Arch Magazine | Edition 29 2021

Edition 29, 2021

WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED John Kearney’s gift to future medical students CODE RED Tanah Sullivan talks sustainability at Indonesia’s top tech group TAKE IT TO THE BANK Christian Faes’ lending revolution MASTERMIND Tom Seymour of PwC has all the answers Arch, Edition 29

| 1 |

I N P RO FIL E

The good doctor JOHN KEARNEY CONTINUES A FAMILY TRADITION OF GENEROSITY, MAKING ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DONATIONS IN THE HISTORY OF BOND UNIVERSITY

by Ken Robinson

J

ust how far back does the Kearney family’s connection with Bond University go? “Gumboots in the mud,” says Dr John Kearney OAM. “There have been three generations involved now: my parents, myself, and one of my daughters who studied here. But my parents had gumboots in the mud here, right from the beginning.”

In fact the relationship stretches back even further than the University’s notoriously muddy 1987-1989 construction phase, caused by two of the wettest years in Gold Coast history. Dr Kearney’s parents, eminent barrister Dr John F Kearney AM QC and Dr Alison Kearney, moved from Melbourne to the Gold Coast in the 1970s and immediately began campaigning for the growing city to have its own university.

“My parents both went to Melbourne University, as I did, and we were always hankering for a university on the Gold Coast,” Dr Kearney says. “We were particularly keen on a private university to provide benchmarking for tertiary education in Australia. Mum and Dad were very closely associated with the Friends of Bond (established in 1987) and I was at a lot of the early functions for the first-year students. I obviously wanted the University to have a medical school.”

All three got their wish, thanks in part to a series of generous donations to the University that extend to this day.

The senior Kearneys are memorialised in the names of two University facilities they helped establish: the John and Alison Kearney Library and the John and Alison Kearney Law Library. They are also

| 2 |

responsible for the John F Kearney Moot Court, the John F Kearney Law Gold Medal, and contributed to the Legal Skills Centre and the School of Sustainable Development.

The couple were equally generous with their time over the years, welcoming students and academics to their historic Mudgeeraba home Jabiru for celebratory and fundraising events. The University recognised these many contributions by awarding a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, to John F Kearney in 2000, and a Doctor of the University, honoris causa, to Alison Kearney in 2009. Now their son has been honoured with the naming of the Dr John Kearney Anatomy Laboratory following another gift that continues a family passion for education, social justice and community service.

“I was about eight when they built the first laser and I thought, I’m going to use that one day.”

A young John Kearney brought science to the mix. He never considered following his father into law, especially after reading about a Cold War invention straight from the pages of a sci-fi novel. “I was about eight when they built the first laser and I thought, I’m going to use that one day,” he says. After graduating with a medicine degree and Honours in surgery, the young doctor moved to the Highlands of Papua New Guinea where he ran a hospital. It was there that he was

inspired to further his studies and specialise in a field that relies heavily on the use of lasers. “I couldn’t get any eye work done in New Guinea,” he says. “There was only one ophthalmologist in the country and he was too busy to come and visit my area, so I came back to Brisbane to study ophthalmology.”

Establishing the Gold Coast Eye Clinic in 1984, Dr Kearney witnessed the birth of Bond University and taught at its Graduate School of Science and Technology before it was deemed to be unviable and closed during the turmoil of the young University’s early years. “That was sad but it was necessary to maintain Bond as a viable institution in the face of great economic difficulty, and I could understand that,” he says.

The school would later be reincarnated as the Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine where Dr Kearney continues to teach as an Associate Clinical Professor.

Although he was now back in Australia running a successful practice, Dr Kearney’s stint in PNG had sparked a lifelong commitment to addressing the pressing need for basic eye care in Outback Australia and in neighbouring developing countries including East Timor. He says the most urgent problem is the simplest to solve and does not require surgery. “It is just the supply of glasses - there’s no one to supply the glasses or fit them,” he says. “If a teacher hasn’t got glasses or a student hasn’t got glasses, they can’t read the blackboard or the lessons.

And the second most important thing is cataract surgery, and they’re in no position to perform that.”

Dr John Kearney Arch, Edition 29

| 3 |

I N P RO FIL E

Vice Chancellor and President Tim Brailsford and Dr John Kearney open the anatomy laboratory named in Dr Kearney’s honour.

Portrait of Dr John F Kearney and Dr Alison Kearney in the main library.

Professor Mark Morgan, Vice Chancellor and President Tim Brailsford, Dr John Kearney and Ms Catherine Marks.

Medicine students practising clinical skills in the Bond University Clinical Education and Research Centre.

| 4 |

Vice Chancellor and President Tim Brailsford speaks at the opening ceremony.

Professor Nick Zwar, Dr John Kearney, Professor Kirsty Forrest and Mr Aditya Kaushal.

“I’d like Bond graduates – before they even think about ordering any tests – to have listened to the patient, to have physically examined the patient and gained their trust.”

