Alison Watkins
AM
Watkins in 2022
Chancellor of the University of Tasmania
Assumed office
25 June 2021
Preceded byMichael Field
Personal details
Born (1962-12-29) 29 December 1962 (age 61)
Alma materUniversity of Tasmania

Alison Mary Watkins AM (born 29 December 1962)[1] is an Australian CEO and director. She has had roles at McKinsey, GrainCorp, Berri Limited, and was a group managing director at Coca-Cola Amatil from March 2014 to May 2021.[2][3] She has been a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia Board since December 2020, having previously served on their Takeover Panel.[4] She has also held a number of non-executive directorships, including at the Centre for Independent Studies.[4] In June 2021, she became Chancellor of the University of Tasmania.[5]

Early life

Watkins grew up on a farm in Tasmania, Australia.[6] After boarding school, she studied for a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Tasmania.[6] During this period, she met her now husband, Rod, with whom she has four children.[7][8][6] After their university studies, they moved to Sydney.[6]

Watkin’s son, Elliot, is a well known YouTuber by the name Muselk, with over 9 million subscribers on the platform. Her daughter, Ilsa, Is currently in a relationship with Australian YouTuber LazarBeam

Career

Watkins' first role was Junior Associate at McKinsey, where she remained for 10 years.[6] In 1999, Watkins moved to ANZ as GGM Strategy & M&A, shifting after 18 months to lead their Regional banking division.[6] She then took a leading role as CEO of Berri Ltd.[6] Her first non-executive directorship was at Just Group. The first listed company she led was GrainCorp Ltd., where she was at the helm for 4 years.[6] She is a former group managing director at Coca-Cola Amatil[2] and is on the board of the Business Council of Australia.[9]

She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to business through leadership roles with a range of organisations".[10]

References

  1. ^ Who's Who in Australia. ConnectWeb. 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Alison Watkins, Group Managing Director of Coca-Cola Amatil". The CEO Magazine. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  3. ^ Watkins, Alison. "Experience". Linkedin. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b Duke, Jennifer; Wright, Shane (17 December 2020). "Alison Watkins and Carolyn Hewson to join RBA board". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Members – University Council". University of Tasmania, Australia. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "The 5 mountains I climbed to corporate leadership". Chief Executive Women. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Coca-Cola Amatil chief executive Alison Watkin's career advice for her daughter". Australian Financial Review. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  8. ^ "How Coke boss Alison Watkins came to appreciate professional gamers". Australian Financial Review. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Alison Watkins". Business Council of Australia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
Academic offices Preceded byMichael Field Chancellor of the University of Tasmania 2021–present Incumbent
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