Sharon Ditchburn

Sharon Ditchburn was appointed to the IFAC PAIB Advisory Group in January 2022 representing CPA Australia and the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).

Sharon Ditchburn is the Managing Director/Founder of Capital Advantage Consultants, a Governance, Risk and Compliance advisory firm established in the Middle East in 2004. She is a Fellow of CPA Australia, the Governance Institute of Australia, and the Chartered Governance Institute (UK and Ireland), also holding a Degree in Law and an MBA specializing in Corporate Governance, Entrepreneurship and Strategy. She has been a Committee member of the Centre of Excellence for ESG for CPA Australia since 2018 and the Dubai Committee for CPA Australia from 2011.

In a career spanning over 25 years in Australia and the Middle East, Sharon has performed senior finance, governance and compliance roles and delivered projects across a broad range of industries, ranging across financial services, energy, mining, IT and the public sector (sovereign wealth funds, stock exchanges and capital markets regulators). She continues to be a registered Authorised Individual in the roles of finance, compliance and/or risk for regulated financial services entities in the UAE and Kuwait, and is the Chairman of Independent Oversight Committees for several conventional and shariah compliant public funds in the UAE. She is also a Director and contributing partner in several other enterprises including corporate services, hospitality and waste recycling.

Sharon is an experienced facilitator for Board and Governance training in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and was certified in 2008 by the IFC to deliver their global Corporate Governance Board Leadership Programme. She is a Member of the GCC Board Directors Institute’s Examination and Awards Committee and faculty member for the Certified Director Program. In 2005 she founded the ICSA Gulf Forum and later became the first Registered Tuition Provider for the Chartered Governance Institute (UK and Ireland) in the Middle East. She also is a senior facilitator for Governance, Risk and Compliance programs for various Institutes of Directors, Governance Institutes and professional training organisations. She is a recipient of the Solvi Stenbro Award for Ethics (QUT) and Distinguished Fellow – Hult University.