Lucy Turnbull AO FAICD pursuing progress

Lucy Turnbull AO FAICD has made her mark in local government, urban planning, community development, social policy, startups, not-for-profits and the private sector.

Productivity, efficiency and equality. Lucy Turnbull advocates for them in everything she does. Whatever endeavour she finds herself involved with, she aims to drive positive progress. 

“Progress is good, but some progress is better than other progress,” she tells the audience at a recent AICD NSW Women’s Lunch.

Born in 1958, Turnbull grew up in Sydney, watching the city change. 

“My dad was a barrister and I used to go into the city with him before all the big buildings were built in the late 1960s and 1970s. I remember in particular sunlight in the streets, the beautiful Victorian architecture that was taken down to create the barristers’ chambers in Phillip Street and the Supreme Court — and what was lost when those buildings went up.”

Her love of walking “as far as I can go” in Sydney and around the world shapes her stance on the need for liveability and accessibility alongside growth and urbanisation.

Turnbull’s career began in law and investment banking, where she specialised in commercial law and litigation. She became a partner and director at Turnbull & Partners Pty Ltd before taking chair positions at companies such as Immutep and WebCentral/Melbourne IT Group.

Community involvement

In local government, Turnbull made history as the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney, serving from 2003–04. Her tenure was marked by her involvement in urban planning and development, chairing several committees and contributing to strategic planning for the city.

At the Committee for Sydney, Turnbull brought together a diversity of businesses, government bodies and civil societies. 

“We grew it from a pretty small membership base. I recruited Tim Williams as CEO and he did an amazing job. I was chair and it was a great board, but Tim really charged the operational level.”

As chief commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission from 2015–20, where she was instrumental in strategic planning for metropolitan Sydney, Turnbull respected the diverse voices “talking about what they wanted for their city or what they thought was important for their city”.

“The Greater Sydney Commission was basically a startup enterprise in a government agency, working very collaboratively across many government departments and agencies. Every organisation you work for is different, with its own cultural values, size, scale and area of operation. In some ways, it was disruptive and challenged the status quo of siloed planning.

“I’m one of those people who firmly believes, from my own lived experience, that the more diversity you have at the table, the less likely you are to go down the rabbit hole of groupthink. Groupthink is a very pernicious and dangerous thing where you have so many people of the same background and perspective that they all just assume everything they’re doing is perfectly fine and nobody ever challenges them. Having diversity is of enormous value and assistance. It adds a richness and much better input.”

The recent pushback on ESG and DEI has been widely discussed in the past months. Excessive legislation and regulation can restrict innovation and productivity, she says. 

“When policies become a box tick, that’s when they erode their value and integrity. Wading through a whole lot of paperwork diminishes people’s respect for the objective.”

Identify where the areas of concern are and concentrate there, she says. 

“Do it in an effective way, not just a bureaucratic way. We’ve got to move away from that performative process. That’s when policy can be devalued.” 

A place of her own

Turnbull’s father, Thomas Eyre Forrest Hughes AO KC, a former federal Attorney-General, was born in 1923 in Rose Bay. Her great-grandfather, Sir Thomas Hughes, was the first Lord Mayor of Sydney. Husband Malcolm was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 2015–18.

Some lives are more public than other lives, Turnbull says, but everybody has the challenge of work-life balance — figuring out what you want to do and how you want to do it.

“When you are the Prime Minister’s wife or husband, you get to see an incredible array of Australia, Australian society in particular, and places in Australia. It is a fascinating and enriching experience. I’ll never forget some of the people I met. You travel internationally, but spend much more time at home, meeting incredible Australians, which is pretty inspiring.”

But you don’t have to be a prime minister’s wife to learn from everyday experiences. That is something everyone can do, she says. 

“I love tapping into the talent pool in a room and asking a lot of questions. I learn much more in the process by taking their knowledge and wisdom into consideration. My leadership style is inclusive, bringing in people who are deeply knowledgeable. I value that Australian quality of taking people as they are. Talk to everybody. Never talk down to people and never manage up or suck up.”

Having a voice

Turnbull served as chair of the Sydney Opera House Trust and on boards such as the Art Gallery of NSW, the Biennale of Sydney, the Festival of Sydney, the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Sydney Cancer Foundation and the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation. 

The Cultural Institutions Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 is currently under consultation before the NSW Parliament. This legislation would reserve a place on the boards of NSW cultural institutions for a director aged 18–28, aimed at attracting younger audiences.

“At the Greater Sydney Commission, we had a youth advisory panel. They had a diversity of views and could really thrash things out and be honest with you. The principle of getting younger voices at the table is really important and valuable. When we look around at boards and CEO pipelines, even in politics, we’ve made some progress, particularly on gender. But there’s more work to do, including on cultural diversity. People need to tap into the enormous seam of human capital and talent from the widest possible pool. Tune into who’s out there. It’s good to hear from them, even if you don’t agree with them.”

Turnbull says boards should be responsive to global and technological change. “They have to be aware things are changing and can change quite quickly. Be well informed and make wise choices. There’s no substitute for wisdom.”

A skills matrix is essential to help boards identify gaps, and while advisory boards can be helpful, she prefers to create corporate knowledge within, rather than outsource it to consultants. 

“Incumbent directors should be encouraged to have ongoing adult education. When I’m looking at people to serve on boards or committees, I’m always impressed if they’ve done courses salient to what the organisation is doing.”

Encouraging talent

Unpaid positions on boards can deter voices that should be part of the discussion, says Turnbull. For example, serving on the board or senate in the university sector is voluntary, which filters out people earning an income, who cannot afford the time. But executive roles in that sector can be very highly remunerated. 

“Is it time to recognise that volunteers put in a lot of time and pay them for their high level of accountability? Otherwise you screen out people who may be brilliantly qualified. Traditionally, you don’t get paid on charitable boards. That screens out young people who cannot take the time to be involved. If you paid them, that would open the field up more.”

Nurture and grow

Turnbull and her husband established the Turnbull Foundation more than 20 years ago to further their charitable endeavours. 

“My major contribution, apart from urban planning and championing coordinated planning, is in helping NFPs and other charities and foundations we’ve supported,” she says. “Being on the board and nurturing small organisations in the private, philanthropic and even government sectors — helping them to grow.”

Her involvement with the Sydney Children’s Hospital began when one of her children needed asthma treatment. That led to her first chair position. 

“I promised myself, if I had a chance to help, I would. In my early 30s, I was asked to chair the appeal committee. That was the initial one.”

The Turnbull Foundation has supported various startup enterprises covering issues from domestic violence to cultural institutions, healthcare and animal care at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital. 

“I really admire the determination, tenacity, drive and vision of people who start NFP organisations around a noble cause.”

Advice for emerging directors

Turnbull encourages all directors to dive into technology and to find people around them who can “give you confidence and build you up”.

“It doesn’t have to be a formal mentor relationship. There are bridge builders, formally and informally, all around the place in the private and public sectors. As I progressed through my career, I promised myself if I ever got into a position of responsibility, I’d pull as many women up with me as I possibly could.

“I’d tell my younger self, don’t be shy. I was terrified of public speaking. Now,  I would tell any child I knew to do public speaking at school. It’s such an important foundation for communication skills. Do what you love. Find something you’re passionate about and maintain a high level of curiosity about it. You just keep learning and growing.”

This article first appeared under the headline 'Positive progress' in the August 2025 issue of Company Director magazine.