Bill Ferris, AC

Co-Chairman Investment Committee

Bill is Co-Chairman of CHAMP's Investment Committee. Before transitioning to the role of Co-Chairman in 2014 he was the Executive Chairman of CHAMP, a role he held since its formation in 2000, and of its predecessor, AMIL, which he co-founded in 1987 with Mr Joe Skrzynski. He is a 48-year veteran of private equity in Australasia, having founded Australia's first venture capital firm in 1970.

Most recently Bill was appointed by the Australian Government as Chair of the Innovation and Science Australia Board in November 2015.

He is also currently a member of the Harvard Business School Asia Pacific Advisory Council. Some of his former recent directorships include Chair of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Chair of the of the Federal Government’s Health and Hospitals Fund Advisory Board.

Bill was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990 for services to the export industry and, in 2008, was made Companion in the Order of Australia for his philanthropic activities as a leader in support of medical research and his role in the establishment of the private equity sector in Australia.

Awards honouring Bill's contribution to the private equity sector include Private Equity International 2013 "Leader of the Year, Asia-Pacific", the Asian Venture Capital Journal Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and an AVCAL Lifetime Contribution Award in 2008.

He holds an honours degree in Economics from the University of Sydney and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School where he graduated as a Baker Scholar in 1970. Bill is the author of three books: “Really Making a Difference” published December 1993, “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained” published March 2000, and “Inside Private Equity”, published January 2013.