Alumni Community Newsletter July to September 2026
Our alumni have taken on CEO and board roles, won national awards and contributed to public debate. Meanwhile, our alumni chapters hosted events on acquisitions, commercialisation, energy and AI.
Portrait of Catherine Walter AM unveiled at Women’s Alumni Network event
A portrait of Catherine Walter AM (MBA 1989) by artist Brittany Jones was unveiled at Melbourne Business School on Wednesday, 12 August 2026. The portrait was commissioned in recognition of Catherine’s long-standing contribution to Melbourne Business School as board member and to the wider community, as a co-founder of the Women in Leadership Dinner, now in its 31st year. The unveiling, preceded by a toast to Catherine, opened a sold-out Money Moves event hosted by the Women’s Alumni Network.
Catherine is a company director and lawyer whose board roles have included NAB, Orica, the ASX, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and the Reserve Bank of Australia Payments System Board and Melbourne Business School. She is a former Managing Partner of Clayton Utz Melbourne and former Melbourne City Council Commissioner.
The artist Brittany is s Melbourne-based figurative artist who was selected as a finalist in the 2025 Archibald Prize for her self-portrait New Madonna.
Following the unveiling, Professor Geoff Martin (MBA 2002)moderated a panel discussion on major financial decisions, featuring MBA alum Diana Bevington, Madeleine Lynch and Marc Jukes. The panel discussed decisions that shape careers, families and financial futures. The event was co-hosted by the Women’s Alumni Network, the Student Finance Club and the Women in Management Club.
Thank you to Claire Anglim (MBA 2023), President of the Women’s Alumni Network, and Caitlin Lynch (MBA 2021), Committee Member of the Women’s Alumni Network, for organising the evening.
Alumni Appointments
MBA alum Maureen Baker has been appointed a Non-Executive Director of Rhythm Biosciences, effective 27 August 2026. She brings more than 25 years of experience in financial services, including investment banking and securities roles, along with deep expertise in capital markets and investor relations. Baker currently chairs the Risk and Audit Committee at Acorn Capital Investment Fund Limited and serves as a Non-Executive Director of Vmoto Ltd.Percheron Therapeutics has appointed Dr Michael Baker (MBA) as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. An experienced scientist, investor and biotechnology executive, Dr Baker joins from Arovella Therapeutics, where he was CEO and Managing Director, and will lead Percheron through its next phase of development. Read more at Percheron Therapeutics.
Master of Marketing alum Aggie Cox progressed from frontline emergency and trauma nursing to become Hologic’s Government Affairs & Marketing Director for Australia and New Zealand. Her standout impact has been elevating under-recognised women’s health issues and helping women seek information, diagnosis and treatment earlier.
MBA alumni Leanne Edwards joined the executive team of strategic communications firm The Reputation Agency as Principal in July 2026. She brings senior experience spanning corporate affairs, advocacy, policy, brand management and strategic engagement. Leanne has held senior roles at Coles Supermarkets, Committee for Melbourne and Master Builders Victoria. Read more at The Reputation Agency.
MBA alumni Alistair Macrae has in July 2026 been appointed Head of Asia Pacific at Russell Reynolds Associates and a member of the firm’s Global Senior Leadership Team. In his new role, Alister will lead the firm’s operations across Asia-Pacific, deepening relationships with key clients and driving strategic growth across geographies. Based across Sydney and Melbourne, he advises boards, CEOs and executive teams on leadership, governance, succession and organisational effectiveness in Australia and internationally. Read more at Russell Reynolds Associates.
Congratulations to MBA alumnus Robert Stein on his appointment as CEO of Latrobe Magnesium. Robert brings extensive technical, financial and commercial experience to the company, which is developing a demonstration plant in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley to recover magnesium and other materials from industrial ash.
MBA alum Ben Thompson has joined boutique strategy consultancy GNG Partners in Melbourne, following more than seven years with Partners in Performance. Thompson brings over 25 years of experience across strategy, growth and operating model improvement, with previous senior roles at Tabcorp and Boston Consulting Group.
