Ms Christine Dacey has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, commencing on 2 December 2024.
The Chair of the Trust, David Trebeck, said he is delighted that Christine will be heading the Trust’s capable national secretariat team, who have just hosted another highly successful onboarding event for 2024 Churchill Fellows.
Christine has an impressive track record leading senior teams across the Commonwealth public service. She spent 18 years in the Senior Executive Service, working across issues such as education, national security, taxation and immigration. During COVID, as a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Transport, Christine headed the team keeping the aviation sector viable. Her final role before leaving Government was Chief Operating Officer at the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts where she was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Department, including governance HR, ICT, resourcing, risk, audit, legal, data and communications.
More recently she has been undertaking a portfolio of roles outside Government, including as a board member of the Ginninderry joint venture (a large-scale residential development project in Canberra) and as independent advisor to the Department of Veterans Affairs (both of which she will continue), along with various other governance, assurance and review projects, and as a strategic adviser to Churchill Trust partner, Yellow Edge.
Christine has a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics and Public Policy) degree from Griffith University and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
In commenting on her appointment, Christine Dacey said that: “the values and democratic approach of the WCMT – the freedom to explore, the wisdom of travel and open mindedness being available for all – resonate strongly with me.”
“My personal approach to leadership is founded on integrity and establishing genuine relationships – trusting my colleagues, being respectful, remaining open and positive to new and different perspectives. I am also a curious leader, keen to know and understand the world and deeply committed to personal connections and a life of learning.”