inthisissue

prominentalumnus

Dean’s update 2New UMCAS leadership 3Faculty functions 4International alumni 5SIFE Team Australia 6Department news 8Student Leadership Forum 9Graduate Careers Centre 10Graduate School 11Queen’s Birthday Honours 11Upcoming events 12

amalumnimatterswww.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/october2007

Dato Tan married Enid Louey Yen in 1955, the year of hisgraduation. 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 Tanworked in accounting offices and obtained various accountingdiplomas and Chartered Accountancy.

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

Dato Tan is ex-President of the Australian & New ZealandGraduates’ Association in Malaysia and a founding CouncilMember of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, theIndustrial Arbitration Tribunal and the Rent Control Tribunal.

Dato Tan pioneered his family’s history of studying atMelbourne 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 bysubsequently graduating from Melbourne University. Theirgranddaughter is currently studying Multimedia at MonashUniversity, while their grandson is studying International Studies at the Kuala Lumpur campus.

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

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

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

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

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

We are committed to staying in touch with you

We would be pleased to hear about your life’smilestones and successes. To update your information, stay connected, or to learn more about how you can support the Faculty of Economicsand Commerce, please:Stay in Touch

Amanda Stanger, Alumni Advancement OfficerFaculty of Economics and Commerce7th Floor, Alan Gilbert Building161 Barry StreetThe University of Melbourne Victoria 3010astanger@unimelb.edu.auwww.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/Facebook: University of Melbourne Commerce Alumni Society

stayintouch

2 Faculty of Economics and Commerce

Our students already learn from fineacademics who are leaders in their fields,they study and engage with outstandingpeers 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 theopportunities available to them whilestudying in our Faculty. For example, I would like our local students to takeadvantage of studying and/or workinginternationally as part of their Universitydegree. I want our international students to feel part of the global community that the University offers – to make lastingfriendships with Australian students, butalso friends with students from the 70different countries from which our studentscome. And we want all our students,alumni and friends to feel connected to the Faculty and the University. We are committed to providing a trulydifferentiated Melbourne Experience.

To engage with those outside the Universitymeans that we must draw on our alumniand friends of the Faculty. We need theirhelp to ensure that this Faculty is truly one of the finest economics and businessfaculties in the world. And we have over32,000 alumni across the globe from whom to draw.

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

As an example of this engagement, werecently held a day long Student LeadershipForum whereby selected students had anopportunity to hear from leaders from ourcorporate, community and political sectorson the issues facing Australia up to 2020.With the willing cooperation of alumni and friends, this day proved to be a greatsuccess and one that certainly wasmemorable for all involved with the nowPremier, the Honourable John Brumby,leaving the press conference after theresignation of Steve Bracks to present thekey note address to these students. Thiscommitment and willingness of our alumniand business community to support theFaculty is very heartening for me as Dean.

In addition, we want to ensure that we are able to attract to the Faculty the verybest students both local and international to study with us, regardless of theircircumstances. In order to build this fund,the Faculty has set up a matching grantscheme 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 forwardto meeting more of our graduates in thenear future.

Keeping the members of the Economicsand Commerce community informed oncurrent developments is especiallyimportant in this year of major change forthe Faculty. 2008 will see the rollout of the new Melbourne Model Bachelor ofCommerce, as a part of the major revampof the University’s programs. In addition,upcoming months will see the launch of theFaculty’s Graduate School. We will ensurethat our alumni feel a part of these excitingdevelopments.

Professor Margaret AbernethyDean

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

Congratulations to Dr Mechai

Viravaidya (BCom 1965 LLD 1993)

Congratulations to alumnus, Dr Viravaidya,and his team at Thailand’s Population andCommunity Development Association onwinning the 2007 Bill and Melinda GatesAward for Global Health.

Thailand’s Population and CommunityDevelopment Association is renowned forits lifesaving innovation in HIV preventionand 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 nowsynonymous with prevention – literally. The life-saving impact of his work is serious, and something to celebrate. For its groundbreaking efforts in HIVprevention and family planning, the PDA is the recipient of the 2007 Gates Award for Global Health. The award honoursextraordinary efforts to improve health in developing countries.

