The Centre for Policy Development (CPD) is delighted to announce the appointment of Zoe Whitton as the new Chair of the Board, as Acting Chair Dr. Don Russell steps down from the board after his term limit of six years.
Zoe has been a member of the CPD Board for five years, and brings extensive expertise in strategy, leadership, climate change and sustainable finance from her role as Managing Director at Pollination, a climate and nature solutions firm. Her deep expertise, coupled with a strong dedication to addressing complex global challenges with ambitious yet practical solutions, uniquely positions her to guide CPD at a pivotal time.
The CPD Board and Executive extends its deepest gratitude to Don for his exemplary service over the past six years. Don has been a member of CPD’s Board since 2018, appointed Deputy Chair in 2022, and served as Acting Chair from April this year. His guidance and support have been invaluable to CPD’s impact. With decades of leadership across both government and private sectors, Don has played a crucial role in developing CPD’s work and is a particular champion of our Create-Connect- Convince method. During his time with CPD, he has been instrumental in shaping its influence and driving significant policy reform in areas such as climate disclosure, energy transition, Future Fund reforms and more.
CPD is also pleased to launch its new strategy (2024-27), which sets out a refined vision for a fair, sustainable and thriving society and wellbeing economy that serves current and future generations in Australia and Southeast Asia. Over the course of this strategy, CPD’s work will comprise four interrelated focus areas: a wellbeing government in Australia; just transition in Australia and Indonesia; social services reforms; and forced migration in Southeast Asia. The new strategy also contains a revised mission/vision, success criteria, prioritisation criteria, organisational culture, methodology and CPD’s unique value proposition.
As CPD embarks on an ambitious new strategy, the vision and energy of Zoe, along with CPD CEO Andrew Hudson and the entire Executive team, will be instrumental in driving our mission forward, amplifying our influence, and ensuring CPD continues to lead in shaping transformative systems change through practical policy solutions for Australia and beyond.
