Aug 20, 2026 – 5.43pmThe man picked to steer the Australian National University and rescue the institution from years of financial distress, governance failures and high-profile departures, says leaders must take responsibility for major missteps.“I’m extremely difficult to offend,” says former top public servant Gordon de Brouwer, who took up the heavily scrutinised post as ANU chancellor on Wednesday after a regulator-administered recruitment process.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles