Alumni Matters October 2007

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alumni matters october2007 www.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/

prominentalumnus Dato’ Tan Toh Hua, DJMK BCom 1955 Retired in 1989, Dato Tan is still Director of various public listed companies in Malaysia.

Dato Tan married Enid Louey Yen in 1955, the year of his graduation. Tan and Enid had met at Melbourne University where Enid graduated with a BA (1954) and DipEd. (1955).

They lived in Melbourne for the next 3 years while Dato Tan worked in accounting offices and obtained various accounting diplomas and Chartered Accountancy.

The couple returned to Malaysia in 1958 and set up an accounting practice with offices in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

Dato Tan is ex-President of the Australian & New Zealand Graduates’ Association in Malaysia and a founding Council Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, the Industrial Arbitration Tribunal and the Rent Control Tribunal.

Dato Tan pioneered his family’s history of studying at Melbourne University. His 2 brothers and 1 sister followed in his footsteps in studying at Melbourne University. Tan and Enid’s 3 children continued the family tradition by subsequently graduating from Melbourne University. Their granddaughter is currently studying Multimedia at Monash University, while their grandson is studying International Studies at the Kuala Lumpur campus.

Dato Tan, BCom 1955, and Datin Enid Tan, BA 1954, DipEd 1955

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Dato Tan was awarded his title of Dato’ by the Yang DiPertuan Agong of Malaysia (the King of Malaysia) in 1980 for services to the country.

Supporting the Faculty of Economics and Commerce: Dato Tan understands the great value and importance of financial support from corporations and alumni. He has been a generous supporter of the Faculty, and we thank him and Enid for their generosity.

We wish to congratulate Dato Tan on his remarkable career and wish him and his family every success for the future.

We are committed to staying in touch with you

inthisissue Dean’s update New UMCAS leadership Faculty functions International alumni SIFE Team Australia Department news Student Leadership Forum Graduate Careers Centre Graduate School Queen’s Birthday Honours Upcoming events

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We would be pleased to hear about your life’s milestones and successes. To update your information, stay connected, or to learn more about how you can support the Faculty of Economics and Commerce, please: Stay in Touch Amanda Stanger, Alumni Advancement Officer Faculty of Economics and Commerce 7th Floor, Alan Gilbert Building 161 Barry Street The University of Melbourne Victoria 3010 astanger@unimelb.edu.au www.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/ Facebook: University of Melbourne Commerce Alumni Society

dean’supdate In the new strategic plan for the University, there is a renewed commitment to ensure that every student has an opportunity to engage with the community, industry and government, to become more global in their outlook and to see themselves as citizens of the world.

Our students already learn from fine academics who are leaders in their fields, they study and engage with outstanding peers from all over the world plus they live in and experience our wonderful city.

I would like for every student to feel that they have made the most of the opportunities available to them while studying in our Faculty. For example, I would like our local students to take advantage of studying and/or working internationally as part of their University degree. I want our international students to feel part of the global community that the University offers – to make lasting friendships with Australian students, but also friends with students from the 70 different countries from which our students come. And we want all our students, alumni and friends to feel connected to the Faculty and the University. We are committed to providing a truly differentiated Melbourne Experience.

To engage with those outside the University means that we must draw on our alumni and friends of the Faculty. We need their help to ensure that this Faculty is truly one of the finest economics and business faculties in the world. And we have over 32,000 alumni across the globe from whom to draw.

Our Alumni are leaders in every field of endeavour in Australia and world wide.

As an example of this engagement, we recently held a day long Student Leadership Forum whereby selected students had an opportunity to hear from leaders from our corporate, community and political sectors on the issues facing Australia up to 2020.

With the willing cooperation of alumni and friends, this day proved to be a great success and one that certainly was memorable for all involved with the now Premier, the Honourable John Brumby, leaving the press conference after the resignation of Steve Bracks to present the key note address to these students. This commitment and willingness of our alumni and business community to support the Faculty is very heartening for me as Dean.

In addition, we want to ensure that we are able to attract to the Faculty the very best students both local and international to study with us, regardless of their circumstances. In order to build this fund, the Faculty has set up a matching grant scheme to encourage donations from our alumni and business community for scholarships for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

I have had the opportunity recently to meet with many of our alumni in London, Malaysia and Indonesia and I look forward to meeting more of our graduates in the near future.

Keeping the members of the Economics and Commerce community informed on current developments is especially important in this year of major change for the Faculty. 2008 will see the rollout of the new Melbourne Model Bachelor of Commerce, as a part of the major revamp of the University’s programs. In addition, upcoming months will see the launch of the Faculty’s Graduate School. We will ensure that our alumni feel a part of these exciting developments.

