Bill Ferris

William Duncan Ferris (born 4 May 1942) is an Australian philanthropist and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Ferris Foundation, which supports the arts and culture in Australia, and he is the author of three books. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for service to the community through a range of philanthropic endeavours.

Early life and education
Ferris holds an Honours degree in economics from the University of Sydney and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School where he graduated as a Baker Scholar in 1970.

Career
Ferris began his career as a lawyer before becoming an entrepreneur in the 1970s.

Ferris has managed several major organizations throughout his career. He served as a director of the Reserve Bank of Australia from 1990 to 1997. He was chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1993 to 1996. He has also served on the boards of several companies, including Qantas, BHP, the Commonwealth Bank, Accolade Wines Australia and UK, Austar, Macquarie University Asia Pacific Council, Austal and the Australian Institute of Management.

Ferris founded Australia's first venture capital firm in 1970. He co-founded Australian Mezzanine Investments in 1987 with Joseph Skrzynski. In 1999, he teamed with Skrzynski again and Castle Harlan to create Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners, also known as CHAMP, which became a leading private equity firm in the Asia-Pacific region. CHAMP focuses on control investments in middle-market businesses in Australia and Southeast Asia. CHAMP raised its second fund with A$950 million of investor commitments in 2005 and its third fund with A$1.5 billion in 2010.

He also served a number of professional and community organizations. He was Chairman of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), stepping down in 1993 "after almost a decade". He served as an expert on the Federal Government's Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research in 2011. He was a member of the Australian government's Innovation Australia (later Innovation and Science Australia) from 2013 to 2019, becoming its chair in 2015. Other roles have included a Member of the Harvard Business School Asia Pacific Advisory Council, and Chair of the Federal Government's Health and Hospitals Fund Advisory Board.

Philanthropy
Ferris is known for his philanthropic work through the Ferris Foundation. He founded the Ferris Foundation in 1981, which has since become one of the largest philanthropic organizations in Australia. The foundation supports various initiatives, including the arts and cultural programs. The foundation has donated millions of dollars to various organizations and causes, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the Australian National Academy of Music.

Ferris has also personally served many organizations. He became the Chair of the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund in 2020. This is a government fund that "will provide $450 million over 10 years from 2022-23 to support innovative early stage health and medical research in Australia". He was Chair of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and inaugural chair of the government's Innovation and Science Australia Board.

Awards and honours
Ferris has also been recognized for his contributions to the arts and culture in Australia. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990 for services to the export industry. In 2005, he was awarded the Australia Council's prestigious Don Banks Music Award for his support of Australian music. The same year, he was Entrepreneur Champion in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award In 2008 he received the first Asian Venture Capital Journal Lifetime Achievement Award, and also the first AVCAL Lifetime Contribution Award. In 2014 he was awarded the "Leader of the Year, Asia-Pacific", in the Private Equity International Awards.

In the 2008 Australia Day Honours List, he was elevated to a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) "for service to the community through a range of philanthropic endeavours, as a leader in support of medical research, and to business and commerce through ongoing roles supporting Australian exports, venture capital and private equity."