Contact: Vessa Playfair
Deloitte
Director of Communications
0419 267 676

Big Four professional services firm Deloitte announced today that Wayne Goss, former lawyer, Queensland Premier and Deloitte Queensland Managing Partner, had been elected Chairman of Deloitte Australia by the firm’s partners.

On June 1 Wayne Goss will take over the reins from outgoing Chairman Harley McHutchison who is retiring after two years as Chairman and 44 years with Deloitte.

"I look forward with pleasure to Wayne becoming Chairman of the Deloitte Board and leading us into an exciting new era," Deloitte’s CEO Giam Swiegers said.

"Wayne is a strong individual and leader. He’s collaborative with a highly developed sense of right and wrong and a finely tuned antenna for what’s happening in the world of business and politics - excellent qualities for a chairman," Giam Swiegers said.

Wayne Goss practised as a lawyer in his own firm for ten years. He then entered State Parliament and was Leader of the Opposition after four years, and Premier less than two years later in 1989.

His government was credited with a wide ranging program of change locally and with its participation in a national reform program. That national program, first with Prime Ministers Hawke and then with Keating, was characterised by achieving progress through agreement. The highlights were Energy and Competition Policy.

On retiring as Premier in 1996, Wayne enrolled in a MBA at the University of Queensland and completed his post graduate studies in 1997.

In 1998 he began his consultancy career – working with Deloitte, Macquarie Bank and Corrs Chambers Westgarth – and this continued until 2000 when he accepted the position as Managing Partner Queensland for Deloitte.

In addition to this role he was also a member of the Deloitte National Management Committee and twice chaired the Deloitte Board Nominating Committee.

Commenting on his appointment Wayne Goss said, "I have had some great experiences in law, and some great experiences in government, and I’m now essentially in my ‘third career’.

"I’ve always liked building enterprises and I think Deloitte is going through a very exciting phase of its development at the moment.

"One of the best things about Deloitte is its great people. They are focussing more and more on combining clever people, developing talent, and increasingly connecting with the clients in the marketplace in a different way.

"That’s got to be the way ahead. It’s important commercially and it makes for a stimulating, innovative workplace that retains and attracts the best talent," he said.

Wayne Goss is currently Chair of the Graduate School of Government Advisory Council at the University of Sydney. Wayne is also Chairman of the Queensland Art Gallery and holds a number of directorships including WebCentral Ltd, Peplin Ltd and Ingeus Ltd.