Professor Margaret Abernethy Dean

Alumni news Congratulations to Dr Mechai Viravaidya (BCom 1965 LLD 1993)

201st BCom graduate, Mr Gerald Lynch, passes away

Congratulations to alumnus, Dr Viravaidya, and his team at Thailand’s Population and Community Development Association on winning the 2007 Bill and Melinda Gates Award for Global Health.

We wish to thank Rosemary Lynch for contacting us to tell us of her father’s story.

We were saddened to hear of the passing of such a remarkable man.

Thailand’s Population and Community Development Association is renowned for its lifesaving innovation in HIV prevention and family planning. Mechai Viravaidya has done so much good work to avert an HIV catastrophe among the rural poor in Thailand that his name is now synonymous with prevention – literally.

The life-saving impact of his work is serious, and something to celebrate.

For its groundbreaking efforts in HIV prevention and family planning, the PDA is the recipient of the 2007 Gates Award for Global Health. The award honours extraordinary efforts to improve health in developing countries.

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Gerald Lynch, passed away on 6 April, two days short of his 94th birthday. He graduated as a Bachelor of Commerce on 10 April 1937 and always took a keen interest in what was happening at the University and in particular the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. Mr Lynch’s children all followed him to the University of Melbourne and added to his Commerce degree were two Civil Engineering degrees, one Arts degree and one Music degree. Gerald commenced his studies at the University at age 16 during the great depression and completed them on a part time basis while working full time with the then State Bank of Victoria.

Professor Margaret Abernethy, Dean, with the Victorian Premier, The Hon Mr John Brumby

John Brumby (BCom Melb) sworn in as 45th Premier of Victoria Congratulations to John Brumby who was sworn in as the 45th Premier of Victoria at a ceremony at Government House on July 30.

Mr Brumby, 54, was Australia’s longest serving State Treasurer. He is married to Rosemary McKenzie and they have three children – Georgia, Elizabeth and Nicholas.

Malcolm Brumby, his father also completed a BCom at Melbourne in 1948.

newleadership in UMCAS A new UMCAS President and Vice-President were elected at this year’s AGM on 11 July. We most warmly welcome Mr Ross Cameron, as our new President and Mr Christopher Leptos, in the position of Vice President. Short bios are below.

We look forward to working with both gentlemen and would like to again thank Mr Steve Zigomanis, and Mr John Meehan, for their years of dedication in the roles of President and Vice President respectively. John continues to serve UMCAS as a valued committee member.

Mr Ross Cameron BCom (Melb), MBA (Bath) Executive Director, Cameron Research Group Pty Ltd Ross runs Cameron Research Group, a market research consultancy specialising in researching small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). He set the business up 16 years ago after working at BIS Shrapnel and undertaking a MBA in the UK. Most of Australia’s organisations that target small and medium sized businesses are subscribers to Ross’s ongoing qualitative and quantitative monitors of the Australian SME community.

Mr Chris Leptos AM BCom (Melb), MBA (Melb), FCA Chris Leptos is Managing Partner – Government Services of Ernst & Young.

Prior to joining E&Y he had worked extensively in Asia with Accenture and Western Mining. He has undertaken numerous government reviews for both State and Federal governments in Australia, and is a Governor of The Smith Family and a Director of the Asia Society Australasia Centre.

Mr Ross Cameron, BCom 1988, MBA

From the President of UMCAS Welcome all, to this edition of Alumni Matters. As the new President of UMCAS, I am looking forward to establishing and maintaining contact with you in the years ahead.

The future for UMCAS, and the Commerce Faculty has never been brighter. At UMCAS we will continue with activities introduced in previous years – the twice-yearly ‘Young Alumni’ functions in the Melbourne CBD, the Annual General Meeting and Dinner in July, the Reunion Lunch for those who graduated 45+ years ago, the regular newsletter, the Alumni scholarships, and the increased mentoring role for graduates to play in helping current students. The speaker for next year’s annual dinner will be Mr Peter Yates – formerly the CEO of PBL and Allco Equity Partners, and now Director at Peony Capital, a carbon trading company.

Looking forward we are placing greater importance on the role of Commerce graduates in the current operation of the Faculty. An example of this is the mentoring scheme, where BCom graduates provide invaluable mentoring to undergraduates. This is an incredibly valuable contribution that graduates can make – no matter when you graduated you can play a role. If you are willing to act as a mentor, please contact Dennis Lee via email at dennis.lee@ge.com We have some big things planned for UMCAS, so please watch this space. The best way to be kept informed as to what is coming up is to simply provide us with your current email address. Please contact Amanda Stanger, Alumni Advancement Officer at astanger@unimelb.edu.au or +61 3 8344 2128 to do so, or visit our website at www.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/ You might also like to join our Facebook group – University of Melbourne Commerce Alumni Society.

