NICOLA WAKEFIELD EVANS, AM

Chair
MetLife Australia

Nicola is the Chair of MetLife Australia and an independent non-executive director of the Lendlease Group, Viva Energy, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the University of New South Wales Foundation Limited and the GO Foundation. She is also a Guardian of the Future Fund and a member of the Takeovers Panel. She was a non-executive director of Toll Holdings Limited from 2011 to 2017, Bupa Australia & New Zealand from 2013 to 2018, Asialink and Asialink Business (University of Melbourne) from 2011 to 2018, the Australian Institute of Company Directors from 2016 to 2022 and Macquarie Group Limited and Macquarie Bank Limited from 2014 to 2024.

Nicola is passionate about diversity and is the Chairman of the 30% Club Australia.

Nicola is an M&A and equity capital markets lawyer and spent nearly 30 years at King & Wood Mallesons (20 years as a partner). Nicola was involved in a number of significant and ground-breaking M&A and capital markets transactions and has advised some of the largest companies in Australia, Asia and globally. She has extensive experience in Asia where she advised a number of Asian and Australian companies in her legal career and where she has experience across Asia in her non-executive director career. Nicola had several management roles at King & Wood Mallesons including Partner in Charge (Sydney), Managing Partner, Practice (Australia) and Managing Partner, International (Hong Kong) and has lived and worked in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, New York and Hong Kong.

Nicola was selected in 2009 as a member of Advance Asia 50 – a group of the most influential Australians living & working in Asia and was selected in 2011 as a member of Advance Global 50 – a group of leading Australian women working outside Australia. The Australian Financial Review named Nicola in 2013 as one of the inaugural 100 Women of Influence. In 2023, Nicola was made a member of the Order of Australia.