Maxwell William "Max" Moore-Wilton AC (born 27 January 1943) is an Australian corporate executive and former public servant, colloquially known as "Max the Axe".
Moore-Wilton served as a senior executive in the Trade and Primary Industries portfolios, General Manager of the Australian Wheat Board, Director-General of the NSW Department of Transport, NSW Maritime Services Board, manager of Australian National Lines and at the Australian Stock Exchange. He was appointed Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1996, shortly after John Howard became Prime Minister.
He immediately implemented cuts of more than 11,000 staff, including six department heads and proceeded to aggressively outsource various government services. He also oversaw the passing of the Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), which gave the Prime Minister the power to hire and fire heads of departments. As a result he was accused of turning the public service into an "ideological office family".
In December 2002 he left this role to become the CEO of Sydney Airport Corporation Limited (SACL), which is majority owned by Macquarie Bank, after the Federal government gave it a 99 year contract to lease and operate the airport. During his time there he implemented his familiar cost increases to users and staff cutbacks. In addition, SACL announced plans to add a high-rise office block, a multi-level car park and retail space. These plans were controversial, considering the fact that Local councils, who usually have jurisdiction over such matters, had none as this was federal government land.
He quit as CEO in April 2006, but currently serves as SACL's Chairman.
Moore-Wilton chairs Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), owners of radio station 2Day FM and is also a Board Member of the Committee for Sydney and Infrastructure NSW.