Trevor Kennedy AM (born Trevor John Kennedy; born in Perth, Western Australia, on 24 June 1942; died 28 November 2021) was an Australian businessman and company director. He served on the board of directors of many Australian companies, including Consolidated Press Holdings and Qantas. He was a journalist and right-hand man of Kerry Packer [1] and a former business associate of Malcolm Turnbull.
Kennedy was educated at Aquinas College, Perth [2] .
Kennedy was founding editor of The National Times (1972–73). In 1997 he was appointed Chairman of AWA He served as editor in chief of Consolidated Press Holdings (1981–86) and then as managing director of Consolidated Press Holdings (1986–91).
He was a member of the Australian Federal Government's Remuneration Tribunal (1995-2000).
During his career he also served as chairman of Oil Search, Commsoft Group and Cypress Lakes Group, and as a director of both public and private companies, including Qantas Superannuation, Downer EDI, FTR Holdings and RG Capital.
In 1983 Kennedy was appointed to be a Member in the Ordinary Division of the Order of Australia (AM). [3]
In 2003 Kennedy resigned from his position as director of seven public companies (including Qantas). [4] [5] [6] [7]
In 2005 the stockbroker Rene Rivkin told Swiss investigators that he, Kennedy and the politician Graham Richardson were secret owners of a $27 million stake in the Offset Alpine Printing company. [8]
Qantas Airways Limited, or simply Qantas, is the flag carrier of Australia, and Australia's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and Oceania. A founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, it is the only airline in the world that flies to all seven continents, with it operating flights to Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America and South America from its hubs in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane. It also flies to over 60 domestic destinations across Australia.
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling interest in both the Nine Network and the publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later merged to form Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL). Outside Australia, Packer was best known for founding World Series Cricket. At the time of his death, he was the richest and one of the most influential men in Australia. In 2004, Business Review Weekly magazine estimated Packer's net worth at A$6.5 billion.
James Douglas Packer is an Australian billionaire businessman and investor. Packer is the son of Kerry Packer, a media mogul, and his wife, Roslyn Packer. He is the grandson of Frank Packer. He inherited control of the family company, Consolidated Press Holdings Limited, as well as investments in Crown Resorts and other companies. He is the former executive chairman of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) and Consolidated Media Holdings, which predominantly owned media interests across a range of platforms, and a former executive chairman of Crown Resorts.
Perth Airport is an international, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, the capital city of Western Australia.
Margaret Anne Jackson is an Australian corporate executive. She was the first Chairwoman of Qantas Airways from 2000 to 2007 amongst other company and charitable directorships.
Graham Frederick Richardson is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1983 to 1994 and served as a Cabinet Minister in both the Hawke and Keating governments. He is currently a media commentator, public speaker, and political lobbyist.
Alan Bond was an Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s; the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history; and also his criminal conviction that saw him serve four years in prison. He is also remembered for bankrolling the successful challenge for the 1983 America's Cup, the first time the New York Yacht Club had lost it in its 132-year history. He is also the founder of Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia.
Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh was an Australian aviator and businessman. A founder of the Australian airline company Qantas, Fysh was born in Launceston, Tasmania. Serving in the Battle of Gallipoli and Palestine Campaign as a lieutenant of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, Fysh later became an observer and gunner to Paul McGinness in the AFC. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross during the aftermath of the war for his services to aerial warfare.
Lachlan Keith Murdoch is an American and Australian businessman and mass media heir. He is the son of the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. He is the executive chairman of Nova Entertainment, chairman of News Corp, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation. In 2023, he was listed 33rd on the list of Australia's wealthiest people, with his wealth estimated at A$3.35 billion.
John Sydney "Joe" DawkinsAO is an Australian former politician who was Treasurer in the Keating Labor government from December 1991 to December 1993. He is notable for his reforms of tertiary education as Minister for Employment, Education and Training, his period as Treasurer when he attempted to increase taxes in order to balance the budget and his abrupt exit from politics.
Bruce Gyngell AO was an Australian television executive, active for more than 40 years in both Australian and UK television. Although Gyngell began his career in radio, in the 1950s he stepped into the arena of early television broadcasting, helping to set up Channel 9, the first commercial TV station in Australia. He was managing director of the breakfast television franchise holder TV-am in the United Kingdom from 1984 to 1992.
The Offset Alpine fire was a 1993 fire that destroyed a Sydney printing plant owned by the company Offset Alpine Printing Ltd. Investigations of the incident by the police and by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission spanned over ten years, amid suspicions that the printing plant was burnt down as part of an insurance fraud. It also gained attention because of the high profile of individuals involved.
David Michael Gonski is an Australian public figure and businessman.
Network Ten Pty Limited, trading as Paramount Australia & New Zealand, is a major media company in Australia. Headquartered in Sydney, its major asset is Network 10, a free-to-air television network. Formerly a public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, since December 2019, it has been a subsidiary of Paramount Networks UK & Australia.
Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) was one of Australia's largest corporations. With interests primarily in media and gambling, for the entirety of its existence it was largely controlled by the Packer family.
Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Ltd is an Australian publicly listed company with holdings in mass media radio and television broadcasting, publishing and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate branding.
Trevor Eastwood was the CEO of the large Australian corporation Wesfarmers Ltd from 1984 to 1992 and its chairman from 2002 to 2008. After graduating BEng at the University of Western Australia, he joined Wesfarmers in 1963 as a cadet engineer and was associated with the company for over 45 years. In July 2008, he announced his impending retirement, which took place on 13 November 2008, when he was replaced by Bob Every.
Warren Perry Anderson is an Australian businessman and speculative investor whose net worth in 1990 was estimated by BRW at $190 million, although the following year he was reported to have debts of $500 million, and filed for bankruptcy.
Trevor Haworth was an Australian entrepreneur who co-founded, with his wife Geraldine, Captain Cook Cruises in Australia in 1970 and was instrumental in developing the tourism industry in Australia. Born in England, Haworth immigrated to Australia in 1954.