Jennifer Westacott AC is an Australian business executive. She served as the chief executive of the Business Council of Australia (BCA) from 2011 to 2023. [1] She is the current chancellor of Western Sydney University. [2]
She grew up in Springfield in New South Wales, Australia [3] and completed her secondary education at Henry Kendall High School. [4] She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of New South Wales. She also holds a Graduate Management Certificate from the Monash Mt Eliza Business School and was a Chevening Scholar at the London School of Economics. [5]
Following a career in the NSW and Victorian public sectors, [6] she was a senior partner at KPMG in Sydney, Australia from 2005 to 2011, before assuming the role of chief executive of the Business Council of Australia. She is also a non-executive director of Wesfarmers. [3]
She received an honorary doctorate from the University of New South Wales in 2017. [1] [3] In 2018, Westacott was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her service to policy development and reform, cross sector collaboration, equity and business. [7] Westacott was later elevated in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours to a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) for eminent service to business, to tertiary education administration, to the mental health sector, and to the community. [8]