Marie McDonald

Background

Marie McDonald is based in Victoria, Australia. Before entering legal practice, she completed a Bachelor of Science with first-class honours, majoring in chemistry. She subsequently studied law at the University of Melbourne, graduating with Bachelor of Laws with honours. Her scientific and legal training preceded a career focused on corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and the governance of major Australian companies and research institutions.

Education

McDonald studied at the University of Melbourne, completing a Bachelor of Science with first-class honours, with a major in chemistry, before obtaining a Bachelor of Laws with honours. Her education combined scientific training with legal study and preceded her specialization in corporate and commercial law, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.

Career

McDonald practised corporate and commercial law for more than three decades. She became a partner of Blake Dawson Waldron in 1990 and later served as a senior partner of Ashurst after the firm adopted the Ashurst name, remaining with the practice until July 2014. She specialized in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and commercial law, and held the position of national head of the firm's mergers and acquisitions practice. Her work included advising on major transactions involving Australian and international companies, including Alinta's infrastructure initial public offering, PetroChina's proposed joint venture bid for Arrow Energy, and the proposed merger between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. After leaving private practice, she developed an extensive non-executive career. She joined the CSL board in August 2013 and served until October 2025, and she has also served as a director of Nanosonics, Nufarm, and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. She joined the Telix Pharmaceuticals board in March 2025 and remains a non-executive director of Nanosonics and Nufarm.

Achievements

• Served as national head of the mergers and acquisitions practice at Blake Dawson and Ashurst.

• Led legal teams advising on major Australian and cross-border transactions, including Alinta's infrastructure initial public offering, the proposed PetroChina bid for Arrow Energy, and the proposed BHP Billiton–Rio Tinto merger.

• Built a substantial post-practice governance career through non-executive directorships in biotechnology, medical technology, agricultural chemicals, and medical research.

Membership

McDonald has participated in major Australian corporate-law and governance bodies. She was a member of the Australian Takeovers Panel from 2001 to 2010, deputy chair of the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia in 2010 and 2011, and chair of that committee from 2012 to 2013. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors' Law Committee and has served on the Melbourne University Law School Foundation Board since 2021.

• Served as a panel member.

  Australian Takeovers Panel , Australia

  2001 - 2010

• Served as deputy chair in 2010–2011 and chair in 2012–2013.

  Law Council of Australia, Business Law Section Corporations Committee , Australia

  2010 - 2013

• Serves as a committee member.

  Australian Institute of Company Directors, Law Committee , Australia

• Serves as a foundation board member.

  Melbourne University Law School Foundation Board , Australia

  2021 - present

Connections

McDonald's professional connections have included the Australian Takeovers Panel, the Law Council of Australia's Business Law Section, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the University of Melbourne, and the boards of CSL, Nanosonics, Nufarm, Telix Pharmaceuticals, and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.

References

• Nufarm: Marie McDonald Documents McDonald's legal career, board appointments, committee memberships, and service on the Australian Takeovers Panel and Law Council of Australia's Corporations Committee.
• Nanosonics Board of Directors: Marie McDonald Documents McDonald's appointment as a Nanosonics non-executive director and her corporate-law background.
• CSL Annual Report 2026 Documents McDonald's service as a CSL non-executive director from August 2013 until her retirement on 28 October 2025.
  2026
• Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Annual Report 2016 Documents McDonald's education, legal career, service on the Australian Takeovers Panel, Law Council committee leadership, and appointment as a WEHI director.
  2016
• Melbourne University Law School Foundation Board Documents McDonald's University of Melbourne legal education and service on the Melbourne University Law School Foundation Board.