37 Facts About Sam Mostyn

Sam Mostyn was a board member of numerous companies and organisations, including Mirvac, Transurban, GO Foundation, the Climate Council, Virgin Australia, and the Sydney Swans.

Samantha Joy Mostyn was born on 13 September 1965 in Canberra, the eldest of four sisters.

Sam Mostyn lived in Melbourne, the United States, and Canada.

Sam Mostyn played a lot of sport as a child, and loved to watch Australian rules football, although she did not have the opportunity to play.

Sam Mostyn has recalled attending the ANZAC Dawn Service each year with her family.

Sam Mostyn has held many non-executive roles in business and government, and has been involved with advocacy organisations and issues that relate to climate change, gender equality, Indigenous reconciliation, and environmental sustainability.

Sam Mostyn's work has included roles in business strategy, human resources, culture change, risk management, and community engagement.

Sam Mostyn worked as a solicitor for Freehills and Gilbert + Tobin.

In 1992, Sam Mostyn joined the office of transport and communications minister Bob Collins as a senior policy adviser, specialising in intellectual property and advising on the introduction of pay television to Australia.

Sam Mostyn subsequently moved to the office of communications and arts minister Michael Lee, before briefly joining the Seven Network as a broadcast policy manager.

In 1995, Sam Mostyn was recruited by prime minister Paul Keating to work in his office as a communications policy adviser.

Sam Mostyn was appointed by Keating to the board of the organising committee for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where she served until 1996.

In 2022, Sam Mostyn was appointed by the Albanese government as chair of its Women's Economic Equality Taskforce, a post which she still holds as of April 2024.

Sam Mostyn joined telecommunications company Optus in 1996 after leaving Paul Keating's office.

In 2000, Sam Mostyn returned to Optus as director of human resources and corporate development.

Sam Mostyn moved to Insurance Australia Group in 2002 as group executive of culture and reputation.

In 2005, Sam Mostyn was appointed to the AFL Commission as its first female member.

Sam Mostyn served as a commissioner until 2016 and was a key figure in the development of the Australian Football League's Respect and Responsibility Policy, as well as an advocate for the creation of the AFL Women's competition.

Sam Mostyn continues to support the community work done by the GO Foundation, established and run by former footballers Adam Goodes and Michael O'Loughlin.

In 2010, Sam Mostyn was appointed to the board of Transurban.

In 2021, Sam Mostyn was named by the Australian Financial Review as Australia's "most influential" company director, serving on boards with a combined market capitalisation of over $480 billion.

Sam Mostyn was appointed a director of Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety in April 2018, and was appointed chair on 3 March 2022, with her term set to end on 2 March 2026.

Sam Mostyn was National Mental Health Commissioner, and a past president of the Australian Council for International Development.

Sam Mostyn is a chair of the Climate Council and has written about bushfires and climate change for the Climate Council.

Sam Mostyn is a member of the Climate Change Authority.

Sam Mostyn was an inaugural board member of ClimateWorks Australia, an independent non-profit research centre focused on climate transition, co-founded in 2009 by the Myer Foundation and Monash University as part of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute.

Sam Mostyn is a founding supporter and chair of 1 Million Women, the women's climate action group.

Sam Mostyn is the first governor-general to have been born in Canberra.

Sam Mostyn has regularly written for, and been quoted in, the media.

Sam Mostyn has advocated for prevention of domestic violence and for support of Indigenous Australian women.

Sam Mostyn was a panellist on the Q+A TV show in March 2021, when audience members asked whether prime minister Scott Morrison's support for women "was genuine", following marches in early 2021.

Sam Mostyn described how the pandemic had "left women exhausted and deepened their inequality, particularly in the workplace" and that much of Australia's "luck" had been due to the undervalued work of women.

Sam Mostyn has commented on how quotas for gender equity in the workplace work, and how quotas within the AFL have led to improvements in the AFL and the AFLW.

Sam Mostyn has commented that a large number of woman leaders "sends a message to everybody that women are equal and improves overall culture".

Sam Mostyn has written in the Sydney Morning Herald about women and the economy.

Sam Mostyn commented that the election in 2022 would be a gendered issue, signing an open letter saying that widespread reform is needed to assist the return to the workplace for Australian women.

Sam Mostyn is married to barrister Simeon Beckett of Maurice Byers Chambers in Sydney, and has one daughter.