Too many top executives are afraid to come out of the closet, former David Jones boss Paul Zahra says.
Mr Zahra, who advises professional services firm PwC's on diversity and inclusion, spoke candidly at a business lunch on Wednesday about his struggle to come out as a gay man during the 1980s.
He was the only chief executive of an ASX top 200 company who identified publicly as a gay man when appointed the top job at David Jones in 2010.
And he would like more to come forward.
"There are certainly people in the CEO circle that have kept their sexuality to themselves," he said.
"That is their choice. But I do believe it is every gay man's responsibility ... to be open about their sexuality because if they are I think it normalises it for everybody."
He said it has become easier today to be a homosexual than back when he went public.
At the age of 17, Mr Zahra developed his passion for retail as a sales assistant at Target and from there quickly rose through the ranks to become the youngest store manager at 22.
Life was going well. He won many company awards and he turned up to events "looking the part" with a woman by his side.
"I became an expert at being somebody else but not me," he said.
He was 24 when he finally accepted his sexuality and worked up the courage to tell his Maltese migrant parents that he was gay.
"The lead up to the discussion was excruciating and I had the added anxiety because my work was suffering as a result," he said.
"When I told my parents I felt a great sense of relief and they were very accepting on the day."
But he wasn't prepared for the reaction to come.
"What I didn't expect were the days to follow; my parents would do a backflip and after some consideration they decided they couldn't accept my sexuality."
To his shock, his parents disowned him.
This made him question whether he should go public and tell his friends, work colleagues and bosses the truth about his sexuality.
"I had to make a decision - if this is how my parents felt then maybe it was safer to go back inside the closet."
Mr Zahra chose to be true to himself and 25 years later, he reconnected with his parents.
"It has been a cathartic experience to say in the least," he said.
"And like me, the years have broadened and deepened my parents' views around difference and diversity.
"My parents are proud of me and my partner. And that nice Maltese girl my mum wanted me to marry, well his name is Duncan."
Mr Zahra left David Jones in August 2014, just weeks after South African retail giant Woolworths took control of Australia's oldest department store chain.
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