Clare Payne

Clare Payne's Biography

Clare Payne is a leading voice on ethics in society. Clare advises businesses and leaders on ethics, good governance and trust. She is the author of two books, ‘A Matter of Trust – The Practice of Ethics in Finance’ and ‘One – Valuing the Single Life’ (2018), Melbourne University Publishing and distributed by Penguin.

Clare is a former employment lawyer and an accomplished marathon swimmer. She swam solo around New York City, a distance of 46 kilometres. She is the only person to have swum from Coogee Beach to the Sydney Opera House, a swim recorded in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

In 2007, prior to the global financial crisis, Clare’s paper ‘Ethics or Bust’ was awarded the inaugural Ethics & Trust in Finance Prize by the Observatoire de la Finance, Geneva. In 2010, Clare led the establishment of The Banking and Finance Oath (The BFO), a Hippocratic oath for those working in banking and finance.

Clare’s insights and experience into the power of the individual to make a difference and challenge the status quo are nothing short of remarkable. She has been recognised as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and an Australian ‘100 Women of Influence’.

She tracks trends and writes about their implications in her monthly ‘Ethical Lens' column in The Australian Financial Review and writes across a range of business publications. Clare draws from her experience as an employment lawyer and her time managing the Integrity office of a global investment bank.

Clare is the EY Fellow for Trust and Ethics and an Honorary Fellow of The University of Melbourne. She also works with Dr. Bronwyn King, founder of Tobacco Free Portfolios.

Speaking Topics Include

ENDURANCE, GOOD THINGS CAN TAKE TIME

Sprinters are rare and overnight successes rarer. The reality is that some things in life will just take time. As a former marathon swimmer who swam solo around New York City whilst holding a position as a lawyer at Macquarie Bank, Clare presents the power of endurance. Covering ocean swimming to a career focussed on ethics in finance, Clare gives a personal insight to values at work, the need for determination and believing the individual can make a difference.

SHE WILL HAVE HER SWAY: HOW THE RISE OF WOMEN’S WEALTH IS CREATING A MORE ETHICAL WORLD

Clare tracks the rise of women’s wealth and the implications for our world. How women save, spend and invest will shape our world for good. Learn more about the future that’s already underway.

This talk is based on Clare’s long-form essay ‘She will have her sway’ published in 2018.

MIND YOUR WORDS – HOW THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS IS SKEWING OUR MORAL COMPASS

The language of business talks of cost-benefit-analysis rather than what is right, resources rather than people and economic drivers rather than ethical dilemmas. It’s loaded with acronyms, abstractions and war references. Often it’s devoid of the language of ethics – allowing us to ignore our moral compass all together.

Clare highlights the common uses of language that can undermine ethics and provides a practical insight into how we can incorporate the language of ethics in our work lives. In this presentation Clare draws on her published work titled, ‘Limited Language, Big Blind Spots’.

A MATTER OF TRUST –THE PRACTICE OF ETHICS IN FINANCE

Clare covers the crucial role of finance in creating a better world and the power of every individual to contribute.

This talk is based on Clare’s book, ‘A Matter of Trust – The Practice of Ethics in Finance’, written with Paul Kofman, Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne University Publishing, 2018.

ONE – VALUING SINGLE LIFE

The rise of single people and everything outside of the nuclear family norm is the greatest unspoken demographic shift of our time. Clare presents the demographic facts, outlining the implications and calls on us all to re-think what makes for a good adult life.

This talk is based on Clare’s book, ‘One – Valuing the Single Life’, Melbourne University Publishing, 2018.

ETHICAL INVESTMENT FOR A TOBACCO-FREE WORLD

We live in what the World Health Organisation describes as the tobacco epidemic. Addressing investment in tobacco has been a missing piece in tobacco control, until now. Learn about the role of finance in creating a better world, free of tobacco.