Lieutenant General Simon Stuart AO DSC (Retd) was Chief of the Australian Army from 2022 to 2026. He has more than 38 years’ experience across a range of leadership, operations, training and program management appointments in Australia and overseas. Having enlisted in the Army in 1987, he was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps in 1990. He has commanded on operations on five occasions at the company, Joint Task Force, brigade and force levels in East Timor, Afghanistan and Egypt/Israel respectively. He has worked in joint, whole-of-government, international and multi-national environments for most of the past 20 years.

A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon (1990), Lieutenant General Stuart also completed senior military education in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program (2022). He holds a bachelor's degree and three master's degrees in project management, defence studies and strategy.

His honours and awards include appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (2011), the Distinguished Service Cross (2014) and Officer of the Order of Australia (2020), along with numerous international awards.