Our Team
Equipping health leaders from Australia and around the world with knowledge and skills to transform the health sector.
Improving the Health of Leadership.
Improving the leadership of health.
About the Academy
The Bastas Academy for Health Leadership is built on a deep and ongoing collaboration between Melbourne Business School (MBS) and the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS). This partnership brings together expertise from across disciplines to deliver a truly integrated learning experience.
Each course is co-designed and co-delivered by faculty from both organisations, ensuring participants benefit from world-class insights in leadership, healthcare, and research. Our educators combine academic excellence with real-world experience, creating a dynamic environment where diverse perspectives drive meaningful learning.
Beyond the classroom, staff from MBS and MDHS work closely together across all aspects of the Academy — from curriculum development to participant support and community engagement. This shared commitment underpins everything we do, fostering a collaborative culture that reflects the complexity and opportunity within modern healthcare leadership.
Our People
Jane Gunn | Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne
"Not all health professionals begin their career with the intention of becoming a leader."
"Yet, leadership is vital at all levels of the health sector. The capabilities and knowledge required for effective leadership in healthcare, such as strategic thinking, collaboration, communication, financial management, change management and innovation, are often undervalued compared to technical and academic competencies."
PROFESSOR JANE GUNN AO
Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne
Professor Jenny George | Dean, Melbourne Business School | Co-Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics
"Health leadership requires not just medical expertise, but strategic business capabilities."
"Our partnership combines cutting-edge health sciences education with world-class business acumen to equip leaders to tackle healthcare's most pressing commercial, operational and ethical challenges."
PROFESSOR JENNY GEORGE
Dean, Melbourne Business School
Co-Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics
Robert Saunders | Director, Bastas Academy for Health Leadership
"It’s been impressive to see how much the Bastas Academy has grown in just one year, and the strong interest from health care leaders in collaborating with the Academy."
"I’m looking forward to building on this momentum - expanding our educational offerings and their reach, engaging our growing alumni and the broader health community across Victoria, nationally and internationally, and strengthening the evidence base for health care leadership in Australia."
PROFESSOR ROBERT SAUNDERS
Director, Bastas Academy for Health Leadership
Advisory Board
Chris Kilpatrick
Experienced Board Director in health services and former CEO of Royal Melbourne and Royal Children’s Hospitals.
Dennis Bastas
Chairman & Group CEO, DBG Health Pty Ltd.
Shelley Dolan
CEO, Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Dale Fraser
CEO, Grampians Health.
Jodie Geissler
CEO, Austin Health.
Annabelle Huguenin
Clinician leader and MACH-Track PhD on health leadership.
Greg Hunt
Enterprise Professor Health Leadership, University of Melbourne.
Kate Munnings
CEO Vitrify, Board of Westfarmers, and former CEO of Virtus Health.
Jaala Pulford
Former Minister of Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy.
Jenny George
Dean, Melbourne Business School (MBS).
Jane Gunn
Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS), University of Melbourne.
