Meet Sally

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Melbourne through and through

Sally is the first directly-elected female Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne. She was the first woman to hold the post of Agent-General for Victoria in the UK, Europe and Israel. She has also served as the CEO for the Committee for Melbourne.

Sally began her career as a solicitor, after completing Law (Hons) and Commerce degrees at the University of Melbourne.  

Sally has worked in business big and small. Sally has held senior roles at both KPMG and ANZ, and she took the small business she co-founded to  the ASX. Most recently she was Victorian Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia.  

A passionate Magpie, in 2004 she made history as the first female board member of Collingwood FC. She is involved in a number of charities, currently sitting on the board of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, the Mary Jane Lewis Scholarship Foundation and the Melbourne University Faculty of Business and Economics.  

Sally is supported by her husband Andrew, and their boys Will and Nic (also passionate Magpie supporters!)

10 things you may not know about Sally Capp 

  1. Sally is up for the challenge of leading Melbourne’s revival after the global pandemic caused an economic crisis. She has the experience and ideas, energy and passion to get the job done. 

  2. Sally understands that being Lord Mayor of Melbourne is a serious job. As Lord Mayor, she provided swift and practical support to businesses and residents affected by the global pandemic and successfully called on the Victorian Government for joint investment to help the city recover. You can count on her.

  3. Born in Papua New Guinea, Sally has studied, lived and worked in Melbourne for most of her life. After graduating from The University of Melbourne, her first job was at a city law firm. She has run businesses big and small. She was ‘head of sales’ for Victoria, responsible for generating business for our state, as the Agent-General in the UK, Europe and Israel. She was CEO of the Committee for Melbourne, responsible for coordinating more than 150 businesses who shape the city’s future. 

  4. Sally attributes her strong work ethic to her parents, Cherry and Brian. She started work at age 14 at Scoops ice cream parlour in Camberwell.

  5. Sally has always been a trailblazer. She was the first woman:
    - to be appointed Agent-General for Victoria in London
    - on the Board of Collingwood Football Club
    - to be directly elected as Lord Mayor of Melbourne

  6. Sally’s commitment to supported housing was reinforced after she became Lord Mayor and noticed that many of the rough sleepers on Melbourne’s streets were women her own age. On the basis that the standard you walk past is the standard you accept, she redoubled her efforts to get rough sleepers into supported housing.

  7. Sally dedicated herself to public service after recovering from cancer, which she describes as a life-changing experience that made her question what was really important in life. She decided she wanted to use her experience in business, her understanding of how to get things done and her passion to work on behalf of the city she loves.

  8. Sally has been married to Andrew Sutherland for 25 years. They have two sons, aged 22 and 21. 

  9. Sally is a life-long, one-eyed Collingwood fan. As a child, she spent many Saturdays at Victoria Park with Billy Picken’s number 25 on her duffle coat.

  10. Sally loves musicals. She vividly recalls Oklahoma! which was the first musical she saw with her mum.