After decades of missions to developing countries, Dr Kearney has a basic template for success. “We make a couple of visits, get runs on the board to gain the trust of the locals and the health department, then we start training the local people,” he says. “We now have about 25 trained local ophthalmologists around the Pacific and in Timor and New Guinea. There’s the humanitarian and Christian aspect to it, but we are also winning hearts and minds.”

Dr Kearney says the most challenging environment to work in was East Timor during Australia’s peacekeeping mission from 1999-2013, which followed the violence of the young country’s independence from Indonesia. “We couldn’t have gone in there

without the support of the Australian Defence Force,” he says. They provided law and order which enabled us to develop our programs and our treatment clinics. But I couldn’t do any of my work in developing countries unless I had the support of my colleagues, my family and the Lions Club and so on.”

Dr Kearney’s work in East Timor led to the then-President of the country Mr Xanana Gusmao visiting Bond University in 2005 to attend a fundraising luncheon for the East Timor Eye Program. “I think that was the first time a foreign head of state had visited Bond,” he says.

The latest generous gift from ‘Dr John’ and his wife Elena to Bond University will fund a Dr John Kearney Fellow in Clinical Skills, anatomy and clinical skills laboratory equipment, laboratory training and research, and programs to improve the clinical skills in medicine for staff, students and researchers. He hopes the endowment will help produce well-rounded medicine graduates with a bedside manner to match their clinical skills. “I’d like Bond graduates - before they even think about ordering any tests – to have listened to the patient, to have physically examined the patient and gained their trust. Because no one else can do that. The technicians, they can do the tests but they can’t take the history. They haven’t learned general communication skills which Bond is very good at teaching. We must arm our doctors well with these important basic skills.”

Bond University Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford describes Dr Kearney’s donation as an “extraordinary gift”. “John has dedicated his life to improving the lives of others and his various contributions to this University and specifically the Medical Program are his shining beacon and serve as an inspiration to all of us. This gift ensures that John’s legacy will benefit many generations of future students to come.”

When he’s not treating patients, teaching at Bond and Griffith universities or travelling to remote clinics in the tropics with Elena, Dr Kearney is spending time with his five children and six grandchildren, and sailing. “I enjoy sailing with my friends,” he says. “When the winds are about 10 knots and we’re coming up to the top mark in a race … there is nothing like it.” The doctor is also a talented ballroom dancer, a skill inherited from his grandfather.

“The fittest I’ve ever been was when I was doing competition dancing,” he says.

From gumboots to dancing shoes, the Kearneys have left indelible footprints across the Bond campus and through its history books, marking a path for future generations of students to follow.

Watch the video interview with Ms Catherine Marks and Dr John Kearney

Arch, Edition 29

| 5 |

Are you considering postgraduate study?

You may be eligible for 10 per cent off with our Loyalty Discount Program.

Better yet, take your study for a spin with a Postgraduate Test Drive. Join us on campus, or meet virtually with academics and discover our program offerings.

bond.edu.au/test-drive

| 6 |

Contents the ARCH - Edition 29, NOVEMBER 2021

30

46

In Profile

Future Generations

2

26 Dion Enari

Dr John Kearney OAM

28 Christian Faes

Around Campus

30 Tanah Sullivan

9

First decade a strong foundation for architecture school

10

Top alumni award goes to Seven Group Holdings CFO

11

Second intake of students boosts Bond Medical Program

13

Indigenous Gala

14

Baxbys back to the future

22

Open season on open plan

Philanthropy 38 Love flows strong

40 Class year updates 2000-2019

What will Gen Z’s legacy be?

Research

Tom Seymour

36 Keitha Dunstan

Bondies on the Move

The Big Question 16

32

Sport 46 Homeward bound 48 Tokyo Olympics honour roll 50 Around the grounds

From the editor As 2021 draws to a close, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact decisions, cause delays and increase uncertainty.

But time does not stop; years have now passed since Covid first exploded, stealing time from some that can never be given back.

The opportunity to create a legacy has perhaps never been so great.

The potential for individuals to impact their local community, state, and country is high, so it is timely to consider how we will be remembered by generations to come.

How will future generations view this time? How will they judge the decisions of individuals and those of governments and organisations?

Whether intentional or not, we are each making a mark on society and creating our legacy. If this is not something you are chasing deliberately, pause and take the time to consider, plan and move forward with intent.

In this edition of the ARCH, we explore future generations and seek to understand past legacies. We share stories of continuing family traditions, of understanding our own heritage and the opportunity to create a new legacy.

My hope is to inspire you through this edition to take action towards a legacy by design.

Nicole Walker (Class of 2001) Head of Alumni Relations Office of Engagement P.S. I would love to get your feedback on this latest edition. Please drop me a line at nwalker@bond.edu.au.

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised this edition contains images of people who have passed away.