He is a graduate in Commerce (1977-79), and Master of Business Administration (1990) from the University of Melbourne.

Chris was awarded the Order of Australia in 2000 for services to business and the community.

Mr Chris Leptos, BCom 1980, MBA 1991

Alumni Matters 3

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Mr Rupert Myer, BCom (Hons) 1980, and Mr Geoff Allen, BA (Hons) 1967, MBA, 1971, at the Insights launch

Young Alumni Event 16 May 2007 Mr Tom Elliott, BCom 1989, BA (Oxford), at the Insights launch

Insights Launch 1 May 2007 The launch of Insights, a journal documenting important Faculty speeches, was held at The Apartment in the Melbourne CBD on 1 May with Mr Tom Elliott as guest speaker. Tom’s speech was humorous, reminiscent and supportive of the Melbourne Model. Insights was seen as a great initiative by our alumni who attended.

Erik Metanomski, famously referred to as ‘The Oracle of Adelaide’ in a book called ‘Masters of the Market – Secrets of Australia’s Leading Sharemarket Investors’, is the founder of MMC Funds Management. At the Young Alumni Event hosted at RSM Bird Cameron in May, Erik spoke about issues such as the rise and rise of private equity, where value investors look for stocks in a hot sharemarket, and some of his key learning experiences of the past 25 years of being a professional funds manager.

The event was very well attended and Mr Metanomski was generous with his time, going out of his way to answer questions and talk to Alumni for a long time after his speech had concluded.

We would like to thank all who attended and especially Mr Metanomski and RSM Bird Cameron for hosting the event.

UMCAS AGM and Dinner 11 July 2007

The Hon Dr Jeffrey Kennett AC, was guest speaker at this year’s UMCAS AGM Dinner on 11 July in the Ormond College Dining Hall. Dr Kennett spoke for close to an hour on Beyond Blue (www.beyondblue.org.au), taking questions at the end of the session. The 90 guests present thoroughly enjoyed Dr Kennett’s speech and he was most generous with his time – even posing for photographs with some of the guests!

We would also like to thank Mr Ian Loxton for his work in organising this year’s AGM and Dinner.

Guests at the 2007 UMCAS AGM and Dinner

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The Hon Dr Jeff Kennett

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Mr Chew Yong See, LLB (Hons) 1994, Mr Howard Khoo and Ms Chi Oi Meng, BCom 1979

Mr Chew Yong See, LLB (Hons) 1994, Prof Margaret Abernethy and Ms Cheryl Chan

Left to right: Mr Asgari Stephens, BCom (Hons) 1983, A/Prof Michael Davern, Ms Katherine Pung, BCom 1977, LLB (Hons) 1979, and Mr Jimmy Leong, BCom 2006

Seminar in progress

Malaysian Seminar Program

Dinner with the Dean

25 May 2007

Kuala Lumpur 29 May 2007

In response to the feasibility study undertaken earlier this year, we have instituted a seminar program for our largest alumni group in Malaysia.

Around 30 of our Alumni attended a dinner at Eest restaurant in the Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday 29 May. The Dean, Professor Margaret Abernethy, Advancement Director, Ms Suzanne Dixon, and Alumni Advancement Officer, Ms Amanda Stanger greatly enjoyed the opportunity to spend time chatting with some of our very high achieving graduates and would again like to thank all who attended. We hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did!

Associate Professor Michael Davern kindly presented the first of these seminars on Friday 25 May on the topic of Information Driven Markets. Those who attended found the seminar very interesting, and we look forward to the next seminar, which will be held on Tuesday 6 November (see page 12).

Nobel Laureate Seminar 12 September 2007 Professor Sir Clive Granger gave a seminar titled ‘Consideration of Trends in Economic Series’ to 70 alumni, staff and students on 12 September. Professor Sir Clive Granger BA PhD Nottingham, was winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Economic Science and is a visiting eminent scholar, currently teaching and conducting research at the University of Melbourne.

Professor Sir Clive Granger

Alumni Matters 5

From left to right: The Dean, Professor Margaret Abernethy, with SIFE winner Mr Ken Wong, Prime Minister Mr John Howard, SIFE winner Ms Catherine Casler, Advancement Director Ms Suzanne Dixon, and Vice Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis

welldone SIFE Team Australia The University of Melbourne Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team who are supported by the Faculty, won the national competition against 27 other universities in July.

A group of students will now go to New York to compete internationally at the World Cup. This team also won three of the six individual project awards – Best Competitive Skills Training Project; Best Ethical Business Practice Project and Best Team Sustainability Strategy. The competition is judged by CEOs of some of Australia’s largest companies. They competed in Melbourne and performed brilliantly, presenting 5 projects designed to have a positive economic and social impact on a broad range of groups in need.

