INTRODUCTION

Richard Stewart OAM is a highly accomplished professional services leader with more than 40 years’ experience in corporate finance, valuation, strategy, and governance. During his long career with PwC, including 26 years as a Partner, Richard advised boards and executives across more than 30 countries on matters of value, performance, and risk. His work spanned major industries and sectors — from mining and industrials to government, technology, and financial services — and he is known for combining analytical depth with clarity, warmth, and an inclusive style.

Throughout his career, Richard has found the greatest satisfaction in developing others — helping team members and colleagues grow into confident professionals and thoughtful leaders. His mentoring approach is pragmatic and grounded, focusing on the whole person to help them clarify their purpose, strengthen judgment, and achieve both professional and personal balance.

Drawing from a richly varied international background and a lifetime of experience in complex environments, Richard’s mentoring style blends intellectual rigour with empathy. Having navigated adversity early in life and led at the highest levels of global professional services, he brings a uniquely human perspective to questions of leadership, career transition, and sustainable success.

Richard particularly enjoys working with emerging and established leaders to strengthen their confidence, resilience, and sense of purpose — helping them align their professional impact with the things that matter most.

ThePartnerWhisperer team offers specialist one-on-one mentoring for Professional Services firms to take their Partners and Practice Leaders to an elite level.

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Richard’s professional journey has taken him around the world — from Sydney and London to New York and beyond — advising on some of the largest corporate transactions of the last two decades. He has lived and worked across three continents, speaks six languages (patchily, at times), and has led teams and engagements in more than 30 countries.

Outside of professional life, Richard is as comfortable in a fire station as he is in a boardroom. He has served for more than a decade as a volunteer firefighter with the NSW Rural Fire Service, including as Brigade President and Treasurer, and was awarded both the Medal of the Order of Australia (2015) and the National Emergency Medal (2022) for community service.

He is currently Chair of the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, where he leads one of Australia’s most respected charitable organisations supporting those experiencing poverty, homelessness, and disadvantage. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney and holds senior roles in several professional and international standards bodies.

When he’s not mentoring or serving his community, Richard is an avid traveller, reader, and lifelong learner. He has a passion for adventure — from flying and yachting to motorcycling — and believes in experiencing life to its fullest. He and his wife of more than 30 years enjoy exploring Australia’s coastlines, spending time with friends, and sharing stories from a life well-lived.