ALUMN I C EN TRE Phone +61 7 5595 1451 Website alumni.bond.edu.au CRICOS Provider Code 00017B

Email alumni@bond.edu.au Mail 14 University Drive, Robina 4226, QLD AUSTRALIA

Featured on cover: Mr Dion Enari Arch, Edition 29

| 7 |

The main ‘street’ of the Abedian School of Architecture. | 8 |

Sandstone &Pine Around Campus

First decade a strong foundation for Architecture School The University’s Abedian School of Architecture is celebrating 10 years since the enrolment of its first students, with many beginning to make their mark on the profession. Head of the School Professor Chris Knapp says it usually takes seven to eight years after graduation for architects to receive their registration. “With our first graduates from the Masters program entering the workplace in 2015, the green shoots of the Abedian School of Architecture are just starting to mature,” Professor Knapp says.

“Some of our alumni have taken a Bondieesque path by branching out, starting their

worked on Hollywood films as a production designer, including the set of Aquaman.

The 2021 Graduate Outcomes Survey confirms the employability of Bond’s architecture graduates, with 81 per cent of undergraduates in full-time employment (national average 69 per cent). For postgraduates the figure is 84 per cent (national average 79 per cent).

The Abedian School of Architecture opened in January 2011 thanks to a generous gift from its namesake, the philanthropist, Founder and Chairman of Sunland Group Dr Soheil Abedian who has a lifelong passion for improving access to education. “Whatever

Mr Gavin Robotham of CRAB Studio won, taking inspiration from Bond University’s original architect Arata lsozaki, winner of the 2019 Pritzker Architecture prize. The building features an internal streetscape that runs the length of the building and three-storey ‘scoops’ that provide individual workplaces for students to exhibit and critique their work.

Sir Peter, who holds multiple professorships including at University College London and the Architectural Association, drew on his own teaching experience when perfecting the design. The $16.2 million building was officially opened in 2013.

own enterprises or moving into lateral fields.”

Mr Jordan Mulherin (Class of 2011) was the first Bond architecture alumni to gain registration and has since opened his own firm on the Gold Coast. He is currently project managing the delivery of a residential tower in Burleigh for Melbourne architecture firm Ellenberg Fraser. Mr Joel Hutchines (Class of 2011) was a founding partner in design and fabrication company Studio Workshop.

In 2017 he founded his own technology startup which has since been acquired by a $1 billion property technology company in the US. Meanwhile Ms Rachel Don (Class of 2015) has

you take, give it back,” Dr Abedian says. “That is what Anne and I and my family does on a daily basis. We have enough. We don’t want to have a yacht or to have a place in Monte Carlo. We are very happy where we are. But this money that we have, if we can educate one more child, we have done something for the future of the world.”

Former Queensland Government Architect Professor Philip Follent was appointed Founding Head of the School and an international competition was launched to design a new building to house it. Renowned architects Professor Sir Peter Cook and

Professor Knapp says the School gives students round-the-clock access to the design studio to learn in a hands-on collaborative environment, supported by a world-class digital fabrication and robotics lab for rapid prototyping. This year the School entered into MOUs with the National University of Singapore Department of Architecture and Tokyo-based Sekisui House, allowing for collaborative teaching projects in real-world contexts. Bond students have already collaborated on an urban project in the centre of Singapore and a multi-family housing project in a Brisbane eco-village.

Stuart Giles appointed as Founder in Residence Bond University has recruited one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs to help its students forge their own path to business success. Mr Stuart Giles, who alongside wife Ms Cathie Reid co-founded Icon Cancer Group, Epic Pharmacy Group and the Epic Good Foundation, has been named as the inaugural Founder in Residence for Bond University’s Transformer entrepreneurship program.

The role of Founder in Residence is multi-faceted, overseeing development of the Founder’s Program, strengthening entrepreneurship capabilities and industry networks, and helping secure funding opportunities for student start-up ventures.

Mr Giles will be available to Transformer students for individual coaching and mentoring, as well as acting as a sounding board for business pitches.

Watch the video to hear Stuart speak about his vision for Transformer.

Mr Stuart Giles has been appointed as the inaugural Founder in Residence for the Transformer program.

Arch, Edition 29

| 9 |

AROUND CAMPUS

Winners of the 2021 Alumni Awards, from left, Dr Haydn Dodds (Young Alumni), Ms Karni Liddell (Community Achievement) and Mr Richard Richards (Robert Stable Medal).

Top alumni award goes to Seven Group Holdings CFO The University’s first cohort from 1989 is small in number but rich in individual success stories. They include Olympian Mr Andrew Baildon (Class of 1989), hotels supremo Dr Jennifer Cronin (Class of 1989), and legal figure Mr Derek Cronin (Class of 1989). Now another ‘892’ has been recognised for his stellar business career, with the Chief Financial Officer of Seven Group Holdings Mr Richard Richards (Class of 1989) taking Bond’s top alumni accolade, the Robert Stable Medal.

Mr Richards was presented with the prize at the 2021 Alumni Awards and reminisced about the special connection between the University’s first students. “We were a very small cohort, 322 people, and everyone knew everyone,” Mr Richards says. “We were forged in a crucible. First private university in

Australia. We had to be risk-takers, ambitious, adaptable, entrepreneurial, probably a little unconventional and fully committed. I’m just so proud, looking back 30 years ago, that I was given that opportunity because it’s certainly given me a set of skills that has allowed me to pursue a business career that I would not have been able to achieve had I not got that exceptional education.”