The students represent 6 Faculties and their projects reflect the multi-discipline approach taken. One impressive project called ‘Community Voicemail’ is a project developed in conjunction with Cisco Systems and equips homeless people with free individual voicemail services so that they have a point of contact to communicate with welfare agencies, housing organisations, potential employers, friends and family. The project is being tested with 100 Big Issue vendors.

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Another project called ‘Enabled Initiatives’ channels the interests and strengths of Yooralla’s disabled members into entrepreneurial ventures. The team provides a learning framework and resource, business skill workshops and support for Yooralla members.

These students demonstrate a real commitment to community engagement and their work represents knowledge transfer at its finest. They are to be congratulated.

The World cup in NY will have representatives from 37 nations and this will be a wonderful opportunity for our team leaders to benchmark with other SIFE teams and to present to CEOs from America.

The Prime Minister held a small reception for some of the SIFE team in Melbourne to wish them well in the competition.

Thank you to sponsors who have assisted the SIFE team so far inclusive of, Rotary Club Carlton, Yooralla, Mile Terziovski, Qantas, Myer, RogenSi and State Street.

facultynews Industry supports high achieving Commerce students The Faculty has a rapidly expanding scholarships and prizes program.

We currently offer 21 distinct scholarships and 66 prizes each year, thanks largely to the support of 54 donors, sponsors and trusts. The awards enable industry, the community and government organisations to engage with our high achieving students, and build relationships which often lead to employment opportunities.

When industry-sponsored scholarships lead to vacation work, students gain the opportunity to apply theory in a practical setting and can then share their insights into current business practices with their peers. Such opportunities are an important component of the Faculty’s knowledge transfer initiative.

The Faculty celebrates the achievements of its students at two ceremonies during the year: the Dean’s Awards Ceremony and the Student Achievement Evening. The latter is an important industry event, and we look forward to expanding the networks that arise from such functions.

Mr Stephen J Carpenter, BCom 1995, LLB (Hons) 1995, from KPMG (Corporate Tax, Partner), Professor Margaret Abernethy (Dean) and student Ms Rebecca Gill receiving her prize at the Student Achievement Awards.

Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) The Australian Longitudinal Survey of Doctors A leading team of health economists at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research has begun work on a new longitudinal survey. The survey, ‘Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life’ (MABEL) will improve understanding of how changes in the working lives of Australian doctors are influencing the provision of healthcare.

The health workforce is now a key focus of government policy.

The ever-increasing demand for health care, the ageing of the medical workforce, the increase in the number of women entering medicine and changes in doctors preferences in relation to their work life balance, all have an impact on the ability of the health care system to provide high quality and accessible health care. Despite this, there is little knowledge or understanding of how and why doctors make decisions about such things as how many hours they work, their location of work (including decisions about working in rural and remote areas) or when to leave the medical workforce and retire. These decisions have important implications for the population’s access to health care and therefore their health status and the quality of care received.

The research will examine the changing patterns of doctors’ working lives over time in order to better understand doctor shortages and surpluses and the pivotal role of doctors in the health care system.

Changes in doctors’ family circumstances, job satisfaction, earnings and the nature of their work will be examined in order to determine the most effective policy responses for maintaining the size, motivation and productivity of the trained medical workforce. The research will provide a rigorous analysis of the decisions which underlie the workforce distribution and work patterns of doctors. The survey results will provide important information in support of future policy development and evaluation.

The MABEL survey will track a random stratified sample of around 6,000 doctors over an initial four-year period. This will include GPs, private specialists, hospital doctors and doctors in specialist training. The first wave of the survey is planned for the first half of 2008.

MABEL is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Health Services Research Program.

Further information can be found at www.melbourneinstitute.com or www.mabel.org.au

Alumni Matters 7

departmentnews Knowledge Transfer in Economics

Actuarial Studies: LIBOR workshop and research grants

On 23 August, the Department of Economics’ Experimental Laboratory was officially opened. The opening was performed by Mr Grant Hehir, the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, and Professor Nilss Olekalns, the Head of the Department of Economics.

Associate Professor Mark Joshi, a plenary speaker at this year’s Quantitative Methods in Finance Conference, is also giving a two-day workshop on the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) market model at the conference. LIBOR is the current industry standard for pricing complex interest rate derivatives, and Joshi will present his latest research on computing sensitivities, calibration and callability.

The new lab is a state of the art facility with 30 workstations and a purpose built lab manager’s office. The lab will enable a wide range of experimental economics projects to be undertaken and builds upon an already successful program of experimental economics that has become an important part of the Department’s research, teaching and knowledge transfer profiles.

