Suwanee Dharmalingam

Board Memberships

Non-executive director of The Diplomacy Training Program (DTP) and member of the Finance, Audit and Fundraising Committee:

DTP is an independent Australian NGO committed to advancing human rights and empowering civil society in the Asia Pacific region through quality education and training, and the building of skills and capacity in non-governmental organisations and for individual human rights defenders and community advocates. The DTP was founded in 1989 by HE José Ramos-Horta, 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Timor-Leste with Emeritus Professor Garth Nettheim (ex-Dean of UNSW Law & Justice). Since January 1990, the DTP has provided practical human rights training to over 3000 human rights defenders and community advocates in the Asia-Pacific and MENA (Middle Eastern and North Africa) region. 

Non-executive director for Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA), CERA Foundation and Finance, Risk and Audit Committee Member:

CERA is an international leader in eye research and uses world-class knowledge and expertise to achieve better treatments and faster eye disease diagnosis. It is deeply committed to conducting eye research with real-life impact and finding ways to prevent people from going blind. Its goal is to prevent avoidable vision loss within the Sustainable Development Goals and ultimately find cures to restore sight.

Work

Blake Dawson Waldron (Sydney) Solicitor in Corporate Commercial Division 1987 – 1989

NSW Attorney General’s Department Law Reform Commission as a Legal Officer 1990 – 1993 (Torrens Title Compensation for Loss reform and Personal Property Securities Reform joint Project with the Australian Law Reform Commission)

Australian Securities and Investments Commission: Office of the Chairman 1994 – 1996 (over-the-counter-markets and securities market reforms and regulation, International Organisation for Securities Commissions (IOSCO) - Working Party for international coordination of the reform of futures and securities markets

ANZ McCaughan/ANZ Securities 1996 – 1998 Compliance Manager establishing controls for the dealing room, commencement of investment advisory business

Macquarie Group Limited (licensed under Macquarie Equities Limited) Macquarie Bank Limited (licensed under Macquarie Private Bank) 1998 to date (22 years). Associate Director at Macquarie working part-time. Managing investments for professionals including medical and legal, families, small businesses, ex-pats, executives, SMSFs and retirees, and non-profits.

Community work and projects (existing)

Berry St Foundation, You Matter - advocacy, advice and fundraising

East-West Foundation of Australia, fundraising strategy and profiling

Murdoch Children’s Research - In addition to supporting with funding, I am also part of Macquarie Group’s 50th Anniversary Award Ambassadorship program supporting MCRI following Macquarie’s $A10 million grant given to the World Scabies Program

St Vincents Hospital East Melbourne Chairman’s business network, profiling, fundraising

I enjoyed the democratic and energised environment at UNSW law school driven by passionate colleagues, excellent academic staff, supportive administrators and the leadership of Professor Garth Nettheim. Paul Redmond and David Brown were influential in developing my understanding of business and human rights which has greatly influenced my Private Banking business model through early incorporation of the learnings of cultural, environmental and social governance and community work. UNSW law school had during my time, incredibly bright, pioneering and thought provoking lecturers, and the knowledge and techniques imparted to me by those talented academics have deeply influenced my approach to business and enabled my critical thinking and ability to integrate different viewpoints in whatever situations present.