Advanced Management Program alumni and former Melbourne Business School Associate Dean Professor Ian O. Williamson was appointed chair of the AACSB International board, leading the world’s largest business-education network and global standard-setting body for business schools. Professor Williamson is currently the Dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, and was previously the Pro-Vice Chancellor and the Dean of the Wellington School of Business and Government at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
Executive MBA alumni Serge Zappone was appointed President, International, and Senior Vice President of global security solutions company Allegion, effective 1 January 2027. Serge currently leads Allegion’s Asia-Pacific business, and brings more than 30 years of experience in the building products industry, including senior leadership roles across Europe and Asia. Since joining Allegion in 2020, he has played a key role in strengthening the company’s operational performance and customer focus across the Asia-Pacific region.
Alumni in the News
Congratulations to Jack Ducat (MBA) co-founder and CEO of Sydney-based Gojee, which was named Global Small Business App of the Year at the Xero Global App Awards in August 2026. Built originally as a project within Jack’s family’s earthmoving business Duckett Earthmoving, Gojee helps small businesses track job profitability in real time. The company now serves customers across Australia and several international markets. Read more here.
Master of Marketing alum Stuart Gregor, co-founder of the craft gin company Four Pillars and CEO of Hobart-based whisky producer Lark Distilling, reveals the secret to differentiating his brands from everything else in the market. “I’d love to be the guy who ran the entrepreneurship subject at Melbourne Business School that I took that changed my career into starting my own business,” said Stuart. Read or listen to Stuart’s story here.
MBA alum Susie Grehl, an executive at Commonwealth Bank, spoke to Forbes Australia about why many young Australians who want to invest do not. She pointed to cost-of-living pressure, investment jargon and a lack of confidence about where to begin, and outlined her work on simpler, more accessible pathways into investing. Read more at Forbes Australia.
Former Melbourne Business School Dean Professor Ian Harper, a former member of the Reserve Bank of Australia Monetary Policy Board, spoke to the Australian Financial Review about the RBA’s approach to interest rates. In September, he described the board’s monetary policy discussions as “very vigorous”, in an article reporting that the board was split on rate decisions at one in three meetings. In October, he said the RBA had been caught off guard by a surge in inflation and warned of a possible fifth rate rise this year. Read more at the Australian Financial Review: September and October.
Melbourne Business School lecturer Stephen Miles co-authored Riding Shotgun with Nathan Bennett, a research-based book examining how chief operating officers support CEOs and execute strategy. Miles co-leads the New CEO Program at Melbourne Business School. Read more at Charter Works.
In a profile on Bisnis.com, Sustainability for Strategic Advantage short course alum Anugrah Pakerti describes how he built Indonesian skincare brand Avoskin from a small boarding room in Yogyakarta into one of the country’s leading local beauty brands. As founder and CEO of AVO Innovation Technology, Pakerti has expanded the business beyond Avoskin to a portfolio of beauty brands, while championing innovation, sustainability and Indonesian-made products. His entrepreneurial success has also earned him recognition among Asia’s influential young business leaders.
Current MBA student Nisha Pradhan was named one of six winners of the Australian Financial Review’s 2026 BOSS Young Executives awards, which recognise business leaders aged 35 and under. Pradhan is Acting Chief Development Officer at mining company PanAust and has previously held roles at Macquarie Capital in Sydney and San Francisco, the International Finance Corporation and Lyft. Read more at the Australian Financial Review.
Emerging Social Purpose Leaders short course alumni Harris Ryan and Simon Fenech, who met through the program at Melbourne Business School, have formed a commercial partnership between Meals with Impact and Fruit2Work. Under the partnership, a single corporate purchase supports employment for migrant and refugee women and for people affected by the justice system. Read more at Social Traders.
Accelerated Management Program alum David Williamson, CEO of not-for-profit Vision Australia, is calling for vision services to be better integrated into Australia’s aged care system. Speaking to Australian Ageing Agenda, he said vision loss among older people is often under-recognised. He called for earlier identification, better access to specialist support, and the inclusion of vision care in aged care funding, workforce training and service design.