Paralympian Ms Karni Liddell (Class of 2001) took the Community Achievement Award. Ms Liddell won bronze medals in swimming at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics and went on to become a disability and domestic violence campaigner, particularly where the two intersect.

The Young Alumni Award went to Dr Haydn Dodds (Class of 2018) who took the road less travelled by medical interns,

choosing to complete his practical training at a small, remote hospital in Alice Springs.

He took classes in the local Arrernte language to better connect with his Aboriginal patients. The alumni awards ceremony was the highlight of Homecoming 2021 which blended online and in-person events to involve those alumni who could not make the traditional pilgrimage back to campus due to border closures.

Watch the video to see highlights from the alumni awards ceremony.

Vale dear Mrs Messel Mrs Patricia ‘Pip’ Messel has passed away in Hobart on November 1, at the age of 96. Mrs Messel was the widow of Bond University’s third Vice Chancellor Professor Harry Messel AC, CBE. Professor Messel also assumed the role of Executive Chancellor and had a huge influence on the University’s development during the 1990s.

Mrs Messel accompanied her husband to many Bond events and was a familiar and well-liked face across campus, beautifully counteracting | 10 |

Professor Messel’s rather gruff tenor and imposing personality.

She remained on the Gold Coast after the death of Professor Messel in 2015 and together with a few friends continued to attend lunches at the University Club. Mrs Messel is survived by her three daughters and many grandchildren, including James who graduated from Bond in 2016.

Bond launches new partnership to improve access to justice Queenslanders are still facing barriers when accessing basic legal help, according to the annual Access to Justice Scorecard run by the Queensland Law Society.

For the past five years, Queensland’s Access to Justice score has consistently hovered around 5 out of 10. Despite there being little movement since 2013, Bond University is hopeful its new partnership with LawRight can help address the problem.

LawRight is an independent not-forprofit that provides free legal services for individuals and community groups. Teaming up with Bond, they will be offering free legal

advice to people who are not able to afford a lawyer or obtain legal aid. People will be able to seek advice for property law, small businesses, and not-for-profits.

The Director of the Bond Law Clinic Program, Dr Francina Cantatore (Class of 2001), Associate Professor at Bond University, says the new partnership would help address access-to-justice barriers and give students real-world experience.

For those who cannot afford basic legal assistance, Dr Cantatore is hopeful that LawRight volunteer lawyers and Bondies can step in.

The clinics will include the LawRight Commercial Law Clinic and LawRight Property Law Clinic which will be based at the Bond University campus.

Bond Law academics, student volunteers, and Gold Coast legal practitioners will staff the clinics.

To request an appointment or to volunteer, please contact bondclinic@lawright.org.au or phone (07) 3248 1165.

Second intake of students boosts Medical Program Bond University’s Medical Program has taken a major leap forward with the announcement of an ongoing second annual intake of medicine students.

Following approval from the Australian Medical Council, an intake of 40 students commenced in the Medical Program in September. Trialled in 2020 in response to the disruption caused by Covid, this intake will grow to 60 students from next year, in addition to the May intake of 120 students.

Dean of Medicine Professor Kirsty Forrest says news of the additional intake had been very well received by the program, the University and the healthcare sector. “As a result of the global pandemic, there has never been a greater need for medical practitioners.

We are helping to meet this growing need for more local interns throughout the year and

more qualified medical doctors in the coming years,” Professor Forrest says.

All students accepted into the Medical Program benefit from Bond’s quality teaching staff and facilities, exceptional student support and its renowned small class sizes and accelerated learning, which sees the full Medical Program able to be completed in four years and eight months – the shortest program of its kind in Australia. The program is made up of the Bachelor of Medical Studies (two years and eight months) and the Doctor of Medical Studies (two years).

This additional annual intake is a further boost for the Medical Program, which in recent years has pioneered emotional intelligence testing as part of its student selection process, expanded and diversified clinical placements, moved into improved

teaching spaces with the second stage of the HSM building, and enhanced its teaching of clinical skills. The faculty is set to chalk up another milestone in the near future with the 1000th medicine graduate expected to cross the stage during the December graduation ceremony.

“As a result of the global pandemic, there has never been a greater need for medical practitioners.”

Professor Kirsty Forrest, Ms Shivanee Gopal, Ms Priyal Bhargava, Ms Chi Celestine Truong and Mr Emmanuel Faraj following the white coat ceremony at which they swore the Hippocratic Oath.

Arch, Edition 29

| 11 |

AROUND CAMPUS

Professor Paul Glasziou and Professor Chris Del Mar.

National honours for professors Two of the University’s leading lights have been appointed to the Order of Australia.

Director of the Institute for EvidenceBased Healthcare, Professor Paul Glasziou, has been announced as an Officer of the Order (AO) while his colleague Professor

“This award is a recognition of the important work my colleagues and I have done to reduce the gap between research and practice, especially in the neglected areas of non-drug treatments, antibiotic resistance, and overdiagnosis – the central focuses

Chris Del Mar becomes a Member of the Order (AM). Professor Glasziou received his AO for distinguished service to medical education and standards, and to evidencebased medical research.

of the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare,” Professor Glasziou says.

