Zygmunt Edward "Ziggy" Switkowski was born on 1948 and is a Polish Australian business executive and nuclear physicist.
22 Facts About Ziggy Switkowski
1.
2.
Ziggy Switkowski's family migrated to Australia when he was one year old and settled in Melbourne.
3.
Ziggy Switkowski attended St Bernard's College in Essendon, and earned a bachelor's degree in science and a doctorate in nuclear physics from the University of Melbourne where he was resident at Ormond College.
4.
Ziggy Switkowski moved to New York, becoming Kodak's director of business planning in 1985.
5.
In 1995, Ziggy Switkowski received the Advance Australia Award for outstanding achievement in industry and commerce.
6.
In 1996, Ziggy Switkowski became CEO of Australia's second largest telecommunications company Optus.
7.
On 1 March 1999, Ziggy Switkowski was appointed chief executive officer of Australia's public and largest telecommunications company Telstra, and to the board of directors of Telstra's pay television partner Foxtel.
8.
Ziggy Switkowski oversaw the implementation of the second tranche sale of Telstra on the Australian Stock Exchange, New Zealand Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange that began in September 1999.
9.
The first tranche sale of Telstra took place before Ziggy Switkowski was appointed CEO of Telstra.
10.
Ziggy Switkowski oversaw the planning for the third tranche sale of Telstra.
11.
Ziggy Switkowski resigned from Telstra on 3 December 2004, and was replaced by Solomon Trujillo.
12.
On 3 October 2013, Ziggy Switkowski was confirmed as the new chairman and interim CEO of NBN Co by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and reverted to the role of Non-Executive Chairman from 2 April 2014 following the appointment of Bill Morrow as chief executive officer.
13.
On 6 June 2006, Ziggy Switkowski was appointed to chair a Commonwealth Government inquiry into the viability of a domestic nuclear power industry.
14.
Ziggy Switkowski was later appointed chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation by federal Minister for Science Julie Bishop on 4 March 2007.
15.
Ziggy Switkowski was originally appointed to the board of ANSTO on 1 January 2006, but stood down when appointed to the inquiry.
16.
Ziggy Switkowski served as a non-executive director of the multinational packaging company Amcor from 1995 to 1999.
17.
In 2011 Ziggy Switkowski was serving as a director of rare earth miner Lynas Corporation as per the director's Share Purchase Notice.
18.
Ziggy Switkowski was elected chairman of Opera Australia and on the board of directors of the Business Council of Australia.
19.
On 27 October 2010, it was announced that Ziggy Switkowski would become the Chancellor of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
20.
Ziggy Switkowski was officially appointed to the position on 1 January 2011.
21.
Ziggy Switkowski is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
22.
Ziggy Switkowski is married and lives with his wife near Cape Schanck, on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula.