Andrew Charlton: Hired by Wesfarmers

Andrew Charlton

Andrew Charlton was hired by Wesfarmers in 2010, after a brief but distinguished political career. Charlton was the senior economic advisor to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and the senior economic representative of Australia to the G20 Leaders Forum.

A prominent voice in global economic development, Charlton now assists one of Australia’s largest companies and one of its largest employers. Charlton acts as an advisor to the company’s leaders, giving them a new perspective on how to move the company going forward. He says that he can see what the effects of particular corporate policies and decisions will be on the workers, consumers, and the stockholders.

Andrew Charlton has written extensively on the effects of globalization and macroeconomic policies throughout all corners of the world. His second book, Fair Trade for All, proposes a new way to think about free trade agreements and the Third World. While many opponents of free trade deplore the policy’s effects on developing countries, Charlton wrote, along with his co-author, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, that there is a way for Third World countries to thrive in a global economy with free trade agreements.

This was a new theory at the time and it is still being debated as one of the most important concepts in the theory of global economy today. His second book, Ozonomics sought to explain the crucial economic issues of the day to all Australians and how they affect their daily lives.

Andrew Charlton took his economic expertise to the private sector when he joined Wesfarmers. Leadership at the company hope that his knowledge of economies and economic policies can help the company stay one of the leaders of industry in the country and continue to provide jobs, services, and products to the Australian public.