Shirley Chowdhary

Shirley has extensive leadership experience in corporate law and governance, alongside cultural and strategic change. She is an outspoken advocate for women’s leadership and diverse voices, and is a seasoned Non-Executive Director, Chair, and former CEO with substantial international experience. Shirley has a proven record of driving values alignment at board and organisational levels. Throughout her work, Shirley maintains a priority on commercial returns and stewardship, whilst balancing diverse stakeholder interests and prioritising customer confidence.

Shirley is a leading voice on the use of AI in the boardroom, and has developed a five-pillar model for boards to govern AI in their organisations.  She speaks on how boards can adopt AI as a collaborative thinking partner to enhance judgment, improve productivity in the boardroom, and strengthen decision-making. Her work responds to growing expectations on directors to lead with foresight and confidence, supporting responsible innovation while maintaining trust, transparency and alignment in highly complex regulatory environments.

Shirley is currently a Fellow of Senate and Pro-Chancellor at the University of Sydney (where she also chairs the People, Safety & Culture Committee), the Chair of Women for Election and a Non-Executive Director on the board of Hardie Grant, an independent Australian publisher and media company. She sits on the Advisory Board of Propel Group, an organisation empowering boards and C-Suites to build trust and social cohesion.

Her previous board roles include being Deputy Chair of YMCA NSW, Chair of the Australian Institute of Architects, and non-executive director on the boards of the Australian Associated Press and Northrop Engineers. She was also previously on the Advisory Board of Mentor Walks, an organisation that has provided mentoring to over 12,000 women across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada and Dubai. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Member of Faculty.

Career highlights include being in private practice at Cleary Gottlieb in New York and Tokyo, Regional Counsel for JP Morgan Investment Management, and CEO of the GO Foundation, an NFP founded by Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin of Sydney Swans fame. She lived and worked for a decade in Japan, and has worked internationally across Asia, North America, Europe and Africa in the listed, private and for-purpose sectors. She has also hosted two series of the Women’s Agenda Leadership Lessons podcast and written a biography for a WW2 POW.

In 2024, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Sydney for her contributions to law, business, gender equality and Indigenous education, and she was recognised as a 2019 AFR 100 Women of Influence. She is currently part of the AICD’s flagship Chair’s Mentoring program and a member of the AICD Faculty teaching Governance and director’s duties.