2024 Benefit Dinner - American Australian Association

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American Australian Association will be hosting its Annual Benefit Dinner on Wednesday October 30 2024 at Cipriani Wall Street, New York.

For over 75 years, the American Australian Association has connected our two cultures, guided our people and provided new opportunities for a diverse network of trailblazers. On October 30, we will celebrate the vision of Sir Keith Murdoch who in 1948 founded the Association to develop, broaden and strengthen the relationships between leaders of our two great nations in government and business while celebrating our honorees.

This year, we honor James P. Gorman AO, Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley, with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his storied career and tremendous leadership of one of the world’s largest and most respected banking institutions.

We also honor Yvette Ostolaza, Management Committee Chair & Executive Committee Member at Sidley Austin, for her groundbreaking leadership at the global powerhouse legal firm.

We are thrilled to announce Australian-American country music legend Keith Urban as this year’s Benefit Dinner entertainment. Recognized with four GRAMMY© Awards, thirteen CMAs (including 2x Entertainer of the Year), fifteen ACMs, three AMAs, two People’s Choice Awards and celebrated nine consecutive gold, platinum or multi-platinum albums, Keith Urban AO has achieved unparalleled success in both Australia and the US.

In addition, we will mark the success of our scholarship and exchange program, which has awarded almost US$18 million to more than 1,100 Graduate, Indigenous, Veteran and Arts scholars. Funds raised from the dinner will support the best and brightest next generation of innovative American and Australian leaders to build research capacity, develop solutions to pressing global issues, and continue to foster ongoing international collaborations. You will have the opportunity to hear directly from our alumni who have become notable thought leaders in their fields.

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For more information and sponsorship inquiries, please contact [email protected]

2024 Honorees

James P. Gorman is Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley.

Prior to assuming his current role in January 2024, Mr. Gorman served as CEO from January 2010 and Chairman from January 2012. He joined the firm in February 2006 and was named Co-President in December 2007.

Before he joined Morgan Stanley, Mr. Gorman held a succession of executive positions at Merrill Lynch, and prior to this was a senior partner of McKinsey & Co. He began his career as an attorney in Melbourne, Australia.

Outside of Morgan Stanley, Mr. Gorman serves as a Director for The Walt Disney Company, a Director of the Council on Foreign Relations, Chair of the Board of Overseers of the Columbia Business School, and is a member of the Business Council.

He formerly served as a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, President of the Federal Advisory Council to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, Co-Chairman of the Partnership for New York City, Chairman of the Board of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), and Co-Chairman of the Business Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Born in Australia, Mr. Gorman received BA and law degrees from the University of Melbourne and an MBA degree from Columbia University.

Yvette Ostolaza is the Chair of the Management Committee of Sidley Austin LLP, a US $3.1 billion premier global law firm with 21 offices on four continents and 2,300 lawyers. She is the first woman or Hispanic to lead any top seven AmLaw revenue firm. Yvette also currently serves on the board of directors of Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: LGF.A) where she is the Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Yvette is one of the world’s foremost business litigators and trial lawyers, delivering winning results for clients at each stage of complex multijurisdictional commercial disputes and corporate investigations. Her clients include significant companies in the aviation, retail, hospitality, financial/insurance, energy, and manufacturing industries.

Yvette’s practice range, experience, and results have earned her extensive recognition. Most recently, she was named to the inaugural Forbes’ list of “America’s Top 200 Lawyers” and to CNBC’s inaugural list of 50 “Changemakers: Women Transforming Business.” In 2023, the American Bar Association awarded Yvette the “Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award,” and in 2022, she was honored by the Hispanic National
Bar Association with the “Mari Carmen Aponte Award.”

Yvette is a civic leader who has been recognized for her involvement in community and legal organizations. She serves on the Orange Bowl Committee and the University of Miami School of Law Dean’s Advisory Committee. Yvette is also an adjunct professor of law at the University of Miami School of Law, where she teaches a course on investigations.

Special Performance

Keith Urban has spent the better part of his life harnessing a deep-seated passion for music. This, when combined with his authenticity, talent and driving musical inquisitiveness, helps to understand why he is one of the most successful and well-respected artists in the world. He’s won four GRAMMY© Awards, thirteen CMAs (including 2x Entertainer of the Year), fifteen ACMs, three AMAs, two People’s Choice Awards and celebrated nine consecutive gold, platinum or multi-platinum albums.

September 20^th will mark the release of Keith Urban’s HIGH. It’s Urban’s first album in nearly four years – a musical journey, intentionally sequenced through themes of what it is to be alive, human connection, cutting loose, huge hook chorus’, hope, nostalgia, shredding solos, straight-up fun and some personal life revelations. Songs from HIGH debuted in January with the release of “Straight Line”, which was followed by the release of the album’s current single “Messed Up As Me,” “Go Home W U” with Lainey Wilson and “Wildside”.

Urban will also return to Las Vegas for “KEITH URBAN’S HIGH” in Vegas, ten exclusive shows to take place at the Fountainebleau Las Vegas. The announced shows will take place in October (4, 5, 9, 11 and 12) and Febuary (14, 15, 19 21 and 22) 2025. These performances will include the premiere of many of the new songs set for release, as well as many of his of 24 #1 songs including “Blue Ain’t Your Color”, “Wasted Time”, “Somebody Like You” and “Long Hot Summer”. He’ll also be appearing at fairs and festivals throughout the summer.

His duet with P!nk, “One Too Many” garnered over 650M streams, bringing his accumulated total streams to nearly 9.5 BILLION and run up his total record breaking 38 Top 10s. In fact, the song appeared on his album THE SPEED OF NOW Part 1, which marked his fourth in an historic streak of simultaneous #1 album debuts in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Within the past year alone (2023-2024), Urban has debuted new music at The Nissa n Stadium for the CMA Festival, where he performing alongside Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll. He was selected as the featured performer and Mega Mentor for Season 25 of The Voice (NBC), debuted “Straight Line” on the CMT Music Awards and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame (by Dolly Parton). He returned to the American Idol stage as both a mentor and performer, rocked ESPN’s Formula One Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix and closed out his critically hailed Las Vegas residency at the Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Urban’s “All For The Hall” benefit concert returned, a series of shows done in support of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum©. The latest brought total proceeds to more than $4.3M.

Urban consistently reminds music lovers around the globe why he is one of the world’s best live performers. His concerts have become legendary – as unpredictable as they are explosive. An experience of emotion, musical texture, energy and showmanship.

Urban’s musical virtuosity and fluidity has made him the musician’s musician. He’s collaborated with a diverse group of artists that include, among others; Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, John Mayer, HARDY, Julia Michaels, Justin Timberlake, Dzeko, Miranda Lambert, Nile Rodgers, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones and Vince Gill.

He’s long supported numerous charities. He is the first Ambassador of the CMA Foundation, an advisory board member at the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and is a longtime supporter of The Mr. Holland’s Opus Fund and The Grammy Foundation.