Australian CFO Awards > Finalists Announced!

Finalists for the 2026 Australian CFO Awards have been announced, recognising outstanding finance leaders who are helping shape strategy, transformation and long term value across their organisations. Run by the Group of 100 in conjunction with Johnson Partners, the awards celebrate excellence in financial leadership, with winners selected by an esteemed judging panel comprising Yasmin Allen, Sarah Rennie, Alison Kitchen, Crispin Murray, Colin Storrie, Georgina Johnson, Inder Singh, Stephen Woodhill, Jason Johnson and Sung Ho Lee, a group of highly respected leaders from across Australia’s finance and business community.

This year’s finalists represent a diverse cross section of industries and organisations, highlighting the breadth of impact CFOs are having across the Australian and wider economy.

The 2026 finalists are:

ASX CFO of the Year

Alan Docherty, Group CFO | Commonwealth Bank (CBA)

Nick Vrondas, Group CFO | Goodman

Therese McGrath, CFO | Pepper Money

Richard Richards, CFO | Seven Group Holdings

Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner to be announced on the night

Private Equity CFO of the Year

Yvonne Le Bas, Group Chief Financial Officer | Resolution Life Australasia

Race Strauss, CFO | Virgin Australia

Deputy CFO of the Year  

Phil Clewett, Deputy Chief Financial Officer | Downer EDI Limited

Tali Ross, Deputy CFO | Endeavour Group

Lachlan Harris, CFO (and former Deputy CFO) | Santos

Deal Award | (IPO, Capital Raise, Transaction)

Prashant Murthy, Managing Director & Robin Khuda, Founder & CEO | AirTrunk

BHP

North Star Resources

Virgin Australia  

Investor Engagement Excellence  

Joaquin Gil, CFO | Brambles

Richard Richards, Group CFO | Seven Group Holdings

Michael Ackland, CFO & Group Executive, Strategy & Finance | Telstra

Sustainability Leadership  

CBA

Orica

Woolworths

Finance Team of the Year  

Australia Post

Resolution Life

WiseTech Global

Rising Star of the Year

Courtney Brener, CFO, Business & Private Bank | ANZ

Jane Kuang, Vice President of Strategic Projects | BHP

Adam Sanderson, Vice President Investor Relations | BHP

Sahil Khanna, Director & Strategy Leader | Westpac

Tom Renny, Head of Finance | Westpac

Winners of the 2026 Australian CFO Awards to be unveiled at the gala dinner, Thursday 12th March 2026 at the Ivy Ballroom, Sydney CBD.

The evening will also feature a panel discussion, moderated by financial commentator and media personality David Koch. The panel, “What makes a great CFO?“, will include Chair and Non Executive Director, Yasmin Allen AM, Head of Equities at Pendal, Crispin Murray and Stephen Gustafson, Partner Deloitte & Leader of Deloitte CFO Vantage Program.

Further details for the 2026 Australian CFO Awards and to buy tickets to the Gala Dinner are available here > https://events.humanitix.com/australiancfoawards2026