Lieutenant General David Morrison AO

General David Morrison AO is recognised as an extraordinary leader, a change agent and as “one of Australia’s leading influences on culture”.

His tenure as Australia’s Chief of Army is perhaps best remembered for the strong stance he took on gender equality and leading cultural change in large organisations. However, this was just the tip on the iceberg of an impressive 36 year military career.

A powerful keynote speaker, David Morrison has addressed organisations that include the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the Lowy Institute and the Sydney Institute. Corporate groups and boards he has spoken to include the Deloitte Partners Annual meeting, the Aurizon senior leadership group, Goldman Sachs, the Australian annual Judicial Conference, the NSW Bar Association, the Property Group of Australia and the Harvard Business Association.

More about David Morrison:

General David Morrison AO concluded his appointment as Australia’s Chief of Army in May 2015. During a 36 year career as a soldier he saw operational service in Bougainville and East Timor and as an Australian Army Officer led troops from platoon level all the way up to three star General – Chief of Army. This is an appointment he held for the last four years of his service. His loyalty to his profession and outstanding performance was recognised by being made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2010.

In his tenure at the top of Australia’s Army, David has faced many leadership challenges but he is probably best known for his strong public stance on gender equality and leading cultural change in large organisations. His three minute address, via video, to his workforce in the wake of a particular instance of poor behaviour by a group of officers and senior soldiers, was posted on YouTube and has had over 1.6 million views. He has spoken about diversity and culture to the United Nations International Women’s Day Conference in New York, and was a closing speaker, with Angelina Jolie, William Hague and John Kerry at the Global Summit to Prevent Sexual Violence in Military Conflict in London in 2014.

The Australian Financial Review named David Morrison as one of Australia’s leading influences on culture in 2014 and Boss Magazine included him in its top dozen leaders in Australia in the same year. In 2015, David was appointed Chair of the Diversity Council Australia, appointed to the board of Our Watch.

In 2016, David Morrison was recognised as the Australian of the Year.

General David Morrison talks about:

• Gender equality
• Diversity
• Cultural change
• Inclusion
• Leadership