Buying a small business? Experienced acquirers explain how to find, assess and close a deal
On 6 August 2026, Melbourne’s Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) community and Melbourne Business School hosted a panel discussion on searching for and acquiring a small business. Attendees ranged from people exploring the ETA path to experienced business buyers.
MBA candidate Jerom Geerts moderated the panel, which featured Tim Williams (MBA 2001), Managing Director of Alfred Lewis Engineering; Kelsey Winney, an investor, operator and former traditional search fund entrepreneur; and Rob Gaunt, co-founderof Trivium Partners. The discussion covered the search process, from sourcing deals and approaching owners through to due diligence and closing a transaction.
Thank you to the speakers, to Tim Wong (MBA 2014) for helping with the setup and to Jase Berry (MBA 2025) for the photograph.
Don't file too early or say too much: Lessons on commercialising a new idea
On 10 September, the MBS Alumni Entrepreneurship Club hosted an Alumni Chapter event on commercialising ideas, intellectual property and innovation. The evening began with a panel discussion and Q&A at Melbourne Business School, followed by networking at Prince Alfred Carlton.
The panel featured four speakers:
- Justin Yeung, Professor of Surgery, consultant colorectal surgeon, and Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of PredicTx Health
- Justin Fong, Research Fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Melbourne
- MBS alum Sinth Jegaskanda, Head of Intellectual Property at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
- Michael Cooper, Director of Cooper IP and an Australian and New Zealand patent attorney
They discussed patents, licensing and startup formation, and identified several factors in successful commercialisation, including a clear strategy, understanding the target customer, exploring alternative revenue sources and collaboration.
The discussion also examined common challenges encountered along the commercialisation journey. These include filing patents too early (“a patent is a melting ice cube sitting on a shelf,” notes one panellist), inadvertently disclosing intellectual property, and securing ongoing funding and navigating the complexities of the IP landscape. Panellists also advised founders to consult a patent attorney rather than rely on AI tools, which tend to give general rather than specific advice.
Thank you to Chapter organisers Priyanka Nadkarni (MBA 2014), Leo Leng (Master of Business Analytics 2014), Robert Lee (MBA 2025) and Rahul Sud (MBA 2025).
Why transmission and storage will shape Western Australia’s energy future
On 17 September 2026, the Western Australia Alumni Chapter hosted Rob Grant for a discussion on the “Age of Electricity” and its implications for Western Australia. Topics included growing electricity demand, the rise of data centres, grid infrastructure constraints and opportunities arising from the energy transition. Grant also discussed the role of transmission, storage and investment in WA’s energy future.
Thank you to the MBS Western Australia Alumni Chapter organisers: Craig Hook (MBA 1997), Kristy Porter (SEMBA 2021), Vid Kadiresan (EMBA 2024) and Laura Atkinson (MBA 2025). This was the last event for long-serving Chapter President Craig Hook, who is moving to the East Coast and joining the Queensland alumni community. We thank Craig for his many years of service to MBS alumni in Western Australia.
Professor Jenny George shares AI Insights with alumni in Western Australia
On 6 October, the MBS WA Alumni Chapter welcomed Professor Jenny George and members of the Melbourne Business School Executive Education team to Perth.
The Dean was in Perth for the Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition, where she took part in the session “Moving to AI-enabled organisations – the implications for Defence”. Around 25 alumni attended the Chapter event. In a fireside chat, George discussed the role of AI in organisations, including the different ways Australian organisations are approaching AI adoption and governance. She also outlined how Melbourne Business School is embedding AI into its learning and development programs.
The evening concluded with updates on upcoming MBS initiatives, including Alumni Day, followed by networking. This was George’s second visit to Perth in two years.
Thank you to the MBS Western Australia Alumni Chapter organisers: Kristy Porter (SEMBA 2021), Vid Kadiresan (EMBA 2024) and Laura Atkinson (MBA 2025).
