Hutchinson worked as an accountant for seven years at Arthur Andersen, which included three years in the United States. She then took up a post in the project finance division of Citibank in Sydney. She stayed at Citibank for 11 years, also working in corporate finance. Macquarie Group, a client of Citibank invited her to join its advisory business, and she later created its Equity Capital Markets division.[4]
During the 1990s she worked part-time to accommodate her family duties, and did consulting work at Macquarie. During this period she was invited to serve as non-executive director on the boards of renewable energy supplier Snowy Hydro Trading, Crane Group, and EnergyAustralia. Later, she became a member of the boards of Telstra and Coles Myer.[4]
She then took up a more challenging position, becoming chair of QBE Insurance around 2011, when the insurance industry was experiencing a turbulent time.[4] She remained at QBE until 2014.[5][6]
Hutchinson was appointed chancellor of the University of Sydney in 2013.[7] In August 2015 she was made chair of Thales Australia,[8] the local branch of a French arms manufacturer. In July 2017 the University of Sydney created a memorandum of understanding with Thales "to work closely together over the next five years to develop new technologies and capabilities".[9] The university says that Hutchinson had no part in the memorandum of understanding.[10] In June 2023, she became a non-executive director of the board.[11]
In December 2016, the university senate reappointed Hutchinson for a second term as chancellor.[12] In May 2020, the university senate reappointed Hutchinson for a third term as chancellor.[13] On 11 March 2024, it was announced that Hutchinson would be stepping down from the role, having reached 12-year limit of the University Senate, which elected David Thodey as her replacement.[14]
Hutchinson strives to develop a culture of philanthropy. As of 2024[update] she is a non-executive member of the Australian Philanthropic Services,[11][16] and is a trustee of the St Vincent's Curran Foundation. Her family has a foundation that supports a number of community-based projects, such as work done by the Hunger Project in Malawi.[7]
