Catherine Thrum – Life Membership

Catherine Thrum – Life Membership

Catherine joined Westpac’s IT risk team as a young UTS graduate and went on to spend an extraordinary 32 years in the risk function — which, in risk years, is basically legendary status.

She recently departed Westpac to take on a new challenge at the ASX, where she is now General Manager of Risk Governance, Business Management and Strategy. And in a twist of RMA history, the current CRO at ASX, Dirk McLeish, is a former RMA Treasurer and Life Member. At this rate, we’re starting to think the ASX is quietly assembling an elite squad of RMA alumni — either that, or they’ve cracked the code on succession planning.

Back to Catherine — her contributions to RMA Australia have been nothing short of remarkable. She’s been a foundation member for over 20 years, and her fingerprints are on almost every major initiative we’ve delivered.

She served 12 continuous years on the board, including two as President. She convened the Senior Women in Risk initiative and hosted our International Women’s Day events for eight consecutive years — always with insight, warmth, and just the right amount of crowd control.

She was the driving force behind our transition to webinar format, which tripled member engagement. She’s served as Secretary of RMA for the past four years. And she’s moderated 20 RMA events hosted by Westpac — which means she’s probably spent more time behind a podium than most of us have in front of one.

But Catherine’s impact goes far beyond the roles and titles. She brought energy, humour, and a refreshing directness to our board meetings — always delivered with a grin, a spark, and the kind of timing that could cut through a 20-slide presentation with one perfectly placed, “So… what are we actually deciding?”

Catherine, thank you for your outstanding contributions to RMA Australia. It is with great pleasure that I confer Life Membership on you today.