Diane Lee Smith-GanderAO (born November 1957) is an Australian business executive. She holds and has held a number of governance positions on various boards, and is known for her championing ofgender equity. She was appointed chancellor of theUniversity of Western Australia (UWA) for a three-year term beginning in 2025, where she is also anadjunct professor ofcorporate governance and previously chaired the advisory board of the university'sBusiness School.[1] Other roles include as chair of the inaugural Nominations Committee for theWorld Anti-Doping Agency.
Diane Lee Smith-Gander was born in November 1957[2] and grew up inAlfred Cove, a suburb ofPerth,Western Australia. She attendedMelville Senior High School.[3] Her mother, Betty, was a teacher and taught accounting.[4]
She began studying science at UWA, but after her second year changed to economics.[3] She also holds an MBA from theUniversity of Sydney.[5]
She played basketball for Western Australia[6] as a junior and senior, and played in the leagues that preceded theWomen's National Basketball League. She was first involved in her local basketball association, and later as a member of the WA Basketball Association tribunal.[7]
Smith-Gander left Perth around 1994.[4]
She started her career in banking, working in banking operations, technology solutions, andchange management roles forWestpac. She also worked in the United States andHong Kong for the international management companyMcKinsey & Co,[8][9] becoming a partner in that firm.[10]
She has held a range of governance positions, including the role of commissioner ofTourism Western Australia, non-executive director ofCBH Group, and deputy chair ofNBN Co.[6] In 2007 she became a full-time company director.[8]
Since September 2019 she has chaired the inaugural Nominations Committee for theWorld Anti-Doping Agency,[7] which was created in order to ensure that the right people are recruited to serve in senior governance roles within the organisation.[11]
As of 2024[update] Smith-Gander is on the advisory board of Whiteoak, as well as chair ofZip Co Limited (non-executive, since 2021[6]), DDH1,HBF Health and national chair of CEDA[10] (Committee for Economic Development of Australia)[12] since 2020.[6] In 2023 she became a non-executive director of Perenti, becoming chair in 2024.[6] The CEDA and UWA Business School roles are servedpro bono.[7]
As of 2024[update] she is also a professor of corporate governance at UWA, and on her appointment in 2019, became the first woman to chair the advisory board of the university'sBusiness School.[6] In June 2024, Smith-Gander was selected to succeedRobert French as chancellor of UWA, beginning her term at the start of 2025.[13]
She is an adjunct professor of corporate governance at UWA, and on her appointment in 2019, became the first woman to chair the advisory board of the university'sBusiness School.[6] In June 2024, she was elected to succeedRobert French in a three-year term as chancellor of UWA. In October 2024, the UWA Student Guild voted to express no confidence in Smith-Gander “for her personal links to apartheid Israel and her opposition to the anti-genocide Palestine solidarity movement.”[14] She was sworn into the role in February 2025, making her the first female chancellor in the university's history.[15]
Smith-Gander is an advocate for gender equity and has written several articles in theAustralian Financial Review.[16]
She chaired the Australian Sports Drug Agency in the lead-up to theSydney Olympics in 2000, and was then on the steering committee aiming at the unification of basketball during turbulent times in 2008. She become a member of the board ofBasketball Australia, and was later appointed chair.[7][6]
She was elected president ofChief Executive Women in November 2014, effective 1 January 2015.[17]
She also serves pro bono as deputy chair of the council forMethodist Ladies' College (MLC).[7]
In November 2023, during theGaza war, she wrote an opinion piece explaining why she signed a petition, along with 600 other business and community leaders, "Say no to antisemitism". In it, she says that "There is no place for hatred in Australia" And 'Condemning antisemitism doesn't make me a cheerleader or apologist for everything that happens in Israel. There are things that should be changed. I see Israel as wonderful, challenging, confronting and inspiring in equal measure'.[18]
She additionally compared the 'open door policy' of Israel creating a 'vibrant start-up nation' with Australia's reduction in international students. Commending 'the role that theIsraeli Defense Forces play in talent identification and by the way they nurture lifelong networks'.[18] This is noted as open support of the IDF and Israel during the war.[citation needed]