Meet Sally Capp: Former Melbourne Lord Mayor and Serial Have-a-Goer 

After calling time on her 6 year stint as Melbourne Lord Mayor, Sally Capp reflects on her myriad of career changes along with the exciting future ahead. Part of that future includes joining ICMI as an exclusive speaker, something we’re all thrilled about. We had a chat with Sally to learn more about her fascinating story and zigzagging career journey.

 

Having a Go

“One thing that has propelled me to work in multiple different careers is that I’m a serial have-a-goer.” says Sally. 

Authentic to the tee, she describes herself as that “annoying kid in school where if somebody asked for a volunteer, I would always put my hand up.” She carried that attitude throughout her career, putting her hand up whenever a new opportunity came up, helping her enjoy an exciting range of different experiences throughout her career. She admits that being a have-a-goer means both ups and downs. 

“I acknowledge that it’s led to a lot of humiliations and embarrassments and I like to tell stories that include those experiences as well. I’m conscious of the fact that when you read people’s CVs, everything always sounds fantastic but it takes a lot of hard work and mistakes to get those positive outcomes.”

 

From Commercial Law to Breaking Glass Ceilings in Business

Sally kicked off her career as a commercial lawyer advising on public company listings, fundraising, mergers and acquisitions and then running a venture capital company. Her team built it up into an organisation listed on the ASX. At the time, she was just 1 of 5 women running an ASX listed company.

This was followed by a stint at ANZ in a senior role, where she learned a lot about running big businesses with 30,000 staff spread across different continents and understanding a lot about strategy and culture. A passionate Collingwood Football Club supporter, Sally also made history as the club’s first female board member.

 

Entering Public Life

A battle with thyroid cancer in 2006 inspired her to reassess her life and work for the public.

“It’s one of those personal experiences many of us have that can turn our careers on their heads.”

She decided to work for the Committee for Melbourne, a member based public policy group, where she served as CEO. 

“That was my first time really working closely with government.”

 

Around the World and Back Again

This was followed by an opportunity to become the first female Victoria Agent-General in London from 2009 to 2012, giving her some incredible experiences and new perspectives in an international role, where she focused on boosting investment into Victoria. 

Sally then came back to Melbourne and worked at KPMG as a consultant, followed by roles at the Property Council and Victorian Chamber.

“I went back into member land because when I look back now, I love advocacy and I love championing issues. I really enjoy the private sector but also that intersection with government.”

 

Leading Melbourne Through Challenging Times

In May 2018, Sally Capp was sworn in as Lord Mayor of Melbourne after a by-election, becoming the first woman to be directly elected to the position.

“It was a rash decision to put my hand up for Lord Mayor of Melbourne and I’m so glad I did, it turned into something so much bigger than I thought, the best role I’ve ever had,” she says.

“It was 6 years leading our city through acts of terrorism, a pandemic and so many other issues. It was a role of extremes, it was exhausting and exhilarating, it was about helping everyone from individuals through to driving one of the largest economies in Australia.”

“It’s given me a window into so many different issues and audiences and I’m so grateful for the opportunity that I had to lead and to be connected to the people of Melbourne in such extreme times.”

Key achievements include the redevelopment of the Queen Victoria Market precinct and the Greenline project along the Yarra River among her highlights as lord mayor.

After 6 years, Sally made the decision to stand aside. Sally is proud to be the first woman to be directly elected as Melbourne lord mayor and just the third woman to serve in the role.

“It’s actually really hard to put your hand up and campaign. I hope that with my encouragement more people and more women in particular will consider running for public office.”

 

What Sally’s Up to Now

Sally is now currently doing work with University of Melbourne as a Vice Chancellor Fellow. She is also involved in several charities, currently sitting on the board of the Olivia Newton- John Cancer Research Institute, the Mary Jane Lewis Scholarship Foundation and on the Melbourne University Business and Economics Board.

She’s also focusing on sharing her career insights as a professional speaker through ICMI. Some of the issues she focuses on are leadership, the future of work and the intersection of climate change and economics. 

“These days I talk about cities and leadership, particularly leadership during crisis and leadership during times of change. I speak a lot about women’s career issues as well.”

“During my time as Lord Mayor, Melbourne converted to 100% renewable energy through a big power purchase agreement, which was a first of its kind for local government.”

“The particular focus to me is in renewable energy, transition of systems, setting up a new distributed energy system. How you can do grassroots policies and initiatives while supporting the energy sector and ensuring the projects are commercially feasible, which is the key challenge going into the future.”

75% of the world’s emissions are generated out of cities, so we are the problem and also have to be the solution.” 

 

Book Sally as a Speaker Through ICMI 

Sally is an incredibly insightful, energetic and authentic speaker who has no shortage of personal and professional insights to share in her keynotes and panels, always ensuring relevance and resonance with each audience.

“I see my role with ICMI as an opportunity to continue to communicate with audiences that are important to me, to stay on top of issues and to continue to connect with people and make a positive difference.” 

 

 

Interested in booking Sally Capp for your next event? Call us now on 1800 334 625 or make an enquiry online.