David Murray (Australian businessman)

David Murray AO
David Murray in 2008
Born	David Victor Murray 27 April 1949
Nationality	Australian
Education	St Aloysius' College, Sydney Macquarie University

For other uses, see David Murray.

David Victor Murray AO (born c. 1949), an Australian businessman, was the inaugural Chairman of the Australian Government Future Fund Board of Guardians, serving between 2006 and 2012, and Chair of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Business career

Prior to his appointment to the Future Fund, Murray was the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Bank between 1992 and 2005. In Murray's 13 years as Chief Executive, the Commonwealth Bank transformed from a partly privatised bank with a market capitalisation of $6 billion in 1992 to a $49 billion integrated financial services company, generating in the process total shareholder returns (including gross dividend reinvestment) at a compound annual growth rate of over 24 per cent, one of the highest total returns of any major bank in Australia.

Murray holds a Bachelor of Business from the NSW Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration, commenced at Macquarie University and completed at the International Management Institute, Geneva. He holds an honorary PhD from Macquarie University and is a Fellow of the University of Technology, Sydney. He is an old boy of St Aloysius' College, Sydney.

In 2007 Murray was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the finance sector nationally and internationally through strategic leadership and policy development, to education, particularly fostering relations between educational institutions and business and industry, and to the community as a supporter of and fundraiser for cultural and church organisations.

In May 2018, Murray was appointed chairman of AMP Limited.

Climate change denialism

Murray has made public comments on attempts to mitigate climate change.

Murray has expressed views on Australia’s carbon tax legislation 2012, describing it as the worst piece of economic reform he has seen. Explaining, the legislation would raise costs within Australia and reduce Australia's competitiveness in energy exports. This has led to comments and criticism of Murray’s views.

At the 2019 AMP Annual General Meeting, David Murray spoke to all corporate boards responsibility to ensure risk management teams plan for the economic impacts of global events such as climate change.

Para-business activity

As of 2019, Murray is chair of The Butterfly Foundation a charitable organisation aimed at helping people with eating disorders. Murray is also an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.