Cameron Clyne (Class of 1985) is a significant member of the St Dominic’s College community. The Clyne family have a long tradition of being educated by the Christian Brothers, with Cameron’s his late father Tony educated by the Christian Brothers at CBHS Lewisham. Cameron and his two brothers Shaun (Year 10 -1986) and Justin (Year 10 – 1988) continued this tradition by attending St Dominic’s College. It is in honour of their late father Tony that the Clyne family has set up The Tony Clyne Bursary at St Dominic’s College.
Alumni Profile
Your time at St Dominic’s:
- What year did you graduate from St Dominic’s? 1985
- Looking back, what are some of your best memories or experiences from St Dominic’s? Age is dimming the memory a little and most memories are not academic! Not that i didn’t get a strong education but those memories go quicker. I remember Mr Hobbs and his Leyland P76, Mrs White and her ambidextrous use of chalk in Geography and Mr O’Connells science experiments. Trips to the old Leichhardt Oval for AMCO Cup games and the camps at St Columbus and Gerringong and the retreats at Mulgoa all provide memories probably best not shared through they remain very positive!
- How has your St Dominic’s experience impacted your life today? St Dominic’s was a very important and formative part of my life. The ages of 12 to 18 are incredible important phase in laying down the foundations of character and a school that instils those values helps you make the right choices throughout life. Having the opportunity to attend a school like St Dominic’s and be surrounded by great friends and teachers who genuinely were interested in you achieving your potential made a lasting impact. It was one of the motivators for my family to establish the Tony Clyne Bursary named after my late father to help other children attend the school and have the same experience I had.
About you:
- What did you do in the year immediately after graduating? After graduation I studied Economics, Political Science and Literature at the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1988
- What is your current role? What does a regular day look like? Since retirement I have become Chairman of Rugby Australia, as well as range of advisory roles across Western Sydney focusing on infrastructure and education. I am also a Director of Camp Quality which helps children aged 0-13 and their families deal with cancer. Each day is different but having a portfolio of roles allows me more time with my 16 year old son and 13 year old daughter and support my wife who is a full time artist.
- Provide a brief summary of your career since graduation: While at university I commenced an accounting internship with Arthur Andersen which I continued right through my studies. Upon graduation I joined full time and waa transferred for 2 years to New Zealand working on Banking Systems design for a major NZ bank. In 1990 I moved firms joining Price Waterhouse in Melbourne before transferring to their New York office in 1995. In 1997 I became a partner and returned to the Sydney office where I continued to focus on consulting to the financial services industry across Asia. In 2004 I joined the National Australia Bank in a strategy role before becoming CEO of their NZ business, Bank of New Zealand in 2007. In 2008 I was appointed Group Chief Executive before retiring from that role in 2014.
Alumni wisdom:
- What advice would you give to your past self when you were a student? Have fun. Without being depressing each stage of life after school carries greater responsibility and accountability. Knowing that I would have had a lot more fun and stressed less.
- What piece of advice would you give current St Dominic’s students? Listen to your parents. While lots of people will give you advice you need to remember that advice is free. Your parents advice is based on their experiences, because they know you the best and they genuinely have your best interests in mind. It is advice worth listening to.