201st BCom graduate, Mr Gerald

Lynch, passes away

We wish to thank Rosemary Lynch forcontacting us to tell us of her father’s story.We were saddened to hear of the passingof such a remarkable man.

Gerald Lynch, passed away on 6 April, two days short of his 94th birthday. Hegraduated as a Bachelor of Commerce on 10 April 1937 and always took a keeninterest in what was happening at theUniversity and in particular the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. Mr Lynch’schildren all followed him to the University of Melbourne and added to his Commercedegree were two Civil Engineering degrees, one Arts degree and one Musicdegree. 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.

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 longestserving State Treasurer. He is married toRosemary McKenzie and they have threechildren – Georgia, Elizabeth and Nicholas.Malcolm Brumby, his father also completeda BCom at Melbourne in 1948.

Alumni news

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

Alumni Matters 3

newleadership

in UMCASA 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 ChristopherLeptos, in the position of Vice President. Short bios are below.We look forward to working with both gentlemen and wouldlike 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 Chris Leptos, BCom 1980, MBA 1991

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 UMCASwe will continue with activities introduced in previous years – the twice-yearly ‘YoungAlumni’ 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, theAlumni scholarships, and the increased mentoring role for graduates to play in helpingcurrent 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 inthe current operation of the Faculty. An example of this is the mentoring scheme, whereBCom graduates provide invaluable mentoring to undergraduates. This is an incrediblyvaluable contribution that graduates can make – no matter when you graduated you canplay a role. If you are willing to act as a mentor, please contact Dennis Lee via email atdennis.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 atwww.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/ You might also like to join our Facebook group –University of Melbourne Commerce Alumni Society.

Mr Ross Cameron

BCom (Melb), MBA (Bath)Executive Director, CameronResearch Group Pty LtdRoss runs Cameron Research Group, amarket research consultancy specialisingin researching small and medium sizedenterprises (SMEs). He set the businessup 16 years ago after working at BISShrapnel and undertaking a MBA in theUK. Most of Australia’s organisationsthat target small and medium sizedbusinesses are subscribers to Ross’songoing qualitative and quantitativemonitors of the Australian SMEcommunity.

Mr Chris Leptos AM

BCom (Melb), MBA (Melb), FCAChris Leptos is Managing Partner –Government Services of Ernst & Young.Prior to joining E&Y he had workedextensively in Asia with Accenture andWestern Mining. He has undertakennumerous government reviews for both State and Federal governments in Australia, and is a Governor of TheSmith Family and a Director of the Asia Society Australasia Centre.

He is a graduate in Commerce (1977-79), and Master of BusinessAdministration (1990) from theUniversity of Melbourne.

Chris was awarded the Order ofAustralia in 2000 for services tobusiness and the community.

4 Faculty of Economics and Commerce

facultyfunctions

UMCAS AGM and Dinner 11 July 2007

The Hon Dr Jeffrey Kennett AC, was guest speaker at this year’sUMCAS 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 hewas most generous withhis time – even posing forphotographs with some of the guests!

We would also like to thankMr Ian Loxton for his workin organising this year’sAGM and Dinner.

Guests at the 2007 UMCAS AGM and Dinner The Hon Dr Jeff Kennett

Young Alumni Event

16 May 2007

Erik Metanomski, famously referred to as ‘The Oracle of Adelaide’in a book called ‘Masters of the Market – Secrets of Australia’sLeading Sharemarket Investors’, is the founder of MMC FundsManagement. At the Young Alumni Event hosted at RSM BirdCameron in May, Erik spoke about issues such as the rise and rise of private equity, where value investors look for stocks in ahot 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 wasgenerous with his time, going out of his way to answer questionsand talk to Alumni for a long time after his speech had concluded.We would like to thank all who attended and especially MrMetanomski and RSM Bird Cameron for hosting the event.

