Bachelor of Business, 2012
Young Alumni Award
David Brennan is a senior executive in the investment management industry and a seasoned non-executive director across the finance services, healthcare and not-for-profit landscapes in Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.
David began his investment career at Macquarie Bank as a graduate and currently serves as the Principle - Business Development at AustralianSuper, which is Australia’s largest superannuation fund and one of the largest pension funds globally.
As treasurer of the foundation, A Start in Life (which supports disadvantaged young people in rural areas), he set about aligning the organisation’s financial and strategic goals.
As a young member of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, he helped establish mentoring and professional development events for his peers in the industry. He is now a Fellow of the Institute.
He was also the founding Chairman of the Dry July Foundation, which raises money for cancer support services and now operates in several countries.
More recently, David has focused on organisations whose goals align with his passion for health. He believes in ‘exercise as medicine’ and is currently Chair of the Australian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians.
As Director of the Society for Hospital Pharmacists Australia, David helps address issues such as the opioid epidemic. The wellbeing of doctors is in his sights as Chair of Doctors Health Service Australia. He also sits on the Board finance committee at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and promotes equal access to healthcare for all women.
I find I’m now in a position to help educate investors, both large and small, about how they can impact things like the environment or the community by making values-based choices on how they invest their savings or superannuation. The allocation of capital is an effective way to help big business understand expectations on not doing harm and focusing on good for the community.