Catherine is a social entrepreneur on a mission to disrupt financial abuse and gender bias through smarter product and service design.
For the last decade Catherine has led business and industry-wide initiatives and advised governments on the hidden epidemic of financial abuse. A former bank executive, in 2019 she uncovered widespread abuse in online banking transactions and spearheaded whole-of-industry reforms to crack down on the practice.
Today she’s the international authority on financial safety by design. Her ground-breaking Designed to Disrupt reports and #respectandprotect campaign have catalysed 30+ Australian businesses representing more than 15 million customers across the finance, telecommunications, water, education and technology sectors to ban the misuse of their products and services for financial abuse.
Named an AFR|Qantas Woman of Influence in 2018, in 2024 she was recognised with a Shared Value Individual Bravery Award and a National Consumer Advocacy Award, alongside the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety and CHOICE.
Catherine is Adjunct Associate Professor UNSW School of Social Sciences, Chair of the ANU Student Safety and Wellbeing Committee, and an expert adviser to the Australian and NSW governments and International Finance Corporation.
Catherine was appointed as Australia’s first Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner in 2022 (revoked following the change of government). She is a previous director of the Diversity Council of Australia, deputy chair of the NSW Advisory Council for Women’s Economic Opportunity and advisor to the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).
