One of Australia’s most experienced company directors, professional engineer Kathryn Fagg AO, has been appointed chair of Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
It will mark the first time that three of Australia’s leading science agencies – the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the CSIRO – have simultaneously been chaired by women.
Fagg replaces the departing chair, David Thodey AO, and has been appointed for a five-year term following the end of Thodey’s term on 14 October 2021.
Fagg has worked in senior executive roles across a range of industries in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
She was a member of the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia from 2013 to 2018.
Announcing the appointment, Science Minister, Melissa Price, said Fagg is a passionate advocate for gender equity.
Fagg is a women in STEM champion and a mentor for young women seeking to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.