Gail Kelly

Gail Kelly (; born 25 April 1956) is a South African-born Australian businesswoman. In 2002, she became the first female CEO of a major Australian bank or top 15 company, and in 2005 was the highest-paid woman in an Australian corporation. She is the former CEO of Westpac, a role she held from 2008 to 2015. In 2010 Kelly was named 8th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes; in 2014, she was listed in 56th place.

Early life and education Gail Currer was born in Pretoria, South Africa. Currer attended the University of Cape Town where she undertook an arts degree, majoring in history and Latin, as well as a Diploma in Education. in 1986 while pregnant with her oldest daughter and graduated with distinction in 1987.

Her performance at the Commonwealth Bank led her to be recruited as CEO of St. George Bank (after the death of the incumbent CEO from a heart attack). She commenced in January 2002 – at the time, St. George was seen as a possible takeover target (especially after the purchase of Colonial State Bank by the Commonwealth Bank) but Kelly increased the bank's profitability and achieved much higher levels on return on assets. She started work as Westpac CEO on 1 February 2008. The merger was approved by the Federal Court of Australia and finalised on 26 May 2008. The merger resulted in the new combined Westpac Group having 10 million customers, a 25% share of the Australian home loans market and with $108 billion investment funds under its administration.

On 13 November 2014, Kelly announced that she would retire as CEO of the Westpac Group on 1 February 2015. Brian Hartzer, the head of Westpac's Australian financial services group, was appointed as her replacement.

Kelly joined the board of UBS in 2024.

Book In August 2017, Kelly's memoir, Live Lead Learn: My Stories of Life and Leadership was published by Viking. The book details her experiences of being a high-profile businesswoman and a mother of four.

Impact and influence In 2010 Kelly was named 8th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes; in 2014, she was listed was 56th place.

Ranking Forbes - Most Powerful Women in the World Year Ranking Related article 2014 56 2013 62 2009 18 2008 11 Fortune - Various Year Title Ranking Related article 2014 The World's 50 Greatest Leaders 49 2014 Most Powerful Women of Asia-Pacific 1 2014 50 Most Powerful Women – Global Edition 10 2013 50 Most Powerful Women in Business: The Global 50 3 2012 50 Most Powerful Women in Business – Global List 2 2011 International Power 50 2 2010 50 Most Powerful Women – International Power 50 2 2009 50 Most Powerful Women in Business – Global List 2 2008 50 Most Powerful Women in Business – Global List 2 2007 50 Most Powerful Women: The Global Power 50 28 Financial Times Year Title Ranking 2011 The Top 50 Women in World Business 12 2010 The Top 50 Women in World Business 17 The Australian Financial Review/Boss Magazine Year Title Ranking 2010 True Leaders: Staying Power No rank 2008 AFR Magazine List: Sectoral Power: Financial Services 2 2007 AFR Boss True Leaders – Hall of Fame Top 25 2005 AFR Boss True Leaders No rank 2004 AFR Magazine List: Sectoral Power: Financial Services No rank 2003 AFR Boss True Leaders List No rank Other Australian newspapers Year Title Ranking Feb 2015 The Australian's Deal Magazine – 50 Most Powerful Women in Australian Business 40 March 2013 The Australian Newspaper – List of the 50 Most Influential People in Politics 46 2011 The Sydney Morning Herald – 50 Women of Influence n/a 2003 Daily Telegraph – Sydney's Most Powerful Operators n/a Other publications Year Title Ranking Related article 2014 Morningstar – CEO of the Year Joint runner-up 2014 Australian Women Online – Power List 4 2013 Crikey – Power 50 Index 20 2011 Insto Magazine – Banker of the Year 1 2010 Australian Women's Weekly – 6 Women of Influence No rank 2007 Bulletin Magazine – 50 Most Influential in Business 9 2007 Australian Women's Weekly – List of the 10 Most Powerful Women No rank 2005 Australian Banking & Finance Magazine – Best Financial Services Executive 1 2004 Bulletin Magazine – Smartest People List 'Heads up the business category...’ with Chip Goodyear. 2004 Australian Banking & Finance Magazine – Best Financial Services Executive 1 2003 Australian Banking & Finance Magazine – Best Financial Services Executive 1 2002 Business Review Weekly – Top 20 Most Powerful Women in Australian Business 4