Former Axa Asia Pacific Holdings chief Andy Penn has been made an officer of the Order of Australia in this year’s Australia Day honours, recognised for his service to business, charities, youth and the arts.  

Melbourne-based Mr Penn spent 21 years at Axa Asia Pacific Holdings, finishing as Group CEO in 2011. He stood down as CEO of Telstra last year after more than a decade at the Telco.  

Mr Penn’s roles have included supporting the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Australia's Cyber Security Strategy Industry Advisory Panel, The Big Issue, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, National Gallery of Victoria, Male Champions of Change, Very Special Kids, and the Hospice Rebuild Capital Campaign. 

Named Insurance Executive of the Year in 2008, he was on the Financial Times’ HERoes list for supporting women in business in 2018, among the Australian Financial Review’s most powerful people in business in 2019, and awarded the Creative Partnerships Australia Business Leadership Award for engagement between Business and the Arts in 2020.