Professor Del Mar received his AM for significant service to tertiary education, to health and medical research, and to

professional bodies. The academic has an international reputation in the management of acute respiratory infections, general practice research, evidence-based medicine, systematic reviews, and randomised controlled trials. He is a former Dean of the University’s Health Sciences & Medicine faculty and oversaw the establishment of Bond’s Medical Program and the graduation of the first cohort of medical students.

“I am deeply honoured by this award and it’s been a privilege to have used my expertise to serve the community,” Professor Del Mar says.

Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford lauded the colleagues who were instrumental in cementing Bond’s global reputation for world-class health and medical research through the establishment of the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare.

“Their impact has been global through their research, and Bond University has always been grateful for their leadership in this space,” he says. “We are very proud of Chris and Paul and congratulate them on this honour recognising their illustrious careers.”

International recognition for the Arch magazine The ARCH has collected an international award for excellence. Bond University’s alumni magazine took silver for Publishing Improvement in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence awards. Physical copies of the ARCH are distributed to 12,000 alumni in more than 70 countries, with a digital version circulated to 20,000 alumni, 4500 students and 1000 staff. The Circle of Excellence awards received almost 3000 entries from 530 institutions in 27 countries, across 100 categories.

Colts loosen reins at reunion

The reunited 1990 premiers.

| 12 |

The University’s first rugby premiershipwinning side reunited 31 years after lifting the silverware. The 1990 Colts team toasted their success with former players, management and volunteers celebrating their historic title over a few beers at the Fabian Fay Clubhouse. Mr John Massey (Class of 1990) was the assistant manager of the team and says the legend of that day has grown over time.

“There were certainly some good stories it was a goldfish and now it’s probably a whale.

It was a really good day,” Mr Massey says.

“The most special thing was to see John Taylor, John Samson and Jim Corkery who were the president, manager and law professor who were highly involved in the club.”

Generosity shines through as Gala goes online The shadow cast by Covid failed to dampen the spirits of those who logged on to attend the 2021 Bond University Indigenous Gala, held online for the first time. The Gala is a signature event on the University calendar, serving as both a major fundraiser and an opportunity to promote Indigenous culture.

This year, $561,000 has been raised for the Indigenous program, with close to $100,000 of the final tally coming from generous bids placed during the event’s online

auction which featured Indigenous artwork, holiday packages, wellness experiences and signed sporting memorabilia. More than 350 bids were made, with some coming from as far afield as New York. Funds raised from the online auction will go towards scholarships, grants and bursaries for Indigenous students.

In a pre-recorded message, Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford says the University was acutely aware of the impact of the pandemic

on Indigenous communities. “The pandemic is likely to have widened the gap from an economic, health and educational perspective. The impact of the closure of schools and shift to online classes will be felt for many years to come, and it is likely that the impact will be hardest on our Indigenous children. Hence it is vital that universities like Bond continue to be a beacon for Indigenous aspirations in education.”

Indigenous scholar’s journey from offender to legal executive Mr Josh Apanui’s first contact with the justice system was as an offender. But now, fuelled by a desire to give back to his community and to break down barriers for Australia’s Indigenous people, the Gold Coast man finds himself on the other side of the law, as a First Nations Legal Executive with the Queensland Law Society.

Mr Apanui is one of three inaugural recipients of Bond University’s Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP) Indigenous Scholarship. The scholarship covers all tuition costs for the online GDLP for an Indigenous student who has completed either a Bachelor of Laws or a Juris Doctor degree, and is seeking admission as a legal practitioner.

The GDLP Indigenous Scholarships are generously supported by Brisbane Barrister and Mediator, Douglas Murphy QC (Class of 1989), who says he was keen to help and boost pathways to success for Indigenous people who were keen for themselves to succeed.

Having previously been employed as a boilermaker, Mr Apanui says his decision to

move into law was based on his desire to make a difference. “I’m still trying to figure out who I am and where I am going, but seeing the disadvantage among Aboriginal people still ... how do you try and contribute to advance that, if you’re boilermaking?

So that’s one reason why I came into law, in addition to making better-informed choices.

“I came from an Aboriginal activist family, politics was interesting to me, and I sort of picked that up as a late bloomer.”

After completing his law degree at Griffith University, Mr Apanui successfully applied for the GDLP at Bond, and says receiving the scholarship had made a huge difference to him. “It’s an honour and a privilege to be given it, and it also just reinforces that wherever we go in this world, we should always come back to where we started and give back to others who will also benefit. I hope this scholarship will remain a permanent part of Bond’s law program, in order to help future generations of students.

“It actually lightens the load financially as I’ve progressed into the profession, it assists

in terms of having more to give back to the community or to do community activities or whatever it might be.”

Having recently completed his studies, he now hopes to break down some of the stereotypes of the legal profession.

