Asia Society today announced the appointment of Kathryn Campbell AO CSC, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to the Advisory Council of Asia Society Australia.

The DFAT and Asia Society Australia are long-standing partners in advancing Australia’s engagement with Asia. DFAT and Asia Society work together on preparing Australian leaders and organisations for deeper and sustainable engagement with a more complex Indo-Pacific region.

The appointment coincides with the roll-out of Asia Society Australia’s new strategy to become Australia’s leading business and policy think-tank dedicated to Asia. Partnerships with government and business are critical to the success of the strategy.

Kathryn Campbell AO CSC joined the DFAT as Secretary in July 2021. Most recently, she was Secretary of the Department of Social Services from September 2017 to July 2021 and before that Secretary of the Department of Human Services from 2011 to 2017. Ms Campbell has worked at senior levels across the Australian Public Service, including Deputy Secretary positions at the Department of Finance and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations from 2005 to 2011. She was also an Army Reserve Officer from 1989 to July 2021. Ms Campbell was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 2010 for her service as Commanding Officer of the Sydney University Regiment of the Army Reserves and was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019 for her services to public administration and the Australian Army Reserve.

Ms Campbell is a Fellow of Certified Practising Accountants (CPA) Australia and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Applied Mathematics), a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Information Science. She has also completed the Royal Australian Air Force Command and Staff College course and the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.