Funding for the lab has come from a variety of sources, including the Department, Faculty and the Vice Chancellor’s Office. The Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance has also made a significant financial investment in the lab. This is part of an ongoing project with members of the Economics Department that has included the provision of training courses for the Department of Treasury and Finance’s staff, training that has included the use of experimental techniques to covey basic economics principles. The Department of Treasury and Finance, again in conjunction with members of the Economics Department, also plan to use the lab to road test various policy initiatives making this an excellent example of how knowledge transfer can assist in the design of public policy. For his ongoing work with the Department of Treasury and Finance, the Economics Department’s Dr. Nikos Nikiforakis has recently been awarded a commendation in the University’s Excellence in Knowledge Transfer awards.

In other news, congratulations to Dr Shuanming Li, Dr David Pitt and Dr Xueyuan Wu, all members of the Centre for Actuarial Studies, who were awarded an Early Career Faculty Research Grant for 2007. They are researching the drivers of claim frequencies and costs for Australian workers’ compensation insurance, in conjunction with statisticians and actuarial analysts from the WorkCover Corporation of South Australia (WCSA).

Dr Pitt and Dr Wu visited WCSA in early 2007 and discussed statistical modelling strategies suitable for the analysis of their claims and policy data.

COST-WORTH project Associate Professor Mile Terziovski, from the Centre for Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management and Marketing, has successfully completed a project called COST-WORTH in partnership with Professor Ross Chapman from the University of Western Sydney.

The project produced two software-based methodologies for diagnosing business processes in SMEs in Europe and Australia, which are accessible via the web to assist in the improvement of SME business performance. Already, Australian companies are benefiting from the software – AutoTek has secured Ford Australia as a customer as a result of applying the methodologies; and SCS Plastics used the software to upgrade systems to cope with growth in overseas markets.

The Dean, Margaret Abernethy, Professor Nilss Olekalns, Mr Grant Hehir (DTF) and Ms Claire Thomas (DTF) at the opening of the Department of Economics’ Experimental Laboratory.

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In addition to the methodologies, seven case studies and one journal article (in press) were produced.

The project was a collaboration between EU member countries and Australia under the 5th Framework Program in Europe and DEST’s International Science Linkage Program in Australia, under Backing Australia’s Ability.

Professor Anne Lillis (left), Ms Judy Walsh from the CPS (centre) and Dr Jennifer Grafton (right)

Performance management project at Children’s Protection Society Professor Anne Lillis and Dr Jennifer Grafton, from the Department of Accounting and Business Information Systems, are assisting the Children’s Protection Society (CPS) with the development and implementation of a new performance management protocol to enhance organisational decision-making, relationships with stakeholders, program evaluation and overall organisational effectiveness.

CPS is a not-for-profit organisation involved in a range of activities related to child protection, including policy development, advocacy and direct client services.

Professor Lillis and Dr Grafton conducted a series of workshops and facilitated a number of breakout groups that engaged client service staff, key team leaders, senior managers and board members.

These sessions revisited the organisation’s mission and identified key strategic themes to facilitate the development of causal strategy maps. The maps were used to design a balanced performance management system that reflects the prominent social goals of the organisation as well as the needs of multiple stakeholders (including fund providers).

The project has furthered Professor Lillis’ and Dr Grafton’s understanding of the challenges of designing and introducing performance management protocols in settings with predominantly social missions. Their experience directly informs their teaching in Enterprise Performance Management, a large core management accounting subject.

Finance Professor contributes to public debate Professor Kevin Davis’ name has appeared in several recent news publications in relation to his paper, ‘Banking Concentration, Financial Stability and Public Policy’, which he presented at the Reserve Bank of Australia 2007 Conference. He gained editorial coverage in The Weekend Australian and The Weekend Australian Financial Review (25-26 August, 2007). Professor Davis was also quoted in The New York Times in the article, ‘Why a U.S. Subprime Mortgage Crisis Is Felt Around the World’ (31 August, 2007).

studentleadership forum Australia to 2020: Challenges and potential While many of their peers lay asleep, enjoying a well deserved Friday morning sleep-in, 100 high-achieving Commerce students had dragged themselves out of bed and to the Woodward Conference Centre on the morning of Friday 27 July. Despite their tired eyes, these students were eagerly awaiting the beginning of the Student Leadership Forum – Australia to 2020: Challenges and potential.

The Hon Jim Short, BCom, BA 1961, Professor Margaret Abernethy, Mr Lindsay Fox and Professor Jeff Borland, BA (Hons) 1983, MA 1986

The daylong forum involved three sessions, Politics/International, Corporate, and Community, encompassing speeches by a range of well-known and respected politicians, business people and community leaders.

Mr Fahour was openly emotional as he spoke of the plight of Indigenous Australians. In effect, Mr Fahour perfectly illustrated the overlap between globalisation, the business world and community issues.

Mr Mark Thirwell, Director (International Economy), Lowy Institute, began the Politics/International session, focusing on the world economy and the challenges that lay ahead.

Ms Janine Kirk AM, Partner, Ernst & Young, added to the speech given by Lindsay Fox, speaking of success and leadership.

Outlining the guiding principles for leadership, including expertise, communication, adaptability and passion, students were quick to note them down for future reference.

Mr Ian Wilcock, State Director, Victorian State Office, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, also spoke of the emerging BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Professor Ann Capling (Political Science) noted that although Australia is only a small country, we still have the ability to exert influence on a world scale.

The Honourable Mr John Brumby MP, Treasurer of Victoria, was the keynote speaker for the forum. Students were particularly impressed that he managed to attend the event, given the resignation of Premier Steve Bracks on the day. In fact, it was quite fitting to have the future Premier of Victoria share a moment with the University’s most promising future business leaders.

Mr Brumby identified and spoke of the three major challenges for Australia – the world economy, the environment, and philanthropy.

One of the Australia’s best-known businessmen, Mr Lindsay Fox AO, Founder & non-Executive Chairman, Fox Group Holdings, was a perfect choice to begin the Corporate session. A self-made billionaire, Lindsay focused on leadership, outlining for students what makes a successful leader and a successful business. He distilled building a successful business into three key factors – happy customers, a content workforce and turning a profit.

Lindsay had a wealth of knowledge to share. In fact, the speaker who followed Lindsay, Mr Ahmed Fahour, described him as ‘leadership in real life’.

As CEO of National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia, Mr Fahour could also be considered an authority in leadership and successful business. However, he chose to take a different approach, focusing on the four key areas he believes Australia needs to consider – climate change and the environment, demography, emerging nations and inequality for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

After lunch, Ms Mary Wooldridge, Shadow Minster for mental health, opened the afternoon Community session. Mary explained that there is ‘a lot of disadvantage on our doorstep’, going on to talk about the range of groups that suffer disadvantage in Australian society. However, she stressed that ‘no problems are too hard to tackle… [although we may] need to be social entrepreneurs… and prepared to take a risk’.

Mr Simon McKeon, Executive Chairman, Macquarie Bank (Melbourne), emulated Mary’s sentiments stating that ‘if there is a social problem, there has to be a solution’. Simon, who now divides his time between Macquarie Bank and community causes, discussed how individuals and corporations can benefit the community, as the ‘government is ill-equipped to solve every problem’.

Mr Joseph Elu, Chairman of Indigenous Business Australia, encouraged students to contact him with any good ideas for solving the problems experienced by his local community located at the tip of Cape York, Queensland. He delivered a heartfelt speech, talking of the problems that plague the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of Australia. The Community session gave students a real chance to think about the contribution they can make, not just in the business world, but to society as a whole. The Chancellor echoed the words of all three speakers, noting that ‘it is possible to make a difference’.

The Forum proved very beneficial to students and was well received by all in attendance. Honours student Ray Hass said the day ‘served to illustrate the endless possibilities that the corporate culture of Australia embodies’. He noted the highlight of the day ‘was being able to contrast the experiences of people such as Lindsay Fox and Ahmed Fahour, who have reached the pinnacle of industry through very separate journeys’. Several students also commented that the Community session had caused them to give more thought to community issues, a thought one hopes will stay with them throughout their careers.

Concluding the event, the University’s Chancellor, Mr Ian Ranard, most effectively conveyed the sentiments and underlying message of the Student Leadership Forum: ‘This has been a very special day… I want you to look back and think… this was the day I decided I would make a difference’.

Students and industry leaders chatting over lunch

Carolyn Deller

Alumni Matters 9

graduatecareers centre Global distribution of postgraduate talent The richly diverse profile of the postgraduate student cohort ensures that participants from every corner of the world are present in career activities facilitated by the Graduate Careers Centre. ‘Career Hours’ and ‘Career Days’ often feel like international conferences where young professionals-in-training gather to meet, learn new skills and exchange ideas and experiences.

Interaction with alumni and industry representatives further enhances this experience and provides participants with valuable insight into professional life at different levels and into multiple segments of industry. Mentors with extensive industry experience connect their mentees to the world of business, finance, consulting, marketing etc., often opening up new opportunities and networks and making the transition from student life to working life more focused and manageable.

Individual consultations integrate all of the above, encourage students to assess their skills, identify strengths and weaknesses and utilising expert advice, develop a multi-step career plan for the duration of their course and beyond.

