Gordon Cairns
Major Career Roles:
- Chair of Woolworths Group Ltd
- Independent Director of Macquarie Group Ltd
- Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Co
- Chair of Origin Energy Ltd
- CEO of Lion Nathan Ltd
- MD of Pepsi-Cola Australia
Other Career Highlights:
- NED of Opera Australia
- Chair of Craveable Brands Ltd
- Chair of David Jones Ltd
- Chair of Rebel Group Pty Ltd
- Independent NED of Westpac Banking Corp
- NED of World Education Australia
- Independent NED of Seven Network Ltd
- Regional MD of KFC Corp Australia, New Zealand & South Africa
- Division CFO of PepsiCo Foods and Beverages International Ltd
Gordon Cairns has a wealth of professional experience from positions in beverages, food, finance, retail sectors and has held Senior Executive, Non-Executive Director and Chair positions across the UK, USA and Australasia markets in the public, private, and Not for Profit sectors.
Gordon Cairns is the former Chair of Woolworths, the Australian supermarket and drinks company. He was also the Chair of Origin Energy and CEO of Lion Nathan (the beverage business) and an Independent Non-Executive Director at Macquarie and Westpac Banking.
At PepsiCo, he worked in three continents over 10 years in marketing, operations and finance. He joined Lion Nathan, initially as the M.D. of their Australian beer business, and thence for seven years as CEO. During that period, the company was consistently recognised as a best employer, and he was awarded a “True Leaders” award on three separate occasions.
Additionally, he served as a Senior Advisor to CVC Australia, Archer Capital P.E., McKinsey, and most recently Luminis, an investment bank.
Gordon also served on the board of Good Return, a NFP in the microfinance area, which helps the poor of S.E. Asia.
