Wendy McCarthy has been a change agent in Australian public life for four decades. She has held national leadership roles working with government, corporations and community-based organisations in education, women’s issues, public health, heritage, and media.

Wendy McCarthy has held executive and non-executive director roles in many of Australia’s leading private and public institutions including Deputy Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for eight years; General Manager of Marketing and Communications, the Australian Bicentennial Authority; Executive Director of the National Trust; Director Star City; Chair of the Australian Heritage Commission; and Chair of Symphony Australia.

From 1995-2005 she was Chancellor of the University of Canberra.

Her positions include Chair of Circus Oz; Chair of Estate Agents; Chair of NSW Sustainable Access Priority Taskforce; Chair of Sydney Community Foundation; Director and Past Chair of Plan Australia, Member of the NSW Health Care Advisory Council and the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance and Chair of the Accreditation Advisory Board of the Advertising Federation of Australia.

In 2000 she established Corporate Good Works to bring together corporations and not-for-profits in mutually beneficial and sustainable partnerships. Its initial achievement was to broker a three-year relationship between Citigroup and the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre with the objective of training the next generation of Indigenous leaders.

In 1989 she was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia for outstanding contributions to community affairs, women’s affairs and the Bicentennial celebrations.