Factbox-Potential candidates as next chief of Australia’s central bank

7:31 pm Thursday, July 13th, 2023

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The head of Australia’s central bank will not be reappointed for a second term as the Labor government seeks a new pair of hands for an institution scarred by criticism over sharply rising interest rates, several media outlets reported on Friday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hold a press conference at 0940 a.m. on Friday (2340 GMT, Thursday).

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe’s current seven-year term is due to end on Sept. 17.

Here’s a list of people being touted as possible replacements.

* Michele Bullock, 60, became the first female Deputy Governorof the RBA when she was appointed in the role in April 2022. Acareer central banker, Bullock joined RBA as an analyst in 1985.She studied economics at the University of New England and amasters from the London School of Economics.

* Steven Kennedy, 58, the head of the federal Treasury since2019. He has also been a member of the RBA board during thistime. Kennedy was an economic adviser to Labor prime ministersKevin Rudd and Julia Gillard during the global financial crisis.He studied economics at Sydney University, and completed a PhDin health economics at the Australian National University (ANU).

* Jenny Wilkinson, 56, the head of the government’s Departmentof Finance and a former RBA staffer for more than a decade. Shehas been head of the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) andTreasury deputy secretary. She has an economics degree from ANUand a masters in public affairs from Princeton.

* David Gruen, 68, who is married to Wilkinson is anothercontender. Gruen heads the Australian Bureau of Statistics, andworked at the RBA from 1989 to 2002, rising to head of economicresearch. He joined the Treasury in 2003. He has PhD degrees inphysiology from Cambridge University and in economics from theAustralian National University.

* Martin Parkinson, 64, is a former top public servant and hasbeen chancellor of Macquarie University since 2019. He has beensecretary of Treasury, serving on the RBA board for four years,and secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.He has an economics degree from Adelaide University, a mastersfrom ANU and a PhD from Princeton.

* Guy Debelle, 56, a former RBA deputy governor who currentlyholds several part-time roles including as a director ofFortescue Future Industries and an investment adviser toAustralia’s second-largest super fund. Debelle ended 25 years atthe RBA by resigning in 2022 to work for billionaire AndrewForrest’s renewable energy unit. He has an economics degree fromthe University of Adelaide and a PhD from MIT.

* Another name touted in the media is former Bank of Canada official Carolyn Wilkins, who led a review into the RBA.

(Editing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)