Sep 2, 2026 · 28 min · 9 segments
If you care about how real decisions get made in Australian boardrooms, and what separates merely competent directors from truly great chairs, this episode is a rare inside look. David Gonski shares…
David GonskiGuestMaxHostMattHostMm-hmm.
Is it true, though, that even during this time, as busy as that must have been, nevertheless you were a man of multitudes, as the poet Whitman said.
You weren't just doing the business advisory.
You were heavily involved in education and in the arts.
What were some of those activities and why were those things, why was it so important for you to be doing those at the same time?
My father was, as I said, a modest man, but he wasn't that keen on business people.
The number of times he shook hands with somebody, I said, what does he do? He says, he's just a business person.
That we in business, I envisaged, have a pretty good life, fancy offices, very well paid.
But what are we actually doing for society? And that pervaded very early in my time.
And I might say the only time my father really smiled at what I was doing was when I did things, frankly, outside.
But he certainly had a look when I did a review of film for the government or indeed got involved on the board of St. Vincent's Hospital for years, which he thought was wonderful that I did that.
And I thought it was wonderful for 12 years or 14 years, I could pretend I was in medicine again and I enjoyed that.
So that was, you know, people say they did it because they should and it was very good for the community.
Mm-hmm.
Is it true, though, that even during this time, as busy as that must have been, nevertheless you were a man of multitudes, as the poet Whitman said.
You weren't just doing the business advisory.
You were heavily involved in education and in the arts.
What were some of those activities and why were those things, why was it so important for you to be doing those at the same time?
My father was, as I said, a modest man, but he wasn't that keen on business people.
The number of times he shook hands with somebody, I said, what does he do? He says, he's just a business person.
That we in business, I envisaged, have a pretty good life, fancy offices, very well paid.
But what are we actually doing for society? And that pervaded very early in my time.
And I might say the only time my father really smiled at what I was doing was when I did things, frankly, outside.
But he certainly had a look when I did a review of film for the government or indeed got involved on the board of St. Vincent's Hospital for years, which he thought was wonderful that I did that.
And I thought it was wonderful for 12 years or 14 years, I could pretend I was in medicine again and I enjoyed that.
So that was, you know, people say they did it because they should and it was very good for the community.
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