Catherine Livingstone joins CBA board, may become chairman

Catherine Livingstone is well-positioned to succeed CBA chair David Turner after accepting a board position.

Catherine Livingstone is president of the Business Council of Australia and a director of WorleyParsons. Picture: Hollie Adams

Catherine Livingstone is well-positioned to succeed Commonwealth Bank chair David Turner after accepting a board position at the lender with immediate effect.

CBA announced the appointment of Ms Livingstone, who is the outgoing Telsta chair, at the same time as the scheduled March 31 retirement of non-executive director Jane Hemstritch.

The bank’s current chair, David Turner, has held the position since 2010, and has been on the CBA board since 2006.

At last year’s annual meeting, he was re-elected as a director for a three-year term.

Non-executive directors at CBA are normally expected to serve for six years, but can serve for up to 12 years in “exceptional” circumstances, according to board policy.

The chair’s tenure is expected to be a minimum of five years, which means Mr Turner could serve a full three-year term before handing over to a successor.

Mr Turner yesterday thanked Ms Hemstritch for her service, particularly as chair of the bank’s remuneration committee.

London-based non-executive director David Higgins, a former Lend Lease chief executive, will become head of the same committee.

Apart from her Telstra position, Ms Livingstone is president of the Business Council of Australia and a director of WorleyParsons. She is also the incoming chancellor at the University of Technology Sydney.

She has previously served on the boards of Macquarie Group, Goodman Fielder and Rural Press, and was chair of the CSIRO.

Mr Turner said Ms Livingstone was a respected business leader and strong advocate of innovation.

“Her skills and experience, particularly in banking, complement the board’s skills and we are very much looking forward to having her join us,” he said.

Last month, CBA eased market jitters with a better than expected $4.8 billion cash profit, a record for the six months to December 31 and up 4 per cent from a year ago. The bank held the dividend steady at $1.98.