Kathy Townsend is a company director, advisor and mentor. She is a former Deputy Chancellor Swinburne University of Technology, and former First Assistant Secretary, Office of the Status of Women, Australian Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

In March 2020, she completed 21 years as Managing Director of a top tier executive search firm that assisted organisations in the Corporate, Government and Not-for-Profit sectors to identify exceptional candidates to fill positions at CEO, MD, GM and NED level.

Prior to establishing her firm in 1999, Kathy was a Partner with Amrop International. She came to the search industry from the government, where she was the Head of the Office of the Status of Women in Canberra. Kathy has worked in international development in Malaysia and Pakistan and maintains an interest in this field from both a work and personal perspective.