Graeme Newton, chief executive of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, will join Deloitte in October to lead its Australian Crisis Management business and set up a Centre for Excellence for Crisis Management for the S.E. Asia region.
Mr Newton achieved global recognition when he was hand-picked to lead the $14 billion Queensland floods disaster recovery.
Mr Newton said he is committed to working with governments, CEOs and Boards to build end-to-end resilience on a global scale to prepare for, respond to and emerge from, crises effectively.
“I am looking forward to taking on this new role of ‘integrator’ between Australia, S.E. Asia and the huge reach Deloitte has in this field globally. In this role I see the opportunity to make a significant difference when it comes to crisis and, disaster management and preparedness in particular.”
Giam Swiegers, Deloitte chief executive, said he was delighted with the appointment of Mr Newton.
“Graeme is recognised at a state, national and global level for his outstanding ability to deliver on highly challenging crisis response and reconstruction projects. He received the national Award for Planning Excellence in Australia last year and is a member of the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery technical advisory group.”
Queensland-based, Deloitte Forensic Risk Services leader Chris Noble said the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR) recognised that the task of building more resilient communities is complex and requires greater collaboration between government, business and community.
“The Queensland Reconstruction Authority and Graeme Newton provided that for Queensland and Graeme is very well placed to assist corporates and government become even more resilient.”
“The economic cost of natural disasters in Australia is estimated by Deloitte Access Economics to exceed $6 billion a year. These costs are expected to double by 2030 and to rise to an average of $23 billion a year by 2050,” said Mr Noble.
“However natural disasters are just one crisis scenario for organisations as cyber-attacks, misdeeds, financial crimes, financial distress, technological or industrial threats, supply chain failure, reputation damaging frauds, disclosure issues and other events trigger complex and damaging crises. Responding quickly and effectively to minimise short and long term damage to companies is becoming a core capability,” Mr Noble said.
According to Deloitte, Mr Newton will work with existing Deloitte alliances with global and Australian organisations and universities to bring a commercial approach to getting the imperatives right for the firm's clients.
Mr Newton will also serve on the Deloitte Global Centre for Crisis Management which is focused on assisting both the public and private sectors prepare, respond and recover from crises.
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