Dr Aruna Sathanapally appearing at a Senate Committee hearing on behalf of the Human Rights Law Centre. Photo: Screenshot.
Public policy think tank the Grattan Institute has appointed a lawyer and senior NSW public servant as its new chief executive officer.
Aruna Sathanapally, currently executive director, macroeconomy, at the NSW Treasury, was named on Monday (8 January) as the next CEO of the highly respected research organisation.
“We are delighted to be able to appoint someone of Aruna’s calibre, intellect and standing,” chairman of the Grattan Institute board Lindsay Maxsted said.
“The board is confident that under Aruna’s leadership, Grattan will continue to build its position as a permanent institution in Australian public life, to the benefit of present and future generations.”
At the NSW Treasury, Dr Sathanapally previously led the revenue division, the NSW Intergenerational Report, and health and justice reform.
A former barrister and management consultant with McKinsey & Company in London, she did her masters in law and doctorate at the University of Oxford as a Menzies Scholar and a John Monash Scholar.
Dr Sathanapally becomes the third CEO of the Grattan Institute, following the inaugural chief executive John Daley (2009 to 2020), and Danielle Wood, who departed at the end of last year to become chair of the Productivity Commission.
Dr Sathanapally described the Grattan Institute as Australia’s independent public policy powerhouse.
“It’s an honour to take on this vital role,” she said.
“I know from experience that Grattan has a well-earned and enviable reputation in government and beyond for intellectual rigour and innovative thinking.
“Grattan’s program directors – Tony Wood in energy, Peter Breadon (health), Jordana Hunter (education), Brendan Coates (economic policy), and Sam Bennett as head of the new disability program – are all recognised leaders and experts in their field.
“I can’t wait to start working with them and the Institute’s highly motivated research staff to identify and advocate for better public policy in the interests of all Australians.”
Dr Sathanapally will start at the Grattan Institute in late February.
The think tank describes itself as ‘independent, taking the side of the public interest rather than interest groups’.
It receives no ongoing government funding and rejects commissioned work to ensure its independence.
“We are rigorous in obtaining the best evidence from our own data analysis and from published work,” it says in an online information statement.
“We are practical in identifying what governments should do to improve the lives of all Australians.
“And we believe in free access to good information; our reports, events, and articles are available online, without charge.”
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