The Inner Sanctum

The Secrets of Australia’s Most Private Leaders

In modern journalism there is an insatiable desire to be first with the news online and to uncover scandal. But the patient fisherman simply seeking to tell a story can still be rewarded. This collection of Damon Kitney’s articles and profiles from over a decade writing for The Australian perfectly illustrates this.

The Inner Sanctum is a sample of Damon Kitney’s finest catch over a decade of working for The Australian newspaper. It is a product of his firm belief that behind the share prices, EBITDA and endless sanitised investor briefings, it is still human beings that are our leaders. From Mike Cannon-Brookes nursing his children or Malcolm Broomhead, Ray Horsburgh and Kathryn Fagg talking about their cancer battles, to Paul Anderson recalling his wife’s brush with death or Carol Schwartz or David Fox speaking affectionately about their beloved fathers, these are deeply personal stories that had never been told before. Some of the subjects in this book may have more wealth than any of us can ever imagine, run the biggest companies or sit on the most powerful boards in the land, yet they still have their own failings, trials and triumphs. The Inner Sanctum offers a different perspective on some of the nation’s most celebrated leaders of the past decade. They are living proof that power and influence are one thing, but humanity conquers all.