Insights Launch

1 May 2007

The launch of Insights, a journal documenting important Facultyspeeches, 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 MelbourneModel. Insights was seen as a great initiative by our alumni who attended.

Mr Tom Elliott, BCom 1989, BA (Oxford), at the Insights launch

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

Alumni Matters 5

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

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

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

Seminar in progress

Dinner with the Dean

Kuala Lumpur 29 May 2007

Around 30 of our Alumni attended a dinner at Eest restaurantin the Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday 29 May. TheDean, Professor Margaret Abernethy, Advancement Director,Ms Suzanne Dixon, and Alumni Advancement Officer, MsAmanda Stanger greatly enjoyed the opportunity to spendtime chatting with some of our very high achieving graduatesand would again like to thank all who attended. We hope youenjoyed the evening as much as we did!

Malaysian Seminar Program

25 May 2007

In response to the feasibility study undertaken earlier thisyear, we have instituted a seminar program for our largestalumni group in Malaysia.

Associate Professor Michael Davern kindly presented thefirst of these seminars on Friday 25 May on the topic ofInformation 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).

Professor Sir Clive Granger

Nobel Laureate Seminar

12 September 2007

Professor Sir Clive Granger gave a seminartitled ‘Consideration of Trends in EconomicSeries’ 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, currentlyteaching and conducting research at theUniversity of Melbourne.

facultyfunctions

internationalalumni

6 Faculty of Economics and Commerce

A group of students will now go to New York to competeinternationally at the World Cup. This team also won three of the six individual project awards – Best Competitive SkillsTraining Project; Best Ethical Business Practice Project and Best Team Sustainability Strategy. The competition is judged byCEOs of some of Australia’s largest companies. They competed in Melbourne and performed brilliantly, presenting 5 projectsdesigned 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 themulti-discipline approach taken. One impressive project called‘Community Voicemail’ is a project developed in conjunction withCisco Systems and equips homeless people with free individualvoicemail services so that they have a point of contact tocommunicate with welfare agencies, housing organisations,potential employers, friends and family. The project is being tested with 100 Big Issue vendors.

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

These students demonstrate a real commitment to communityengagement 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 tobenchmark with other SIFE teams and to present to CEOs fromAmerica.

The Prime Minister held a small reception for some of the SIFEteam 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.

welldone SIFE Team AustraliaThe 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.

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

Alumni Matters 7

Melbourne Institute of Applied Economicsand Social Research

The health workforce is now a key focus of government policy.The ever-increasing demand for health care, the ageing of themedical workforce, the increase in the number of womenentering medicine and changes in doctors preferences inrelation to their work life balance, all have an impact on theability of the health care system to provide high quality andaccessible health care. Despite this, there is little knowledge or understanding of how and why doctors make decisionsabout 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 theirhealth 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 doctorshortages 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 arigorous analysis of the decisions which underlie the workforcedistribution and work patterns of doctors. The survey resultswill provide important information in support of future policydevelopment and evaluation.

The MABEL survey will track a random stratified sample ofaround 6,000 doctors over an initial four-year period. This willinclude 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 MedicalResearch Council, Health Services Research Program.

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

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 hasbegun 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.

Industry supports high

achieving Commerce students

The Faculty has a rapidly expandingscholarships 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 governmentorganisations to engage with our high achievingstudents, and build relationships which often lead to employment opportunities.

When industry-sponsored scholarships lead tovacation work, students gain the opportunity to applytheory in a practical setting and can then share theirinsights into current business practices with theirpeers. Such opportunities are an important componentof the Faculty’s knowledge transfer initiative.

The Faculty celebrates the achievements of itsstudents at two ceremonies during the year: theDean’s Awards Ceremony and the StudentAchievement Evening. The latter is an importantindustry 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.

facultynews

departmentnewsKnowledge Transfer in

Economics

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

The new lab is a state of the art facilitywith 30 workstations and a purpose builtlab manager’s office. The lab will enable a wide range of experimental economicsprojects to be undertaken and builds upon an already successful program of experimental economics that hasbecome an important part of theDepartment’s research, teaching andknowledge transfer profiles.