“I’m guilty of it, thinking the legal profession was something completely different, but when you realise it’s not, you can actually really help people.”

He’s already begun inspiring others, beginning with his eldest son, who after joining him at the Annual Gold Coast Legal Conference, is now considering a university degree, potentially to also study law.

Of the other two inaugural GDLP scholarship recipients, Jack Butler intends to use his legal skills in his new role as an analyst at a Brisbane venture capital firm, while Canberra’s Jordan Kilcoyne is a Project Officer at the Department of Finance.

Mr Josh Apanui is an inaugural recipient of a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice Indigenous Scholarship.

Arch, Edition 29

| 13 |

AROUND CAMPUS

Baxbys back to the future TWINS ZARA AND IMOGEN CHOOSE CAMPUS WHERE THEIR PARENTS MET 30 YEARS AGO

by Andrew Bryan

wins Ms Zara Baxby and Ms Imogen Baxby attended 11 different schools across four countries in their formative years but they have found a familiar home at Bond University.

T

I don’t go there much, but walking around campus, it’s such a pretty place to be and I’m so happy I decided to come here.”

Imogen started a Bachelor of Biomedical Science in January, while elder twin Zara

It’s a really good place to be and it aligns with my upbringing and cultural experiences travelling the world with my family.”

Mr Baxby’s career as co-CEO of Virgin and Goldman Sachs took the family on a wild

Parents Mrs Selina Baxby (Class of 1991) and Mr David Baxby (Class of 1992) first met on campus in Bond’s ‘Bat Lab’ in 923 and have been inseparable ever since. The connection with Bond has strengthened with Imogen and then Zara following their own unique paths to the University.

“Bond has always been a big part of our family,” Imogen says. “Conversations about how our parents met and their life on the Gold Coast have been shared a lot over the years.

Dad had been trying to convince us to apply at Bond since we moved back to Australia.

It’s definitely weird being in the Bat Lab!

joined her on campus in May to study a Bachelor of Laws and Commerce. “Bond feels like home,” Zara says. “There is a common purpose because the University attracts that kind of student. I first came here for a High School Model UN conference in 2018. It was such an amazing event and the turning point for me. Growing up, obviously Mum and Dad both were emphasising how good Bond is and that they loved it, but I wanted to be different and forge my own path. When I came here, I got the vibe and since I’ve returned it has reaffirmed that – everyone is here for the same reason, the same motivation.

10-year adventure around the world from Shanghai to Switzerland and Singapore.

But before that he was just another bright young student plotting the start of his career, Mrs Baxby says. “I was introduced to Dave by a friend David Whelan (Class of 1992) who now lives in New York. It was about 8pm at night in the Bat Labs and I remember he had these tracky dacks and ugg boots that had holes in them. Dave was super-duper academic and on a scholarship. That probably rubbed off on me - I loved and thrived at Bond. We both had an amazing time there and some of our closest friends are Bondies. During our time

The Baxby family at home, from left, Zara, Amelia, Selina, Imogen and David.

| 14 |

Ms Zara Baxby and Ms Imogen Baxby on campus.

“Dad had been trying to convince us to apply at Bond since we moved back to Australia.” abroad we’ve had the opportunity to connect with Bond alumni all around the world.”

The Baxby family’s worldwide adventure has forged a tightknit connection between the twins and their younger sister Amelia.

While Mr Baxby’s career took precedence in those early halcyon days, Mrs Baxby has forged an incredibly successful business in her own right.

The founder of Nurturelab, Mrs Baxby has a track record in helping individuals and teams identify their natural strengths and channel what they naturally do best towards increased productivity, more collaborative teams, stronger leadership capabilities and higher fulfilment. Her own journey has come full-circle after recently being asked to work with Bond’s leadership team.

“I’m so thrilled to be working with

all overseas while Dad was working. To see

them, I feel I can make a difference from a

her come out of her shell and do her own

professional development and team-building

thing has been so amazing to watch from a

side of things,” she says. “I took a bit of a

young woman’s perspective. Watching that

sidestep from my career, focusing on settling

evolution of her career has been awesome.

the kids every time we moved, learning the

Dad has obviously been very successful but

languages. Our first posting was in Shanghai

I never wanted to be that person who was

and then we followed Dave’s career - that

living in my parents’ shadow. I didn’t want to

was my role for the first 10 years. When we

define myself by who my parents are.”

got back I spent the first three or four years

Now the Baxby name is back at Bond,

re-skilling and getting experience. Now I’ve

ready to change the world again. “We were

got my own successful business.”

thrilled when they decided to come to Bond,”

Seeing their mother establish her own

Mrs Baxby says. “There is a sense of pride

career has been inspiring for Zara and

about how well they are living independently.

Imogen. “I’ve realised my parents have

Living on campus has been an amazing

given us such an unshakable foundation,”

experience for them. They are actively

Zara says. “If we had been doing all those

recruiting friends to Bond. Dave and I have

moves around the world without that solid

very fond memories of our time there - the

foundation to lean on, we could have been

high quality education, the smaller class

so damaged. Because we moved so much,

sizes and the super-fun social events. We

the only consistent relationship in my life is

are so happy that our girls have a chance

my family. They have done such a good job

to experience all that Bond has to offer. Like

to weave us into each life we have created.

us, the girls are so proud to be Bondies too!”