With plans and strategies ready, recent Masters graduates with global interest and career development acumen have been actively contributing to the worldwide phenomenon of increased global movement of professionals: – several graduates with PRC and Indian citizenship have secured auditing and business analyst roles in Singapore; – an Indonesian born, Melbourne educated MAC graduate was in the group of four selected for the September intake of the Corporate Management Associate Program with Citigroup Indonesia; – a local MAC Accounting graduate was attracted to the warmth of Darwin into a role with the Northern Territory Treasury Department.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, four short-listed University of Melbourne Commerce students competed through 5 rounds of selection challenges for an Analyst position at the Investment Banking Division of UBS. In the end, the job was offered to Master of Financial Management student, William Zhou, who will commence in January 2008. William has been an active and strategic ‘career builder’ throughout his studies: he worked out and fine tuned his plans through individual consultations, took part in ‘Career Days’, made the most of his ‘Career Mentoring’ experience where he was matched with a partner of a large accounting firm, and successfully completed two internships.

William states that ‘studying in the University of Melbourne has been one of the most important decisions that I made.

The two-year study expanded my horizon in financial knowledge, enabled me to access the practical world, and finally resulted in getting the dream job in UBS IBD in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, I made a group of excellent friends who share the same interests, strong ambition and potential to success.’

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Postgraduate student and recent graduate of the postgraduate program, Rita Bimbo

Fortunately, many graduates stay in Melbourne, and some stay within the walls of the University itself. One such graduate is Henry Wu, a current PhD candidate in the Department of Accounting and Business Systems. Henry got involved in strategic career development as soon a he started his PhD and states that ‘Our Career Mentoring Program has been a truly an indispensable part of my study, given that my pre-PhD experiences were mostly academic. By attending excellent career seminars and receiving invaluable guidance from a high profile professional, I have gained advanced understanding on how to position myself strategically, how to balance study and work, how to interact with the business community, and how to integrate fresh industry knowledge into my research and teaching. The instructions I received from CMP have given me a solid preparation for getting a flexible part-time role at one of the largest accounting firms in Australia, offering a unique route of doing a PhD while accumulating relevant professional experiences simultaneously.’

Rita Bimbo, an international student from Hungary is another global career builder, working in the auditing area of an accounting firm while completing the Master of International Business course.

Rita sums up her career development process with these words: ‘When I learnt about the Graduate Career Centre, I felt very lucky to be able to attend and to be able to use all the supporting facilities, as career support in Hungary was not available. I have utilised almost all the services that the Graduate Career Centre offers. I have attended Career Hours, Career Days, obtained e-advice and have been participating in the Career Mentoring Program. I have learnt how to make my cover letter and my CV more attractive for employers and the things I have to prepare for, when attending an interview. I have successfully built my professional network through the Career Day and the Career Mentoring Program. All the contacts I have made through the Graduate Careers Centre have given me enormous help in better preparing myself for my career.’

Members of the alumni community are invited to participate in all Graduate Careers Centre activities as guest speakers, mentors and industry experts.

Please contact: The Graduate Careers Centre 1st Floor, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry Street The University of Melbourne Victoria 3010 Tel: (03) 8344-2629 Email: ecom-gcc@unimelb.edu.au Agnes Banyasz Manager, Graduate Careers Centre Careers Development Practitioner Career Mentoring Program: Ms Bronya Wilkins, Career Programs Officer Faculty of Economics and Commerce Internship Program: Ms Mia Elliott, Internship Coordinator Faculty of Economics and Commerce

graduateschool watchthisspace With the advent of the Melbourne Model and its emphasis on graduate level professional education, the University will be launching a number of graduate schools over the next year. Planning is already well advanced for our graduate school, putting Commerce at the forefront of this new development. Much work has been undertaken behind the scenes to build an organisation that can deliver a full suite of high quality degrees along with the student services expected of a world-class business school. A name has been chosen, and we are awaiting approval for our launch, so watch this space for developments.

Postgraduate student and recent graduate of the postgraduate program, Khin Zaw

Upcoming Postgraduate Information Events If you're thinking about further studies in commerce, or know someone who is, our upcoming events provide the opportunity to talk to program directors and admissions staff to find out which program will best suit your career plans.

If you want to come along to any of these events, please register by calling Alistair Shepherd on 8344 1817 or email: ajshep@unimelb.edu.au.

November 1 Graduate studies in commerce information evening

November 8 Graduate IT information evening

Any graduate thinking of graduate studies, ranging from foundation business studies to practitioner to research

Graduate IT encompasses the range from technical programs, management of IT and business and IT

6.00-7.30pm, Level 1, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry St Carlton.

6.00-7.30pm, Level 1, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry St Carlton.

Queen’s Birthday Honours AO: Officer of the Order of Australia

AM: Member of the Order of Australia

OAM: Medal of the Order of Australia

The Hon Mr Justice Alex Chernov, QC (BCom 1962, BLAWs (Honours)1967) For service to the law through a range of judicial and administrative roles with Victorian, national and Asia-Pacific bodies, and to education through the University of Melbourne.

