Nicholas Whitlam


Nicholas Richard Whitlam is an Australian businessman and corporate director. He is the son of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and Margaret Whitlam.

Career

Whitlam first became publicly prominent in 1981 when he was appointed chief executive of the State Bank of New South Wales. Subsequent roles include Whitlam Turnbull & Co, and the chairmanship of the NRMA Group. Whitlam was the key figure in the 2000 demutualization and listing of NRMA Insurance Limited, the country's largest insurance company, now known as Insurance Australia Group Limited.
In 2002, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a corporate regulator, initiated controversial civil proceedings against Whitlam alleging breaches of his NRMA director's duties in relation to his not signing a proxy vote, containing of 3793 votes, directing him to vote against a motion about the remuneration of directors. A single judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales ruled that he had breached his duties as a director and banned him from being a director of any company for five years. Whitlam appealed the judgement. Three senior judges, sitting as the New South Wales Court of Appeal, unanimously found that he had not breached his duties as a director, reversed the ruling and exonerated him. ASIC sought but was denied special leave to appeal by the High Court of Australia.
Whitlam is a graduate of Harvard College and the London Business School.
He has served as Chairman of the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of New South Wales, and has an honorary doctorate from that university and from Western Sydney University.

Personal

Whitlam has been married to Judy since 1973; she was a publicist for Vidal Sassoon and the Savoy Hotel. Believing they were unable to conceive children of their own, they adopted a girl from Thailand and a boy from Colombia. Then Judy became pregnant, and their son was born in 1982; he has severe mental and physical disabilities.