Current role: Chief Executive Officer
Current organisation: Diabetes Victoria
Last role at PwC: Partner
Time at PwC: 1989 - 2022
What’s the one career achievement you’re most proud of?
Firstly, I am particularly proud of making Partner at PwC at the young age of 30.
I am also proud of having multiple careers within a career at PwC. I was fortunate to have many roles and continue to learn and challenge myself through each of these, initially as an Audit Partner, a Risk Partner and then a Consulting Partner and across different industries, working initially in Telecommunications, followed by Financial Services and then Government and Health.
Throughout all of my roles I am particularly proud of being able to contribute to the development of the careers in a small way for so many hugely talented people and seeing them come through the ranks to achieve their goals, either as Partners or achieve success outside of the firm.
What’s the most valuable lesson you learnt during your career at PwC and how has that helped you get to where you are today?
I have learnt heaps of lessons. I think the ones I would highlight would be the importance of keeping things in perspective and being clear on your own set of values and staying true to them.
As a leader of others, the lesson I reflect on and try and get right is to create the optimal environment for your team to develop, and have the confidence to push themselves to achieve their potential. At the same time, ensure that you are providing the right support, that the team know it’s ok to make mistakes, and as the leader that you accept responsibility for your team.
Another lesson or learning would be to be flexible, open to opportunities and grasp with both hands the opportunities that are presented to you.
What was your dream job ‘growing up’ and why?
Growing up I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I grew up in the country with little knowledge of career paths and options.
I decided to study computer science and accounting at university to keep my options open. After university I still didn’t know, so I joined PwC in a role that enabled me to do both IT and accounting work. I was lucky to be given lots of opportunities to develop skills in both areas that ended up helping me progress through the ranks and do many different things.
What made you decide to leave your career in corporate to head up a not for profit?
I reached a point in my professional life where I felt after 33 years with PwC and 24 years as a Partner I had done everything I wanted to do in that side of my career.
I wanted the next stage of my professional life to be focused on making a bigger contribution to societal issues, and diabetes was particularly close to me because of my personal connection.
My son, Lochie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 12 years ago when he was 9 years old.
So, when the leadership role at Diabetes Victoria became available, I knew it was the right time for me to make the shift from the corporate world to a leadership role where I could bring both my experience and role as a father, carer and professional experience to provide leadership and support for those affected by diabetes.
In making this change I could see the significance of the challenge those with diabetes face. I understand I probably have above average education and means compared to the community at large. I often reflect on the challenges we have faced as parents of a child with diabetes working through the education system or the health system, and when we face barriers of challenges it is a reminder to me of the challenges that most of the population face, and that gets me going to make change.
Diabetes Victoria recently ran a Future Leaders Program. Tell us more about this program and the difference it makes.
The Future Leaders Program is a fantastic and really important program. The program is designed to support young adults living with type 1 diabetes between the ages of 18 to 25. We saw this as such an important stage of life in an individual's development, so we developed a tailored program aimed at this cohort.
The program focuses on the development of leadership capabilities, networking, teamwork, supporting other young people with diabetes and skills that would help set this cohort up for success in their lives.
In running the program it was inspiring to see the commitment and enthusiasm of these young adults. We hope to continue to support them on their journey living with diabetes.
How is Diabetes Victoria transforming the lives of Australians?
Diabetes is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia – increasing at a faster rate than any other chronic condition, such as cancer or heart disease. 1.6 million Australians are living with diabetes and it is a very complex set of conditions which can affect the entire body. It requires daily self-care and if complications develop, it can affect quality of life and reduce life expectancy.
Diabetes remains one of the biggest challenges confronting our health system today.
With that context our work is so important. With the appropriate support and resources, people with diabetes can live long, happy and healthy lives. Our purpose is to support those affected by or living with diabetes. Our work covers the spectrum of advocacy, policy, prevention, diabetes education and management, developing better care pathways, working to increase funding and research for diabetes, translating research into tangible outcomes, and putting all of that into the hands of people living with diabetes. In doing this work we aim to reach as many people as possible across our diverse communities.
As a relatively new CEO at Diabetes Victoria, can you share your vision for the organisation?
Our vision centres around the prevention of diabetes, supporting people to live well with diabetes, reducing the health impacts of diabetes and finding a cure.
I believe we have an enormous responsibility to deliver on our vision and purpose, and we are focused on improving the health and quality of life of all those affected by or living with diabetes. There is an opportunity for us to have an even greater impact and greater reach. We are increasing our focus on providing leadership across the health system to enhance diabetes health outcomes, increasing our focus on system wide advocacy and health policy actions, investment into prevention, management and research, and emphasising the translation of research into outcomes. In doing all of this, we are also deepening our engagement in the community and increasing the number of people that we serve, in particular strengthening our focus on vulnerable and at risk populations.
In addition there is still a bit of a consultant in me - we have launched a new business arm ‘For Purpose Commercial Services’ to provide consulting services to other NFP’s, which enables us to diversify our revenue streams and help other NFP’s. It’s not uncommon for not-for-profits to struggle with areas around their technology and shared services, including membership and donor management, digital marketing, campaign delivery and call centres.
Delivering quality services in these areas is really important to the success of a NFP. We made an investment in all of these areas, learnt the lessons and made the decision to offer all of these services to other not-for-profits. We either implement, and/or run in a cost effective way on their behalf.
