Building outcome focused boards with Andrew Stevens

Company Director is beginning a new regular feature, profiling some of Australia’s leading chairs. First up is Andrew Stevens, chair of the Champions of Change Coalition.

How did you spend your early years?

I was born in Adelaide, South Australia. Both of my father’s parents died aged 46. Dad, who didn’t get on with his stepfather after his mother remarried, threw himself into golf to escape his unhappy family situation. After tremendous golfing success, and convinced he was going to die young like his parents, Dad decided he had to knuckle down. His original idea was the Sunnyboy orange drink, sold in tetra-packs. [1980s band Sunnyboys took their name from the popular childhood drink, associating it with “bright, happy, young, fun”.]

When I was six, we moved to Sydney so Dad and his partners could build the business, of which Sunnyboy was just the start. He wouldn’t let me or my younger brother or sister learn golf, as he’d seen too many people like him who got hooked on it early. We all felt part of the business — the creativity, the innovation, the reward for effort. It was an optimistic time.

Who were your most important influences?

My mother had been an Ansett flight attendant. Her family, one side of which had northern German heritage, were a big influence. It was about humility, resilience, not believing your own PR and just getting on with it. It’s an approach that serves aspiring directors well. Do your job properly and the opportunities will follow, is my advice.

Another other big influence was my school, Barker College, going co-ed for years 11 and 12 when I was there. Suddenly, there were highly intelligent girls and very good sportspeople. That was very beneficial, including learning about respectful relationships. I did a lot of school drama. My favourite was playing Will Roper in A Man For All Seasons. I’ve still got friends, male and female, from that period.

What did you study at university?

I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and just thought I wouldn’t mind running a business one day. So I did a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting, finance and systems at UNSW. I had to knuckle down and my grades improved dramatically. It showed me that knuckling down was a lot better formula than skylarking. A few years later, while I was working, I did a Master of Commerce in marketing at UNSW.

What was your early career path?

I went to Price Waterhouse as a undergraduate vacation employee in 1979 and started there in a graduate position in 1981. One of the great people I worked for there was Catherine Livingstone AC FAICDLife, who was the manager on the Reckitt and Colman audit at the time. After some time in audit, I moved to a consulting role.

What was your first big executive role?

As chief operating officer (COO) leading the successful merger and integration of the consultancies of Price Waterhouse with Coopers & Lybrand, to form PwC in 1998. Then leading the integration when IBM acquired PwC’s consulting arm in 2002.

How did your first directorship come about?

It was the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) board in 2011. I was managing director of IBM Australia, which was an ACO Life Patron, and the IBM MD was a board member. I met Tony Shepherd AO on that board, which led to director opportunities at GWS Giants and the Business Council of Australia Innovation Taskforce.

What makes a good — or bad — chair?

People will mostly talk about the chair making sure people are involved, that everyone can talk — in other words, managing the process of meetings rather than the outcomes. Of course, that’s important. But it’s just the table stakes. A good chair understands really, really deeply the issues the company, organisation or initiative is facing. They get the “what” and the “why” and can navigate the board there and keep people focused on outcomes. I like chairs who have an opinion and have the experience to back up that opinion.

Probably the second element is that our director community is primarily skilled in protection and prevention — in other words, risk avoidance. They’ve got a risk-mitigation orientation. But really good chairs are about creation and augmentation.

Chair and CEO are key roles in any organisation. What is their optimal relationship?

Aligned and open. Aligned on the priorities — on the “whats” and “whys” — and open when it comes to performance and performance management, in both directions, so they can really talk. Where I’ve seen that happen, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s so powerful. It’s a much more productive and enjoyable environment to work in. There’s no ego with the chair or CEO. They have high standards, clear objectives and no ego.

The step change from director to chair is a big one. What was that like?

It’s only been a year and a bit, so it’s still in progress. But it’s sort of like the buck stopping with you. The Champions of Change directors are serious, busy, capable people. It’s partly my role as chair to make sure we’re not wasting their time — getting the best out of them while helping them achieve the reason they want to be on this board.

Do you have any role models as a chair?

Stockland chair Tom Pockett MAICD is an exceptional chair. He speaks last on almost every occasion. He’ll engage and intervene if things are drifting, and he has a very good and open relationship with the CEO, Tarun Gupta GAICD. The financial performance of Stockland is demonstrating that.

Diane Smith-Gander AO FAICD at Zip Co is the other. Zip had a near-death experience not long ago. She spoke to Cynthia Scott GAICD and asked her to be CEO for Australia, then to be the group CEO. The financial performance of Zip is now quite remarkable. It’s one of five companies that doubled in value in the 2025 financial year. My relationship with Tom and Diane, getting their insights, is special. I’ve found mentors and role models all my career, but they’re two really good examples.

What are the key principles of your approach?

In all things — private sector, public sector, profit, not-for-profit, listed, unlisted — it’s the same. A problem well defined is half-solved. It’s a lesson my father presented in all those family discussions around the dinner table — you have to understand the “why”. Formulate the ends and the means will become apparent.

How do you maintain your ethical values when the pressure is on?

You go deep and make sure the end result aligns with the purpose. For example, as a director of the GWS Giants when the club was being established, we were under pressure from the AFL to generate revenue. Unlike a number of clubs formed in the past, we made a conscious decision not to have a registered club or poker machines because we thought it would be a negative for our members and community. Our members, our players and  our management all supported us in that decision. Even though it made our relationship with the AFL more difficult, it was the right call.

You’ve been a Champions of Change member since 2011 and chair since 2024. How did you become involved?

Outgoing IBM Australia MD Glen Boreham AM FAICD introduced me to the organisation when I succeeded him. Glen was a member. He had twins, a boy and a girl, and he thought it abhorrent that the male would have better prospects in life than the female just because of gender. He said, “You’ve got to talk to [founder] Liz Broderick AO.” And I did. I’m a great believer in equality of opportunity. It’s about freedom, opportunity and safety for all.

The pressure is on elsewhere. Here we are in Australia, several months into 2025, and we haven’t lost one member. No-one has been told by their headquarters that they have to get out of anything that relates to diversity and inclusion. In fact, the resolve of our members is stronger than it’s ever been. Others in this space would tell you their experience is the same.

Last word?

We could, all of us, reflect more on the “whys” and “whats” of what we’re doing — the problem definition we have, the outcomes we’re trying to achieve and how we’re engaging the board in  that process. Not many board reviews, in my experience, focus on that. It would make a big difference if we did.

Andrew Stevens did finally take up golf — at 28, something of a late start. He plays off 14 at his home club, Pymble GC, and is fond of Tasmania’s Barnbougle links course. His favourite club is his 3-wood. “I don’t hit the ball all that far, so I’ve got to get up near the green to have a decent chance at a close chip. I rely on that club.” His wife, Pip, also plays, but only one of their three children, son Will, has followed suit.

This article first appeared under the headline 'Focus on the outcome' in the October 2025 issue of Company Director magazine.