David Murray Biography

David Murray joined the Commonwealth Bank in 1966, was appointed Chief Executive Officer in June 1992, and retired from this position in 2005.

The Commonwealth Bank is one of Australia's four major banks. It was founded in 1911 by the Australian government and its privatisation was completed in 1996. The Bank is one of Australia's top 10 listed corporations.

In David Murray’s 13 years as Chief Executive, The Commonwealth Bank has transformed from a partly privatised bank with a market capitalisation of $6 billion in 1992 to a $49 billion integrated financial services company, generating in the process total shareholder returns (including gross dividend reinvestment) at a compound annual growth rate of over 24 per cent, one of the highest total returns of any major bank in Australia.

In November 2005 the Australian Government announced that Mr Murray would be Chairman of the Future Fund. The Fund's objective is to invest budget surpluses to meet the long term pension liabilities of government employees and take the pressure off the budget from aging of the population.

Mr Murray holds a Bachelor of Business from the NSW Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration, commenced at Macquarie University and completed at the International Management Institute, Geneva. He holds an honorary Phd from Macquarie University and is a Fellow of the University of Technology, Sydney. Mr Murray had thirty-nine years’ experience in banking.

Mr Murray is a member of the Oliver Wyman Senior Advisory Board and a Consultant to Tenix Pty Ltd and the Commonwealth Treasury. He has previously served as a member of the Finance Sector Advisory Council and the APEC Business Advisory Council.

In 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to Australian Society in banking and corporate governance and in 2007 he was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for his service to the finance sector both domestically and globally and service to the community.

Mr Murray was born in New South Wales and lives with his family in Sydney.