Funding for the lab has come from a variety of sources, including theDepartment, Faculty and the ViceChancellor’s Office. The VictorianDepartment of Treasury and Finance has also made a significant financialinvestment in the lab. This is part of anongoing project with members of theEconomics Department that has includedthe provision of training courses for theDepartment of Treasury and Finance’sstaff, training that has included the use of experimental techniques to covey basiceconomics principles. The Department ofTreasury and Finance, again in conjunctionwith members of the EconomicsDepartment, also plan to use the lab toroad test various policy initiatives makingthis an excellent example of howknowledge transfer can assist in thedesign of public policy. For his ongoingwork with the Department of Treasury and Finance, the Economics Department’sDr. Nikos Nikiforakis has recently been awarded a commendation in the University’s Excellence in Knowledge Transfer awards.

Actuarial Studies: LIBOR

workshop and research grants

Associate Professor Mark Joshi, a plenary speaker at this year’s QuantitativeMethods in Finance Conference, is alsogiving a two-day workshop on the LondonInterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) marketmodel at the conference. LIBOR is thecurrent industry standard for pricingcomplex interest rate derivatives, andJoshi will present his latest research oncomputing sensitivities, calibration andcallability.

In other news, congratulations to Dr Shuanming Li, Dr David Pitt and Dr Xueyuan Wu, all members of theCentre for Actuarial Studies, who wereawarded an Early Career Faculty ResearchGrant for 2007. They are researching thedrivers of claim frequencies and costs for Australian workers’ compensationinsurance, in conjunction with statisticiansand actuarial analysts from the WorkCoverCorporation of South Australia (WCSA). Dr Pitt and Dr Wu visited WCSA in early2007 and discussed statistical modellingstrategies 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, hassuccessfully completed a project calledCOST-WORTH in partnership withProfessor Ross Chapman from theUniversity of Western Sydney.

The project produced two software-basedmethodologies for diagnosing businessprocesses in SMEs in Europe andAustralia, which are accessible via the web to assist in the improvement of SME business performance. Already,Australian companies are benefiting fromthe software – AutoTek has secured FordAustralia as a customer as a result of

applying the methodologies;and SCS Plastics used thesoftware to upgrade systemsto cope with growth inoverseas markets.

In addition to the method -ologies, seven case studiesand one journal article (inpress) were produced. The project was acollaboration between EUmember countries andAustralia under the 5thFramework Program inEurope and DEST’sInternational Science LinkageProgram in Australia, underBacking Australia’s Ability.

Performance management

project at Children’s Protection

Society

Professor Anne Lillis and Dr JenniferGrafton, from the Department ofAccounting and Business InformationSystems, are assisting the Children’sProtection Society (CPS) with thedevelopment and implementation of a new performance management protocol to enhance organisational decision-making,relationships with stakeholders, programevaluation and overall organisationaleffectiveness.

CPS is a not-for-profit organisation involvedin a range of activities related to childprotection, including policy development,advocacy and direct client services.Professor Lillis and Dr Grafton conducted a series of workshops and facilitated anumber of breakout groups that engagedclient service staff, key team leaders,senior managers and board members.These sessions revisited the organisation’smission and identified key strategicthemes to facilitate the development of causal strategy maps. The maps wereused to design a balanced performancemanage ment system that reflects theprominent social goals of the organisationas well as the needs of multiplestakeholders (including fund providers).

The project has furthered Professor Lillis’and Dr Grafton’s understanding of thechallenges of designing and introducingperformance management protocols insettings with predominantly socialmissions. Their experience directly informstheir teaching in Enterprise PerformanceManagement, a large core managementaccounting subject.

