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Michael Cannon-Brookes

AMBASSADOR EMERITUS


Michael Cannon-Brookes retired from IBM in July 2012 after 15 years with the company. He was vice president for strategy worldwide for IBM’s Growth Markets Unit covering 149 emerging markets, which has its Global Headquarters in Shanghai, where he lived for the last 8 years. Prior to that he served as vice president in IBM Business Consulting Services, the world’s largest consulting company, where he was responsible for strategy, marketing and operations globally.

Before IBM he was the managing director of law firm, Freehills, based in Sydney.  Prior to that he spent 25 years as a banker, the majority of which was with Citibank, where he served in a variety of leadership positions across 4 continents, including establishing the bank in Australia. He is a citizen of both Australia and the UK. In addition to Shanghai, he has lived in Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and London, and travelled extensively across emerging markets for more than three decades.

After retiring from IBM he established his own consulting company in Sydney, which focuses on the global universe of emerging markets, and what it takes to transform companies for success within them. He was appointed to the Board of Advance in February 2013, and made a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors in July 2013. He was appointed to the Board of the Garvan Research Foundation in March 2017.