Patron

Kim Williams AM is one of Australia’s most experienced leaders in the arts, media, and creative industries. A music graduate of Sydney University, and a former student with Peter Sculthorpe and later Luciano Berio, Kim has held senior executive roles across the cultural and commercial sectors for more than four decades.

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In March 2024, Kim was appointed Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), overseeing the national broadcaster through to 2029. His career has included serving as Chief Executive of News Corp Australia, FOXTEL, Fox Studios Australia, the Australian Film Commission, Southern Star Entertainment, and Musica Viva Australia, as well as a senior executive at the ABC earlier in his career. He has been a pioneer of many of Australia’s broadcast and digital media innovations.

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Alongside his executive career, Kim has made a significant contribution to public life through governance and policy. He has chaired numerous organisations, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Musica Viva Australia, the Sydney Opera House Trust (2005–2013), and the Australian Film Finance Corporation, which he established for the Commonwealth in 1988. He also served as a Commissioner of the Australian Football League (2014–2021). Since 2018, he has been Chairman of the Thomson Reuters Trustees, responsible for safeguarding the Reuters Trust Principles of independence, integrity, and freedom from bias at the world’s leading news service.

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Kim was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (2006) for his services to the arts and public policy in the creative industries. In 2009, he was awarded a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) by Macquarie University for his contribution to the arts and entertainment industry nationally and internationally. He has also received numerous other honours, including the Dorothy Crawford Award from the Australian Writers’ Guild for outstanding contribution to the profession.

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His memoir, Rules of Engagement, was published by Melbourne University Publishing in 2014.