Finance Professor contributes

to public debate

Professor Kevin Davis’ name has appeared in several recent newspublications in relation to his paper,‘Banking Concentration, Financial Stabilityand Public Policy’, which he presented at the Reserve Bank of Australia 2007Conference. He gained editorial coveragein The Weekend Australian and TheWeekend Australian Financial Review(25-26 August, 2007). Professor Davis was also quoted in The New York Timesin the article, ‘Why a U.S. SubprimeMortgage Crisis Is Felt Around the World’ (31 August, 2007).

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

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

8 Faculty of Economics and Commerce

Alumni Matters 9

studentleadership forumAustralia to 2020: Challenges and potential

While many of their peers lay asleep, enjoying a welldeserved Friday morning sleep-in, 100 high-achievingCommerce 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 StudentLeadership Forum – Australia to 2020: Challenges and potential.

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

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

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

The Honourable Mr John Brumby MP, Treasurer of Victoria, wasthe keynote speaker for the forum. Students were particularlyimpressed that he managed to attend the event, given theresignation of Premier Steve Bracks on the day. In fact, it wasquite fitting to have the future Premier of Victoria share a momentwith the University’s most promising future business leaders. Mr Brumby identified and spoke of the three major challenges forAustralia – the world economy, the environment, and philanthropy.

One of the Australia’s best-known businessmen, Mr Lindsay FoxAO, Founder & non-Executive Chairman, Fox Group Holdings, was a perfect choice to begin the Corporate session. A self-madebillionaire, Lindsay focused on leadership, outlining for studentswhat makes a successful leader and a successful business. Hedistilled 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 speakerwho followed Lindsay, Mr Ahmed Fahour, described him as‘leadership in real life’.

As CEO of National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia, Mr Fahourcould also be considered an authority in leadership and successfulbusiness. However, he chose to take a different approach, focusingon the four key areas he believes Australia needs to consider –climate change and the environment, demography, emergingnations and inequality for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

Mr Fahour was openly emotional as he spoke of the plight ofIndigenous Australians. In effect, Mr Fahour perfectly illustratedthe overlap between globalisation, the business world andcommunity issues.

Ms Janine Kirk AM, Partner, Ernst & Young, added to the speechgiven by Lindsay Fox, speaking of success and leadership.Outlining the guiding principles for leadership, including expertise,communication, adaptability and passion, students were quick tonote them down for future reference.

After lunch, Ms Mary Wooldridge, Shadow Minster for mentalhealth, opened the afternoon Community session. Mary explainedthat there is ‘a lot of disadvantage on our doorstep’, going on to talk about the range of groups that suffer disadvantage inAustralian society. However, she stressed that ‘no problems are too hard to tackle… [although we may] need to be socialentrepreneurs… 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 nowdivides his time between Macquarie Bank and community causes,discussed how individuals and corporations can benefit thecommunity, as the ‘government is ill-equipped to solve everyproblem’.

Mr Joseph Elu, Chairman of Indigenous Business Australia,encouraged students to contact him with any good ideas forsolving the problems experienced by his local community locatedat the tip of Cape York, Queensland. He delivered a heartfeltspeech, talking of the problems that plague the Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander communities of Australia. The Communitysession gave students a real chance to think about the contributionthey can make, not just in the business world, but to society as awhole. 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 wellreceived by all in attendance. Honours student Ray Hass said theday ‘served to illustrate the endless possibilities that the corporateculture of Australia embodies’. He noted the highlight of the day‘was being able to contrast the experiences of people such asLindsay Fox and Ahmed Fahour, who have reached the pinnacle of industry through very separate journeys’. Several students alsocommented that the Community session had caused them to givemore thought to community issues, a thought one hopes will staywith them throughout their careers.

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

Carolyn Deller

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

Students and industry leaders chatting over lunch

10 Faculty of Economics and Commerce

The richly diverse profile of the postgraduatestudent cohort ensures that participants from everycorner of the world are present in career activitiesfacilitated by the Graduate Careers Centre. ‘CareerHours’ and ‘Career Days’ often feel like internationalconferences where young professionals-in-traininggather to meet, learn new skills and exchange ideasand experiences.

