Penny Knight

Penny Knight is a strategist and analyst, an expert in the development of evidence-based strategy and in change management, and has extensive knowledge of research and data analysis, performance management and reporting across a wide range of sectors.

Ms Knight began her career working in commercial research, undertaking quantitative and qualitative studies for retailers, manufacturers, service providers and government. She then moved to KPMG London where she lead teams undertaking organisation evaluation and strategy, across a range of areas spanning mergers and acquisitions, privatisation, market strategy and program evaluation. Ms Knight then joined PwC Hong Kong where she was responsible for a whole-of-government service improvement program.

Since returning to Australia, she has held senior government roles, most recently with the Strategic Policy Unit in WA Treasury where she was responsible for reviewing WA Government’s performance management framework, program and agency evaluations. In 2011, she began working with the Curtin Not-for-profit Initiative and has led projects including an annual evaluation of governance for the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a longitudinal study of the financial sustainability of the disability sector, and a three-year project to evaluate not-for-profit funding policy for the WA Government. She was the lead author for the inaugural Curtin Australian Charities Report 2013 for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

In 2014, Ms Knight and her co-directors established BaxterLawley, to provide specialist advisory services in strategy, public policy, evaluation and research. Her work with BaxterLawley has included providing strategic planning support, feasibility studies, market evaluations and specialist performance improvement advice, mostly for the not-for-profit sector.

Ms Knight holds a Bachelor of Commerce and an MBA. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Social and Market Research Society; and a volunteer director of Therapy Focus, WA’s largest provider of services for children with disabilities.