Carol Schwartz AO is one of Australia’s most influential business and community leaders, celebrated for her dynamic career spanning property, the arts, finance, investment, entrepreneurship, government, and health.

A prominent public voice, Carol is a passionate advocate for women’s leadership in politics, media, policymaking and allocation of capital.

Carol has been recognised via accolades including an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019, Honorary Doctorates from Monash University and Queensland University of Technology, induction into the Australian Property Hall of Fame, and a Centenary Medal. She has also been named one of Australia’s most influential women by the Australian Financial Review and Westpac’s 100 Women of Influence Awards and is a member of the Victorian Women’s Honour Roll. In 2020, she received the nation’s highest philanthropic honour, the Leading Philanthropist Award by Philanthropy Australia.

Carol’s current board roles include Deputy Chair of the Governance Board, Reserve Bank of Australia, Chair of EQT Holdings Limited and the Climate Council, and Director Trawalla Group.

As Chair of the Trawalla Foundation and Women’s Leadership Institute Australia she has championed transformative gender equality initiatives such as Pathways to Politics for Women, WLIA Fellows and Women for Media research series. She is also the Founding Chair of Our Community, a member of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Women’s Leadership Board, and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership Advisory Board at King’s College.

Carol has been a longstanding investor and supporter of female entrepreneurs, and in 2022 established the Female-Led Ventures investment portfolio focused on female fund managers and female founders for strong commercial returns. Carol is the Australian Lead and Global Advisory Board Member for Beyond the Billion, and was a Co-Founder of Scale Investors.