The Graduate Union faces a critical transition to rejuvenate our activities to enrich and diversify our membership services and programs.

The proposed development partnership is an extraordinary opportunity to secure the GU’s future and to support us revitalising our activities, programs and social impact.

In a time of unprecedented change, our mission to foster the robust exchange of informed, enquiring and deep thinking – the hallmarks of university education – is never more relevant, and could be a compelling contribution to the development of our society.

As we refresh how we fulfill our mission and objectives we have an exciting opportunity to value the best of our traditions, enhance the opportunities we offer our members and expand our influence.

In this overwhelming digital transition, opportunities for relating and interaction become even more important: this is what the Graduate Union does well, and will do even better.

Current Council Status: Seeking to Join Council

Length of Continuous Membership of The Graduate Union:  3 Years

Explain how your key areas of expertise will contribute to Council.

My 40 years’ experience as director / managing director of a private company, of similar size and turnover to the GU, will contribute to maintaining high standards of appropriate governance, responsible financial management, effective operations and achieving our strategic goals.

As a registered architect (project manager) leading complex teams on construction projects up to $60m I have highly relevant knowledge of design and construction industry practice, construction law, cost control, Authority requirements and desirable practices and working relationships that will promote the success of the GU’s proposed development which is to occur in the next four years.

Outline your view on the development and growth potential of The Graduate Union in the next three years.

The Graduate Union faces a critical transition in the next three years to rejuvenate our operations to enrich and diversify our membership services and activities. We face unprecedented change, in which the robust exchange of informed, enquiring and deep thinking – the hallmarks of university education – will be crucial to the development of our society.

Leveraging off the building redevelopment GU will be able to both broaden and deepen the extent and quality of our activities and social impact, enabling our members to engage in meaningful lifelong learning and create opportunities for consequential dialogue.

For example, benefits of the development will enable us to bring to Graduate House pre-eminent thought leaders, create high quality events and support emerging students and leaders to develop their careers. Capacity to host both in-person and high quality online interactions will enrich our members and associates’ lives while contributing to wider social benefits.

Outline your current involvement with The Graduate Union.

I am a Council member, deputy Chair of the Gladstone PCG and member, Advancement committee. Before Gladstone committee establishment, I was on the Facilities committee from July 2024.

I am co-sponsor of the Business Transition Modelling project, which I initiated, wrote the brief, led the working party to engage consultants and have managed their work since late 2025.

In 2024 I wrote the preliminary Functional Design Brief for new facilities of the Graduate Union to be built in the development. This became a GU tender document to the development bidders.

This year I facilitated Councillors at the Retreat to develop a revised GU facilities brief and subsequently organised a Quantity Surveyors’ cost estimate to inform the developer partner negotiations.

In April 2024 I undertook, at my own expense, a study tour of recent University student accommodation in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

State your TWO greatest achievements of relevance to governance (e.g. as a member of a company board or The Graduate Union Council, as a contributor to your community).

I managed an architectural practice growing from six to 20 people 1992-2019 (Managing Director 2007-2019). This included sustaining it through several economic recession cycles. Our practice achieves exceptional staff retention, indicating their satisfaction with our healthy and supportive workplace culture. We achieved gender balance and gender pay equivalence early and we employ people of many different cultural backgrounds. Our projects feature significant client satisfaction reflected in multiple repeat engagements – up to 27 projects with one government department.

Our projects enjoy productive and respectful working relationships within our consultant teams and with the construction companies and their contractors on whom the projects depend for their realisation.

My initiation of the Business Transition Modelling study is already having substantial benefits and impacts on the GU leadership in promoting transparency and understanding of our financial situation, and a pathway to planning our future healthy growth and evolution.

List relevant industry and community-based experience.

As noted above, considerable experience in design and building to realise projects to solve clients’ facility and accommodation requirements.

Leadership of complex multi-disciplinary consulting teams, achieving successful negotiations with a variety of Authorities, and managing design and construction projects to comply with tight financial budgets.

Our projects are for government, public institutions and the community, particularly secondary and tertiary education, sports, recreation and cultural facilities.

My particular expertise is in conducting consultation with project stakeholders and the community to elicit their needs and understanding of the purpose of public projects, and finding integrated solutions that resolve all project objectives to benefit the client and users.

Academic qualifications

1986, University of Auckland, New Zealand, Bachelor of Architecture.

2014, RMIT University, Diploma – Professional Writing and Editing,

Registered Architect, Architects Registration Board of Victoria, since 1991.

Fellow, Royal Australian Institute of Architects