The Rodney Wylie Lectures
The Rodney Wylie Eminent Visiting Fellowship brings a globally respected visitor to the University each year to provide intellectual leadership and engage with alumni and the community through its annual public lecture series.
The 2026 Rodney Wylie Lectures:
Lessons in Global Influence from Wall Street’s Aussie Dealmaker
Jennifer Nason moved to New York from Melbourne in the 1980s and rose to become Global Chair of Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan, building a reputation as one of Wall Street’s most trusted dealmakers.
Across 4 decades, she advised on landmark mergers and acquisitions in technology, media and telecommunications, witnessing firsthand the transformations that reshaped the global economy – from mobile communications and the internet to AI.
For the 2026 Rodney Wylie Lectures, Nason returns to Australia to share candid insights on leadership, navigating disruption and influencing at the highest levels of business and government.
Event details
Rodney Wylie Lecture Melbourne
Tuesday 25 August 2026, 5:30pm for 6–8pm
Isabella Fraser Room, State Library Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC
Rodney Wylie Lecture Sydney
Wednesday 26 August 2026, 5:30pm for 6–8pm
Lecture Theatre, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney NSW
Rodney Wylie Lecture Brisbane
Thursday 27 August 2026, 5:30pm for 6–8pm
The Long Room, Customs House, 399 Queen Street, Brisbane QLD
Registations opening soon (free event)
About the presenter
Jennifer Nason
Jennifer Nason is a globally recognised corporate advisor and board director, and one of Wall Street’s most influential dealmakers. With more than 40 years’ experience in corporate finance, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions, she has advised leading global companies on industry trends, growth opportunities and transaction negotiations.
As Global Chair of Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan, Nason has led many of the firm’s most important client relationships worldwide, serving as senior relationship partner and overseeing global client teams. During her tenure, she also founded the firm’s first IT Business Development Group, helping to shape its technology and AI strategy, before retiring from the role in 2025. She currently serves on the boards of Accenture, Rio Tinto, Dodge & Cox and goop Kitchen.
About the moderator
John Wylie AC
John Wylie AC is one of Australia’s most respected financiers, recognised for his leadership across investment banking, asset management and public service. His career includes senior leadership roles at Credit Suisse First Boston and Lazard before founding Tanarra Group, an alternative asset manager with international reach.
He has advised some of Australia’s most significant companies and chaired key national institutions, including the Australian Sports Commission and the Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust and the State Library Victoria. As a UQ alum (Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) ’83) and Rhodes Scholar, Wylie maintains a strong connection with the University, notably through establishing this lecture series in honour of his father, the late Rodney Wylie OBE.
Watch the Rodney Wylie Lecture 2025
What's behind Japan's market transformation?
History
The Rodney Wylie Eminent Visiting Fellowship program was created in 2009 through a visionary gift from Mr John Wylie AC, and is named in honour of his father, Mr Rodney Wylie OBE.
Rodney graduated from UQ with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1948 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1950. He went on to have a distinguished career as a leader in the Australian accountancy sector, and as the non-executive director of several Queensland companies.
Rodney was awarded the Order of the British Empire – Officer (Civil) in 1988 for his contributions to the accountancy profession. In 2017, he was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame, which recognises outstanding contributions and achievements made by organisations, companies and individuals to develop the Queensland economy and society.
Previous Rodney Wylie Eminent Visiting Fellows
- 2025: Hiromi Yamaji, Group CEO of the Japan Exchange Group, Inc.
- 2024: Michel Barnier, former European Union Chief Negotiator following the 2016 Brexit referendum.
- 2023: Sir Peter Donnelly, CEO and Co-Founder of Genomics plc, and Emeritus Professor of Statistical Science at the University of Oxford.
- 2022: Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, CEO and Managing Director, Mirvac Group
- 2019: Dominic Barton, Global Managing Partner Emeritus and Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company
- 2018: Ben Gray, Founding Partner of BGH Capital
- 2015: Manuel Pinho, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
- 2014: Jean-Charles Rochet, Swiss Finance Institute Professor of Banking, Banking and Finance Institute, Zürich University
- 2011: David Carpenter, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Albany, New York
- 2011: Sharon Strauss, Professor in Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis
- 2010: Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences
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