Throughout her career, Belinda Hutchinson AC has built a reputation for thoughtful leadership, sound judgement and skilful analysis. These qualities have seen her lead major organisations and corporations across business, education and the not-for-profit sector. At the same time, Belinda’s deep belief in opportunity, and what happens when it is extended to those in need, has driven her and her family’s many philanthropic endeavours.
Belinda understood from personal experience how an outstanding teacher can alter the course of a life. Schooled at Ascham from Hillingdon to Year 12 (Class of 1971), mathematics didn’t always come naturally. ‘It was a real struggle for me through Year 8 and 9,’ she recalled, ‘I was just going to give it all up. Then I had this amazing teacher, Mr Komaromi, in Year 11 and 12 who brought maths to life for me. That took me through the HSC and onto accounting.’ Turning failure into confidence, Belinda went on to complete a Bachelor of Economics, then trained as a chartered accountant.
Growing up, Belinda experienced the gender divide when it came to tertiary studies. ‘My brothers were always being told they had to go to university,’ she said, ‘but as a girl in my family, it was like: Why do you need to go to university?, which was the great incentive for me to sign up. I was always seriously aspirational about going to university. I was determined I was going to get the results.’
Belinda has long argued that organisations must be well run and ‘adhere to the highest values’, believing that culture and integrity are fundamental to long-term success. She held senior roles at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), Citibank and Macquarie Group, is a former president of the Chief Executive Women network and the State Library of NSW, and has served on multiple boards including QBE Insurance Group, Qantas, Snowy Hydro Trading, Thales, Telstra, Coles Myer, Energy Australia, St Vincent’s Health Australia, the Centre for Independent Studies and Australian Philanthropic Services.
Belinda’s convictions perhaps found their fullest expression during her 12 years as Chancellor of the University of Sydney. The role was connected to a purpose she valued deeply: enabling education and research to address societal problems. Belinda worked to improve gender equity at the university. ‘The University of Sydney is a very different place to where I had my first taste of campus life as a student,’ she said, ‘and different again to when I started as Chancellor. While we have more to achieve, we have made significant strides. Today women make up over half of our student community. And by focusing on a series of targeted mentoring, sponsorship and networking programs, women now represent more than half of our senior executive leaders.’
Opportunity has always been a guiding principle of Belinda’s and her family’s philanthropy. The work of the Eureka Benevolent Foundation (EBF), established with her husband Roger Massy-Greene and involving all four of their children, includes long-term scholarship programs and international development projects. Belinda explained that EBF’s purpose is to ‘empower disadvantaged individuals, families and communities to improve their lives.’
The Hunger Project in Malawi is just one program that benefits. Across Africa, South Asia and Latin America, the organisation works alongside communities to address the underlying causes of hunger and poverty, including gender inequality, limited access to education and economic opportunity. Its community-led approach focuses on building local leadership, particularly among women, so that communities themselves drive the change they want to see.
In 2019, EBF gifted four sequential scholarships to Ascham, which provides a complete secondary education for four day students who would not otherwise be able to attend the School. This extraordinary gift means that for 24 consecutive years, Ascham students will be learning and thriving thanks to the generosity of Belinda and her family. Belinda and Roger’s daughters Ella, Sophie and Emily (all Ascham Old Girls), are directors of the Foundation and share the family’s enduring conviction to quality education.
‘It’s been a really fulfilling exercise for our family,’ said Belinda, ‘you actually get back much more than you give. Education is the most powerful tool for good in our society.’
In 2007, Belinda was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), and in 2020 was awarded the highest honour in the country: a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). Belinda was recognised for her eminent service to business, tertiary education and scientific research, and for her philanthropic endeavours to address social disadvantage.
‘Always remember that leadership is not just about rank, or status or authority,’ Belinda said. ‘It’s about empathy and understanding. It’s about responsibility and integrity. It’s about drawing on all your skills and experience to make a positive difference to our future.’
With her granddaughters now continuing a proud multigenerational connection to Ascham, Belinda remains a deeply engaged Old Girl whose generosity, leadership and service continue to enrich the School community.
Bibliography:
Bagshaw, E (3 Sep 2015) ‘$1 million STEM donation for Sydney University teachers from the Chancellor and her husband‘, SMH
Chartered Accountants Worldwide, ‘View from the top: Belinda Hutchinson’
Dalton, J (2018) ‘Eureka Benevolent Foundation: Funding scholarships to 2042’, The Dalton Extra, Ascham School
Patten, S, AFR (17 Feb 2023), ‘These women made it in business. Now they’re going back to school’
University of Sydney (26 Jun 2024), ‘Chancellor’s farewell after more than a decade’
Image Details:
Main image (left) Belinda (back row, second from right) with her peers from the Class of 1971
Main image (right) Belinda Hutchinson AC. Image: University of Sydney
Read our previous instalments of 14 Decades of Stories:
Pioneering feminist and first Ascham student Inez Bensusan
Brilliant scholar Ethel Lane Latham, who was the highest scoring female student in NSW in 1894 and 1895
Bessie Bundock, co-founder of Ascham’s yearbook, Charivari, which has become the School’s continuous primary historical record for over 120 years
Rania MacPhillamy MBE OBE who operated vast rest homes for wounded soldiers in Egypt during WWI
Mother and daughter Linda and Patricia Littlejohn, who smashed the glass ceiling in university and empowered women across society
Ascham Old Boy Lloyd Poulton, who was one of a handful of boys who were enrolled at Ascham early in the 20th century
Inspiring obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Joan Storey, whose determination and excellence opened doors for women in medicine
After overcoming a life-changing accident, Charlene Meade OAM became a Paralympic pioneer
An original Ascham audio drama bringing to life the 1915 letters of Ursula Carter who worked as a nurse during World War I
One of Australia’s most influential radiologists and medical researchers Dr Janet McCredie AM
