Narelle Hooper

Narelle Hooper's Biography

Narelle Hooper grew up in country NSW, where her family ran a dairy farm and a pub and her mum worked nightshift as a maternity sister. She was the first in her family to go to university and has been an enthusiastic learner in the world of ideas ever since.

During more than 20 years as a business journalist and editor she has worked for Australia’s leading media groups including the ABC, Fairfax Media and SBS TV and has interviewed everyone from Prime Ministers to the heads of the Reserve Bank and Treasury and global business leaders.

She is a highly regarded facilitator and keynote speaker, Narelle has had a long commitment to sustainable business leadership models and gender equality. She is Editor in Chief of the award winning Company Director magazine, published by the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a non executive director at The Ethics Centre and the Documentary Australia Foundation.

Among previous roles, she was Editor of the Australian Financial Review’s BOSS Magazine and founding co-chair of the Financial Review’s Women of Influence Awards and director of the women's global entrepreneurship accelerator SBE Australia.

In 2015 she co-authored the agenda-setting book New Women New Men New Economy (Federation Press) which shows how inclusive cultures drive innovation and sustainable growth. It was reprinted in 2016.

Narelle studied journalism at Canberra University, has a Masters in Management (Financial Management) from MGSM. She was on the steering committee that brought the Global Summit of Women to Sydney in 2018 and a member of the International Women’s Forum.