Interaction with alumni and industry representatives furtherenhances this experience and provides participants with valuableinsight into professional life at different levels and into multiplesegments of industry. Mentors with extensive industry experienceconnect 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 toworking life more focused and manageable.

Individual consultations integrate all of the above, encouragestudents to assess their skills, identify strengths and weaknessesand 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 withglobal interest and career development acumen have been activelycontributing to the worldwide phenomenon of increased globalmovement of professionals:

– several graduates with PRC and Indian citizenship have securedauditing 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 theCorporate Management Associate Program with CitigroupIndonesia;

– a local MAC Accounting graduate was attracted to the warmthof Darwin into a role with the Northern Territory TreasuryDepartment.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, four short-listed University of MelbourneCommerce students competed through 5 rounds of selectionchallenges for an Analyst position at the Investment BankingDivision of UBS. In the end, the job was offered to Master ofFinancial Management student, William Zhou, who will commencein January 2008. William has been an active and strategic ‘careerbuilder’ throughout his studies: he worked out and fine tuned hisplans through individual consultations, took part in ‘Career Days’,made the most of his ‘Career Mentoring’ experience where hewas matched with a partner of a large accounting firm, andsuccessfully 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 ingetting the dream job in UBS IBD in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Imade a group of excellent friends who share the same interests,strong ambition and potential to success.’

Fortunately, many graduates stay in Melbourne, and some staywithin the walls of the University itself. One such graduate isHenry Wu, a current PhD candidate in the Department ofAccounting and Business Systems. Henry got involved in strategiccareer development as soon a he started his PhD and states that‘Our Career Mentoring Program has been a truly an indispensablepart of my study, given that my pre-PhD experiences were mostlyacademic. By attending excellent career seminars and receivinginvaluable guidance from a high profile professional, I have gainedadvanced understanding on how to position myself strategically,how to balance study and work, how to interact with the businesscommunity, and how to integrate fresh industry knowledge intomy research and teaching. The instructions I received from CMPhave given me a solid preparation for getting a flexible part-timerole at one of the largest accounting firms in Australia, offering aunique route of doing a PhD while accumulating relevantprofessional experiences simultaneously.’

Rita Bimbo, an international student from Hungary is another globalcareer builder, working in the auditing area of an accounting firmwhile 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 luckyto be able to attend and to be able to use all the supportingfacilities, as career support in Hungary was not available. I haveutilised almost all the services that the Graduate Career Centreoffers. I have attended Career Hours, Career Days, obtained e-advice and have been participating in the Career MentoringProgram. I have learnt how to make my cover letter and my CV more attractive for employers and the things I have to preparefor, when attending an interview. I have successfully built myprofessional network through the Career Day and the CareerMentoring Program. All the contacts I have made through theGraduate Careers Centre have given me enormous help in betterpreparing myself for my career.’

Global distribution of

postgraduate talent

Members of the alumni community are invited toparticipate 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 StreetThe University of Melbourne Victoria 3010Tel: (03) 8344-2629 Email: ecom-gcc@unimelb.edu.au

Agnes Banyasz

Manager, Graduate Careers CentreCareers Development Practitioner

Career Mentoring Program:

Ms Bronya Wilkins, Career Programs OfficerFaculty of Economics and Commerce

Internship Program:

Ms Mia Elliott, Internship CoordinatorFaculty of Economics and Commerce

graduatecareerscentre

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

Alumni Matters 11

graduateschoolwatchthisspaceWith the advent of the Melbourne Model and its emphasison graduate level professional education, the Universitywill be launching a number of graduate schools over thenext year. Planning is already well advanced for ourgraduate school, putting Commerce at the forefront of this new development. Much work has been undertakenbehind the scenes to build an organisation that can delivera full suite of high quality degrees along with the studentservices expected of a world-class business school. Aname has been chosen, and we are awaiting approval for our launch, so watch this space for developments.

