David Feetham appointed as new Chair of the Australian Museum Foundation
10 February 2022, Sydney: The Australian Museum (AM) today announced the appointment of Australian Museum Trustee David Feetham as the new Australian Museum Foundation (AMF) Chair. Brian Hartzer, who was recently appointed as the Australian Museum Trust President, previously served as Chair of the AMF.
© David Feetham
Mr Feetham is Deputy Chairman of Gresham's corporate advisory business, Gresham Advisory Partners Limited. Originally from South Africa, he immigrated to Australia in 1978 and has degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Sydney. He has been an investment banker for 37 years and has also served on not-for-profit boards for 20 years focussed on education and improvement of living standards of women and girls in the developing world. He has a strong interest in education, the natural world and arts and culture.
As the new AMF Chair, Feetham will play a significant role leading the largest capital campaign the AM has ever undertaken to support the AM’s Master Plan and vision for the future. In this role, David will work closely with AM Trust President, Brian Hartzer, and AM Director and CEO, Kim McKay AO.
“Our donors and supporting partners have helped transform the Museum with significant capital investment for the first and second phases of Project Discover and our education, science and cultural projects. I am delighted to welcome David as the new Chair of the Australian Museum Foundation as we kick off our capital campaign and head towards the Museum’s 200th anniversary in 2027,” Ms McKay said.
“The AM has developed materially under Kim’s leadership and I look forward to continuing to support the institution’s transformation, working closely with her and Brian. I recall as a child my first introduction to the breadth of the natural world was through a local museum’s exhibitions. I was captivated and wanted to learn more. Philanthropy has the power to unlock the AM’s full potential to captivate other children and ensure the AM remains a world-renowned science, education and cultural institution for the next century,” Mr Feetham said.
“As the new AM Trust President, I will have the pleasure of working closely with David and the AMF to support the AM’s work and build strong relationships with our philanthropic and corporate partners to enable the AM to achieve its bold vision to be the leading voice for the richness of life, the Earth and culture in Australia and the Pacific,” Mr Hartzer said.
The AMF recently appointed two other new Directors, Andrew Yates (KPMG) and Massimo Belgiorno-Nettis. Details on the AMF and its Board of Directors can be found here.