Mr Sauro Antonelli (BCom 1972) For service to the Italian community through a range of church, welfare, aged care and arts organisations, and to multicultural and migrant assistance programs.

Mr Maurice R. Sexton (BCom 1965) For service to heritage conservation, particularly through the Kosciuszko Huts Association, and to the community of Canberra.

AC: Companion of the Order of Australia Mr Ross Adler (BCom 1966) For service to business and commerce, particularly through the promotion of international trade and as a contributor to company and commercialisation development in Australia, to the community through administrative roles with educational institutions, and as a supporter of the arts.

Mr John W. Gourlay (BCom 1959) (Deceased) For service to the community as a philanthropist supporting charitable organisations, educational institutions and business ethics programs, and to the accountancy profession.

Mrs Janet B. West (BCom 1975/1974) For service to the accountancy profession through the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, and to the community.

Mr John L. McInnes (BCom 1969) For service to the community through educational, social welfare and sporting organisations and through roles in business and commerce.

Mr Clifford D. Wise (BCom 1975/1974) For service to the community, particularly through organisations that support people with disabilities.

Alumni Matters 11

upcomingevents Annual Reunion Luncheon For Alumni who graduated 45 years ago or more Thursday 17 October, 12.30pm Venue: Upper East Dining Room, University House Cost: $45 per person for 2 course meal and drinks Invitations will be mailed in September for this event Enquiries and RSVP: Aimée Dempster on (03) 8344 2603 or email aimeed@unimelb.edu.au

Malaysia Seminar Series Tuesday 6 November, 6.00pm

Melbourne Institute Economics Forum in Melbourne

Venue: Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur World Class Organisations: Learning from the systems, principles and practices of the best Professor Danny Samson will outline the management approach and key principles common to the world’s best companies that he has studied. Although in very different industries, these companies have common underpinnings in terms of leadership and management foundations, which are very stable. The foundational building blocks provide the platform for their industry leadership in terms of operational excellence, innovation and market success. These companies do not attempt to implement initiatives as if they are fads, but rather implement long lasting business improvement strategies as capabilities, leading to their comparative advantage.

This event is free and open to all alumni of Economics and Commerce. The seminar will be followed by drinks and canapes. Please RSVP for catering purposes.

Enquiries and RSVP: Amanda Stanger on +61 3 8344 2128 or email astanger@unimelb.edu.au

Thursday 29 November 2007

Melbourne Institute Public Economics Forum in Canberra

Wednesday 6 February 2008, 6.30pm

Tuesday 27 November 2007 Please contact Ms Penny Hope, Functions Manager MIAESR on (03) 8344 2151 or p.hope@unimelb.edu.au

Inaugural Lecture – Professor Ray Zammuto Tuesday 27 November 2007, 6.30pm Managerial Ideologies and Corporate Cultures This lecture is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served at 7.30pm, following the lecture.

Further details to be confirmed, please contact Aimée Dempster on (03) 8344 2603 or email aimeed@unimelb.edu.au

Please contact Ms Penny Hope, Functions Manager MIAESR on (03) 8344 2151 or p.hope@unimelb.edu.au

Downing Lecture Thursday, 3 December, 6.30pm Presented by Professor Steve Pudney, University of Essex Professor Pudney is Director MISOC, the ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change at the University of Essex and his research is centred on microeconometrics – the econometric analysis of data relating directly to the economics behaviour of individuals – with applications to tax-benefit policy, poverty, labour economics and the economics of crime and illicit drugs.

This lecture is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served at 7.30pm, following the lecture.

Enquiries: Aimée Dempster on (03) 8344 2603 or email aimeed@unimelb.edu.au

David Finch Lecture Presented by Professor Richard Cooper, Harvard University Professor Cooper is the Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics at Harvard University since 1981. He was earlier Professor at Yale University for 14 years, where he was also the provost. He has also served the United States Government on several occasions, as Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, Senior Staff Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers and Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs. An authority on international trade and finance, Professor Cooper has written extensively on various aspects of international economic policy.

His primary fields of interest are international trade, international monetary system, environmental and energy issues.

This lecture is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served at 7.30pm, following the lecture.

Further details to be confirmed please contact Aimée Dempster on (03) 8344 2603 or email aimeed@ unimelb.edu.au

Contact details and further information: Faculty of Economics and Commerce Level 7, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry Street, The University of Melbourne VIC 3010 Tel: 03 8344 2128; Fax 03 8344 2147 Email: commerce-alumni@unimelb.edu.au Web: www.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/ Facebook: University of Melbourne Commerce Alumni Society group Alumni Matters edited by Amanda Stanger, designed by Sophie Campbell, published by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce with authorisation from the Director, Advancement. Disclaimer: the information in this publication was correct at the time of printing.

The University reserves the right to make changes as appropriate.

12 Faculty of Economics and Commerce