Wednesday’s appointment of Michelle Jablko to run the country’s toll roads giant Transurban brought to six the number of women in charge of this elite top 20 companies capitalised at more than $15 billion.
Jablko was widely tipped to succeed Scott Charlton at Transurban having been its chief financial officer for a couple of years. Meanwhile, the numbers suggest that it is the larger companies that have worked harder in fostering female talent and placing them in middle management roles that would provide a pathway to the top.
The number of women currently to be heading top 50 companies is nine or 18 per cent and includes Vanessa Hudson, the recently announced successor to Alan Joyce.