Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Oliver Brown, Hardie Grant, $45.00.
By any measure, some may find the life of David Morgan a fascinating Australian story. Others will consider it inspiring. The sub-title says it all: football, acting, world finance, government, banking.
As chief executive of Westpac, David Morgan steered the bank from the edge of oblivion to its position as a global top-20 bank. His biography describes how he not only secured the role, but a whole lot more.
Most may envisage David as having a conservative economic background, but the truth is far more exotic. Prior to becoming the CEO, he overcame the scars of his father’s bankruptcy, starred alongside Olivia Newton-John as a child actor, turned down a spot at Richmond Football Club, survived a stand-off with an African dictator, and served in the Treasury of the Hawke-Keating government as it liberalised Australia’s economy. It was, in every sense, a road less travelled.
The depth of this biography owes much to the diversity of source material with candid interviews and thorough research by Oliver Brown.
A man of “irrepressible energy”, Morgan played a pivotal role in reshaping the country’s economic fabric at Treasury, turned Westpac into a byword for resilience and sustainability and continues to command such respect. His experience also carries profound weight.
Brown’s biography of one of Australia’s key financial figures includes rare interviews with former Prime Minister Paul Keating, Wall Street titans Jamie Dimon and James Gorman, Reserve Bank Governors Bernie Fraser and Ian Macfarlane, Westpac CEOs Bob Joss and Gail Kelly, and Secretaries of the Treasury Ken Henry, Ted Evans and Martin Parkinson.