My parents forged their own paths and

Mr Baxby runs his private capital advisory

seeing Mum develop her own business …

business Annecy Capital Partners and is a

obviously she did a lot of work supporting us

member of the Bond University Council.

Arch, Edition 29

| 15 |

| 16 |

From the Baby Boomers to Millennials, every generation makes their mark on society.

What will Gen Z’s legacy be?

The Big Question sheds light on a topical issue of global relevance, providing a platform for some of Bond’s best and brightest academics and alumni to share their unique perspectives.

Arch, Edition 29

| 17 |

T H E BIG QUESTION

From the Baby Boomers to Millennials, every generation makes their mark on society. What will Gen Z’s legacy be?

Juliette Levinge is a current Indigenous medical scholar, supported by the Optical Superstore.

Generation Z is a cohort of thinkers and doers, willing to challenge the status quo, question previous generations and deviate from a traditionalist approach. In the past decade we have witnessed monumental societal, environmental, and economic challenges, plus a global pandemic that has become this generation’s new normal. From the lens of a Gen Z-er, I believe the future holds much excitement and the pace will be rapid, with an everchanging environment full of opportunities. Previous societal norms are undergoing changes and Gen Z is at the forefront of driving, creating, and embracing change.

We have grown up through a digital age and the technological resources at our fingertips today have fundamentally shaped, informed and educated this generation to think, feel and question all aspects of life like never before. As technology dictates current lifestyles, our future job prospects will be vastly different to previous generations, and I believe that entrepreneurial skills are required to succeed and stand out in a generation like ours.

| 18 |

Whilst technology and digital environments such as social media make it easy to connect to anyone, anywhere and at any time, it is easy to lose sight of what is and is not reality. Social media is a huge influencer on many generations in this modern world; however, it is predominantly targeted at young people, thus, it is easy to succumb to the misconceptions of what a perfect lifestyle looks like. This misconception is leading to greater expectations and pressures of what one’s job, future, and life in general should look like. Technology and social media platforms generate an unhealthy competition between people, which inadvertently can cause more harm than good, bringing sadness and depression rather than joy to the users and subscribers. The bar and expectations of Gen Z appear to be extremely high and consequently, the pressure is more evident on the cohort to succeed and be exemplary future leaders.

Equality and collectivism are attributes that Gen Z strive to achieve. Additionally, our generation must collectively work together to repair and reduce environmental impacts caused by years of inaction. To fix these planetary impacts, we will need to do more in less time, thus, the entrepreneurial skills of Gen Z will be required to protect the health of the planet and that of future generations.

This will require adaptation skills, a positive outlook on acclimatising to different lifestyles and a willingness to make it right.

“Equality and collectivism are attributes that Gen Z strive to achieve.”

From the perspective of a Gen Z-er, I believe our cohort’s legacy will be that we can adapt optimistically in a fast-paced, advanced, digital world. My vision for the future is that we will work together as a collective with a common focus that ensures future generations are well-informed and feel less pressured to fix the mistakes of the past. I am looking forward to the endless possibilities, advancements, and improvements we will oversee as we journey through our lives.

Steven Freeland is a Professorial Fellow at Bond University, Emeritus Professor at Western Sydney University, Advisory Board Member at the Australian Space Agency, and Co-Chair of the United Nations Working Group on Space Resources.

In the six decades since the dawn of the Space Age in 1957, the development of space-related technologies has transformed our lives, revolutionising communication, medicine, navigation, finance, agriculture and computing, to name but a few.

This trend will continue at an expanding rate, providing Generation Z with seemingly unimpeded opportunities to engage with space in ways that we currently might not be able to fully envisage. They will, for example, be the first generation to more broadly enjoy space tourism. Since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space 60 years ago, almost 600 trained astronauts have followed, but very few people as tourists. However, there is now anticipation of a burgeoning commercial tourism industry that could ultimately see thousands of Generation Zs journeying to Earth’s orbit, the Moon and beyond.

Yet, with enticing opportunity comes great responsibility. Space is crucial to the world economy, strategic thinking, terrestrial military strategy, geopolitics, human rights, science, commercial enterprise, technological innovation and, frankly, the future of humankind. Even a ‘day without space’ would be disastrous for lives, livelihoods, and communities around the world.

Space is also hard, and despite our remarkable technological progress, we need to understand that each advance brings with it many challenges. For example, if Generation Z maintains a ‘business as usual’ approach to space, the threats associated with the increasing proliferation of debris loom ever larger. The avoidance of a ‘tragedy of the commons’ scenario for space is an absolute imperative.

It is important that space is managed in a way that preserves its safety, stability and sustainability not only for Generation Z, but also for subsequent generations. Given its legal characterisation as an area beyond national jurisdiction and not subject to national appropriation, this is done primarily through international law and multilateral governance structures, supplemented by national legislation. That said, as space becomes ever more complex, any possible future space activities will necessarily involve not only legal and governance considerations, but also very significant technical, economic, political, cultural, scientific, and other factors.

