The Chamber is delighted to formally introduce our new Chief Executive, Ticky Fullerton, to our Membership base and broader network.

Ticky was previously NSW Director for the Chamber, and Business Editor at Large at The Australian Business Review. She is well-known to most of our Members as host and moderator of our signature events, including our annual International Women’s Day Breakfasts, KPMG Budget Breakfasts and keynotes with government officials and other high profile individuals.

Ticky is a skilled and motivated thought leader, with a long-standing reputation as a highly credible voice in business. She is a trusted advisor to government, and has worked closely with both Australian and UK government networks throughout her career.

We’ve put a short Q&A together to help our Members get to know Ticky better, and what she is most looking forward to as Chief Executive of the Chamber.

Tell us about yourself.

I am a dual Australian British citizen who first came out to Australia as a ten-year-old, all thanks to a father in the British foreign office based in Canberra. Dad was the trade counsellor in the mid-1970s, which was a very tricky time for relations with Britain joining Europe. How the world has changed!

I was always drawn to Australia – my year off was spent hitching around the country and then later at Oxford, I met many Aussies who would become lifelong mates.

My ten years of investment banking brought me back to Oz and I then flicked to the media, driven by a lust for current affairs. What makes leaders tick, both business and political? How and why are all the important policy decisions affecting our lives made, and how do they turn out?

My career has taken me to Canberra for politics, and Brisbane where I learnt a lot about farming and water. With family back in the Old Dart I've stayed close to life in Britain too - a familiar story for many of our Members I guess.

Can you tell us a bit about your previous involvement with the Chamber?

My first connection with the Chamber was through the NSW Council and then on our Board as a Director. It has been tremendous to see the organisation led by David McCredie AM OBE grow over the years, in both partnerships with businesses of all kinds, and in our international programs, the Catalysts.

What are you most looking forward to as CEO of the Chamber?

Rolling up my sleeves with the terrific team at the Chamber to deliver a really exciting program this year! The opportunity to work in a small but very agile team spread across the country and in the UK is a huge privilege. I know every one of them is dedicated to supporting our partners and having a bit of fun with you all along the way.

I am also really looking forward to working closely with the UK Government’s representatives in Australia led by British High Commissioner, HE Vicki Treadell CMG, MVO. Their counsel and networks are of huge value both to UK businesses operating in Australia and to business more broadly, and we look forward to supporting the UK team.

We’re at an exciting juncture in the Australia-UK relationship, with the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement close to implementation and the AUKUS strategic partnership underway. How do you see our bilateral relationship changing over the course of the next year?

You are right, it’s such a dynamic time with the FTA, AUKUS and Australia’s Defence Strategy Review, lots of potential around skilled migration, the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane and of course energy transition. And not to forget the Coronation!

The relationship will only get stronger. The really interesting thing is that it will be at so many different levels, given everything that is happening.

Which sectors and topics are of most interest to you in relation to the growing Australia-UK relationship? How do you see the Chamber being involved in these?

I think rising to the challenge of both climate change and the increasing concerns over national security are common priorities for Australia and the UK right now, and therefore have my serious attention.

This is why our Catalysts this year are so important and will focus on defence, infrastructure and energy transition.

I’m also very interested in the skills and jobs of the future which businesses want to build, and build fast. Part of that relies on knowledge and people exchange, so that we can lead in innovation, productivity and lowering of emissions. We look forward to working closely with the UK and Australian governments on this piece.

How do you find the business culture here (and how do you see it relating or differing to the UK)?

Interesting question. We really have very similar business cultures, which makes sense given our democratic history and huge investment ties. This is a ripper reason for companies to explore trade, investment and knowledge exchange between our two countries in the confidence that we are so alike.

Of course, there are parts of our business culture here that are uniquely Australian, and I would put them up against any worldwide. Aussie business is centred in the fair go, openness of doing business, risk for reward, striving for equality, and not being too much of a serous insect.

The rise of female leaders in recent years has been important. Australia is a very attractive place in which to do business. For decades we have had the raw materials the world needed. Now we have a battery in the ground in the West as the world transitions.

At the Chamber we want to bring some of these great opportunities in the relationship to your business doors.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to hang out with my crazy family near the beach, a bit of piano and guitar, a bit of jive and rumba, newspapers and passionate banter, and the AFL at the SCG!

We encourage you to connect with Ticky on LinkedIn.