Michael Easson
Michael Bernard Easson AM (born 22 March 1955 in Sydney) is an Australian businessman and former trade union leader. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1998.
Easson’s career began in 1978 as a research assistant to MP John Brown. He then joined the Labor Council of New South Wales (now Unions NSW) as education and research officer, becoming assistant secretary in 1984 and secretary from 1989 to 1994 — the youngest person ever to hold that role. He also served as vice president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (1993–1994) and senior vice president of the NSW Labor Party (1993–1995). While at the Labor Council he was managing director of Radio Station 2KY (1989–1994) and co-founded Asset Super (now part of CARE Super) and Chifley Financial Services in 1989.
In 1994, Easson resigned as secretary of the Labor Council after an unsuccessful bid to fill the Senate vacancy and a falling out with state secretary John Della Bosca. He moved to the private sector, joining Corrs Chambers Westgarth, and served on various boards, including as an independent director on Macquarie’s Industrial Property fund. He co-founded EG Property, of which he is executive chairman, and he is non-executive chair of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) and Ridley & Co. He also chaired Canberra’s renewal initiatives and later stepped down as chair of Icon Water in 2017 and retired from ANZ Stadium in 2016.
Easson has held numerous board roles, including positions with NSW State Superannuation Board, State Rail Authority, NRMA Insurance, Macquarie-Goodman, Barclay Mowlem, InTech, Macquarie Infrastructure Group, and various Kaldor family company boards. He was the inaugural chairman of the NSW Urban Taskforce (2000–2002) and foundation member of the National Competition Council (1996–1999). He led productivity reviews for the Australian Government and chaired the Review of Commonwealth Payments to Statutory Authorities (1995–1996).
Other notable work includes serving as adjunct professor of management at the Australian Graduate School of Management (1994–1998), senior vice president of UNICEF Australia (1998–2002), and director roles with the Museum of Contemporary Art (1999–2000) and the Sydney Symphony (1995–1996).
Education and family: Easson earned First Class Honours in politics from the University of New South Wales in 1976. He studied at Campion Hall, Oxford, and completed programs at Harvard Business School and Stanford. He holds a PhD in history from UNSW and a PhD in transport and urban planning from the University of Melbourne (2016), as well as an MSc in sustainable development from Campion Hall, Oxford. He is married to Mary Easson, a former federal politician, and they have two adult daughters.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:52 (CET).