November 1 Graduate studies in

commerce information evening

Any graduate thinking of graduatestudies, ranging from foundationbusiness studies to practitioner to research

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

November 8 Graduate IT

information evening

Graduate IT encompasses the rangefrom technical programs, managementof IT and business and IT

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

AO: Officer of the Order of

Australia

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

AC: Companion of the Order of

Australia

Mr Ross Adler (BCom 1966)For service to business and commerce,particularly through the promotion ofinternational trade and as a contributorto company and commercialisationdevelopment in Australia, to thecommunity through administrative roles with educational institutions, and as a supporter of the arts.

AM: Member of the Order of

Australia

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

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

Mrs Janet B. West (BCom 1975/1974)For service to the accountancyprofession through the Institute ofChartered Accountants in Australia, and to the community.

OAM: Medal of the Order of

Australia

Mr Maurice R. Sexton (BCom 1965)For service to heritage conservation,particularly through the Kosciuszko HutsAssociation, and to the community ofCanberra.

Mr John L. McInnes (BCom 1969)For service to the community througheducational, social welfare and sportingorganisations and through roles inbusiness and commerce.

Mr Clifford D. Wise (BCom1975/1974)For service to the community,particularly through organisations that support people with disabilities.

Queen’s Birthday Honours

Upcoming Postgraduate Information EventsIf you're thinking about further studies in commerce, or know someone who is,our upcoming events provide the opportunity to talk to program directors andadmissions 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 AlistairShepherd on 8344 1817 or email: ajshep@unimelb.edu.au.

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

12 Faculty of Economics and Commerce

Annual Reunion Luncheon

For Alumni who graduated 45 years ago or more

Thursday 17 October, 12.30pm

Venue: Upper East Dining Room, University HouseCost: $45 per person for 2 course meal and drinksInvitations will be mailed in September for this eventEnquiries and RSVP: Aimée Dempster on (03) 8344 2603 or email aimeed@unimelb.edu.au

Malaysia Seminar Series

Tuesday 6 November, 6.00pm

Venue: Australian High Commission, Kuala LumpurWorld Class Organisations: Learning from the systems,principles and practices of the bestProfessor Danny Samson will outline the management approach and key principles common to the world’s bestcompanies that he has studied. Although in very differentindustries, these companies have common underpinnings in terms of leadership and management foundations, which are very stable. The foundational building blocks provide theplatform for their industry leadership in terms of operationalexcellence, innovation and market success. These companies do not attempt to implement initiatives as if they are fads, butrather 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

Melbourne Institute Public Economics Forum

in Canberra

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 CulturesThis 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 Dempsteron (03) 8344 2603 or email aimeed@unimelb.edu.au

Melbourne Institute Economics Forum in Melbourne

Thursday 29 November 2007

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 EssexProfessor 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 econometricanalysis 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 emailaimeed@unimelb.edu.au

David Finch Lecture

Wednesday 6 February 2008, 6.30pm

Presented by Professor Richard Cooper, Harvard UniversityProfessor Cooper is the Maurits C. Boas Professor of InternationalEconomics at Harvard University since 1981. He was earlierProfessor 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 IntelligenceCouncil, Senior Staff Economist at the Council of EconomicAdvisers and Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs. An authorityon international trade and finance, Professor Cooper has writtenextensively on various aspects of international economic policy.His primary fields of interest are international trade, internationalmonetary 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 Dempsteron (03) 8344 2603 or email aimeed@ unimelb.edu.au

upcomingevents

Contact details and further information:

Faculty of Economics and CommerceLevel 7, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry Street, The University of Melbourne VIC 3010Tel: 03 8344 2128; Fax 03 8344 2147 Email: commerce-alumni@unimelb.edu.auWeb: www.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/Facebook: University of Melbourne Commerce Alumni Society group

Alumni Matters edited by Amanda Stanger, designed by SophieCampbell, published by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce with authorisation from the Director, Advancement. Disclaimer: theinformation in this publication was correct at the time of printing. The University reserves the right to make changes as appropriate.