The Grattan Institute has named Aruna Sathanapally its new CEO, following the departure of Danielle Woods last year.
Sathanapally, who currently works as macroeconomy executive director at the NSW Treasury, will assume the role in late February as the think tank’s third CEO.
She will bring diverse experience to the role, having previously worked for Treasury’s Revenue division, the NSW Intergenerational Report, and health and justice reform.
Prior to this, she worked as a barrister and management consultant with McKinsey & Company in London. She did her master’s in law and doctorate at the University of Oxford as a Menzies Scholar and a John Monash Scholar.
Sathanapally said it was an honour to join Australia’s “independent public policy powerhouse”.
“I know from experience that Grattan has a well-earned and enviable reputation in government and beyond for intellectual rigour and innovative thinking,” she said
“Grattan’s Program Directors … are all recognised leaders and experts in their field.
‘I can’t wait to start working with them and the institute’s highly motivated research staff, to identify and advocate for better public policy in the interests of all Australians.”
Grattan Institute chair Lindsay Maxstead said Grattan was delighted to be able to hire someone of Sathanapally’s calibre.
“The Board is confident that under Aruna’s leadership, Grattan will continue to build its position as a permanent institution in Australian public life, to the benefit of present and future generations,” he said.
Sathanapally will follow in the footsteps of Grattan’s first CEO, John Daly, as someone with a professional background in both law and economics.
She said her breadth of experience in Treasury had prepared her well for the future.
“It has been a tremendously important time to be in public policy, and Treasury has given me such a breadth and depth of opportunities across policy, economics and public finance these past five and a half years,” she said.
“One of the really special things about NSW Treasury has been the people that have come into the organisation from such diverse backgrounds to improve people’s lives in NSW.
“I will miss working with so many of my colleagues and collaborators in the NSW government. I have learnt so much from you, and hope to stay connected in my new role.”
Former Grattan Institute CEO Danielle Woods departed in December last year for a new gig as head of the Productivity Commission.
She leaves after eight years at Grattan, including three-and-a-half as CEO.
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