor of Arts (Honours). She also studied at the Monash Mt Eliza Business School and received a Graduate Management Certificate. She was even a Chevening Scholar, which is a special scholarship that allowed her to study at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom.
Early Life and Education
Jennifer Westacott spent her childhood in Springfield, a town in New South Wales, Australia. She attended Henry Kendall High School for her high school education. After finishing school, she continued her studies at the University of New South Wales. There, she earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honours, which is a higher-level university degree. She also completed a special program at the Monash Mt Eliza Business School to learn more about management. Jennifer was also chosen as a Chevening Scholar, which is a scholarship given to future leaders from around the world. This scholarship allowed her to study at the famous London School of Economics in London, England.
Career Highlights
Jennifer Westacott has had a long and successful career. She first worked in government jobs in New South Wales and Victoria. From 2005 to 2011, she was a senior partner at KPMG in Sydney, Australia. KPMG is a very large company that helps other businesses. After that, she became the chief executive of the Business Council of Australia (BCA). The BCA is a group that represents many of Australia's biggest businesses. She led this group for 12 years, from 2011 to 2023. Jennifer is also a non-executive director at Wesfarmers, which means she is on the board of directors but is not involved in the day-to-day running of the company.
Awards and Honours
Jennifer Westacott has been recognized for her important work. In 2017, the University of New South Wales gave her an honorary doctorate. This is a special award from a university, even though she didn't study for that specific degree there. In 2018, she received a very high honour called an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). She was given this award for her great work in helping to create new rules and improvements (called policy development and reform). She was also recognized for bringing different groups together to work on projects (cross-sector collaboration), for fairness (equity), and for her contributions to business.
