Sustainable Value Creation Institute | Our Team
The Sustainable Value Creation Institute (SVCI) was established with business, for business, with the purpose to fundamentally advance sustainable value creation across corporate Australia.
Director, Sustainable Value Creation Institute
Will Harvey is a Professor of Leadership at Melbourne Business School and holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Will advises business leaders on reputation, purpose and leadership, and facilitates board and senior management sessions. He teaches on the Senior Executive and Executive MBA programs at MBS and is an International Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation. Will serves as a Board Director of WISE Employment and is a graduate of the AICD. He is the author of Reputations at Stake and the lead co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Social Purpose.
Dr Gary Veale
Executive Director
Dr Gary Veale is a sustainability leader, strategist and educator with more than 25 years’ experience across academia, consulting and industry. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne on the human–nature relationship, informing his work on leadership and innovation. Prior to SVCI, Gary was Executive Director of the Centre for Sustainability and Business at Melbourne Business School, driving cross-sector initiatives and advising senior leaders on sustainability and transformation. Earlier, as a Director at KPMG, he advised local and global clients on sustainability, strategy and supply chains. His work focuses on sustainable value creation, helping organisations align purpose, growth and impact.
David Keith is Associate Professor of Innovation and Sustainability at Melbourne Business School holds a PhD in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. David teaches business strategy, corporate strategy and sustainability in the MBA and Executive MBA programs. He specialises in the use of simulation for strategy development in complex and dynamic settings with a particular focus on the future of energy and mobility. David’s research spans technology diffusion, platform competition, the sharing economy, and the effects of new technologies on energy use and environmental outcomes. He previously served on the faculty at MIT Sloan School of Management.
Don Henry AM
Don Henry AM is an Enterprise Professor of Environmentalism at SVCI and the University of Melbourne, with a focus on practical action and transformative change. His expertise is in climate change and biodiversity solutions, and his experience is at the intersections of business, civil society, and government. He serves as a member of the Forum for Corporate Responsibility for BHP, an International Board Member of The Climate Reality Project, chaired by former US Vice President Al Gore, and is Chair of the Smart Energy Council. His career includes serving as CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation and WWF Australia, as well as roles as a Director of WWF US, and the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. In 2018, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to the environment.
Dr Catherine Brown OAM
Dr Catherine Brown OAM leads the Blended Finance for Climate Initiative at SVCI, utilising her background in climate philanthropy, impact investing, law and innovation to hold strategic conversations with experts on ways to accelerate finance into our climate transition (mitigation and adaptation) through blended finance approaches. Catherine was the CEO of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, the largest community foundation in Australia, for 12 years until early 2024. Catherine’s PhD is titled Unlocking the innovation potential of philanthropic organisations. Catherine is a lawyer and an experienced director. She was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia for services to charitable organisations in 2020.
Dirk Visser
Dirk Visser has more than 15 years’ experience as a strategist, educator and researcher, working at the intersection of business and sustainability. Dirk has developed and delivered sustainability-related capability building programs for boards, senior executives and teams while at MBS, and previously at Monash University and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. He has also delivered sustainability strategy advisory projects for a range or large corporate clients in Australia and South Africa. Outside the university sector, he was a strategy and sustainability specialist in the banking sector and has an ongoing advisory role to the investment team of a hedge fund.
Dr Jon Whittle
Professor Jon Whittle is Australia's leading thought leader on AI for business. A former technical lead at NASA and director of CSIRO's AI capability, he also founded Australia's National AI Centre. He has a global reputation for applying AI to achieve real world impact with a human-centred approach, having worked with or advised Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration in the US, Google, Microsoft, NASA, Australian Super, Medibank, BHP, Supreme Court Justice of Victoria, state and federal governments. He is author of two books on AI: Responsible AI - Best Practices for Creating Trustworthy AI Systems, and AI for
Business - A Guide to AI Adoption. He also hosts the award-winning podcast, CSIRO Presents Everyday AI.
Alex Roberts
Alex Roberts is the Institute's Engagement Manager and Fellow (Enterprise). She holds a Master of Environment and Sustainability from Monash University, specialising in environmental governance. Alex’s work focuses on strengthening the relationship between the Institute and its partners, as well as delivering a suite of events in relation to the Institute’s three interconnected areas – climate change and decarbonisation, nature and circularity and thriving communities and society. She leads and contributes to climate and sustainability-related projects and programs, including the project-management of large-scale sustainability upskilling programs and the school’s own greenhouse gas emissions reporting.
Sophie Cross
Sophie Cross is the Institute Coordinator, supporting operations, events, program delivery and stakeholder engagement. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce from the Australian National University. Prior to joining SVCI, Sophie spent four years working as a change management and communications consultant for large scale transformation projects across FMCG, advisory, financial services and government sectors. She brings ample experience in fundraising, events and operations, having previously worked in the philanthropy teams at both the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Library of Australia.