As such, more than any generation before it, Generation Z stands at a crossroads in terms of our use of space. Depending on the path it takes, the legacy it leaves will be very different. Generation Z must understand their stewardship role in space, and not repeat those mistakes made on Earth that threaten our ability to coexist here into the very long term. Central to this is remaining true to the core principles of humanity that underpin our relationship with space. The alternate scenarios do not bear contemplation.

“Generation Z must understand their stewardship role in space, and not repeat those mistakes made on Earth that threaten our ability to coexist here into the very long term.”

Arch, Edition 29

| 19 |

T H E BIG QUESTION

This brings me to my next point - they’re efficient, by default. Gen Z is a generation that wants to work hard but it is also about working smart for them. If the same job can be done in half the time, using whatever resources available, they’ll do it. There’s no such thing as the old-fashioned way, not if there’s a better way to do it. And a lot of that has to do with the technology they’ve grown up with. They’ve figured out how to simplify everyday tasks. It’s all automatic in 2021 an email (which long ago replaced a time consuming hand-written note) can now be scheduled to send while we’re asleep.

And finally, they’re progressive. Far more so than the generations before them. They know how they want to show up to consumers and deliver to their markets. A case in point is

Larissa Rose (Class of 2010) is Director Consultant at GG Enviro.

No generation wants to go past without making a mark. Their mark.

And the truth is: they all do leave a mark; they just don’t often realise they’re leaving a legacy until ‘Generation Next’ is rising up beneath them. The same goes for Gen Z. Like the Baby Boomers and Millennials before them, the post-90s babies are revolutionising the world around them, and in the most profound ways. As the director of one of Australia’s leading environmental consultancy companies, GG Enviro, I’m seeing first-hand how Gen Z is making its mark.

For a start, they’re initiating a complete reprogramming of the professional workplace.

What it literally looks like (work from home), to how they behave, communicate and interact with each other - and dare I say it, with we Millennials. A job used to be nine-tofive in a centralised office. Now it’s 24/7 and not necessarily in a negative sense - Gen Z picks and chooses when it wants to work, and on balance, that seems to be working (at least for them).

| 20 |

social media. Even for us Millennials, to make our mark, we had to mix it with the big end of town, the top executives, the real movers and shakers in our world. Gen Z engages with itself (almost exclusively) through the power of social media and while many might dismiss the technology as ‘disconnected’, the fact is, Gen Z has a touchpoint with sometimes millions of people in the palm of their hands.

And it’s instantaneous.

Gen Z, for me, is an optimistic generation.

It’s their time, and they’re teaching us more than we’re teaching them now. What their mark ultimately looks like, only time will tell, but as an environmental consultant, I only hope it is a world that looks and feels as good in real life as the one they’re viewing on their screens.

“Gen Z, for me, is an optimistic generation. It’s their time, and they’re teaching us more than we’re teaching them now. “

Bond University Microcredentials In a competitive world, it’s important to stand out.

Whether you’re looking to upskill, advance your career, change direction or dive deeper into a specific area, Bond University offers a range of executive training and professional development courses to help you get ahead.

Stand out when you’re applying for your next promotion or new opportunity.

With a Bond microcredential, you’ve got an advantage.

Featured courses

Sports Coaching: Essential Communication Skills

How to Restart Covid-19 Disrupted Projects

Part 1 – Data Analytics for Decision Making; An Introduction to Using Excel

Start anytime

Start anytime

Start anytime

Delivered 100% online

Delivered 100% online

Delivered 100% online

$125

$375

Free

2 hours study time

8 - 12 hours study time

12 - 16 hours study time

Search our full catalogue of microcredentials at: bond.edu.au/microcredentials

bond.edu.au

RESEARCH

Open season on open plan THE PANDEMIC HASTENS THE DEMISE OF NOISY, STRESSFUL WORKPLACES

by Reon Suddaby

W

hat do Covid and a ringing phone have in common?

On the face of it, not a lot.

But the global pandemic, alongside office noise such as phone calls, printers and talking colleagues, is spearheading a growing trend towards people working from home.

The distraction caused by open-plan office environments and what that means for the next generation of workers has been explored in new research

by Bond University Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour Dr Libby Sander, alongside Bond colleagues Assistant Professor Dr Oliver Baumann and Associate Professor of Computer Games Dr James Birt.

The study placed volunteers in a simulated office setting to compare the effects of open-plan office noise with a quieter, private office. The volunteers were exposed to sounds including people speaking, walking, and printing papers, as well as ringing telephones and keyboard typing noises. Participants were asked to complete a proof-reading exercise under both sets of conditions, while sensors were used to track changes in heart rate and sweat response – both reliable indicators of physiological stress. Dr Sander and her colleagues found a causal relationship between open-plan office noise and both stress and negative mood. Sweat response increased by 34 per cent and negative mood by 25 per cent.

Dr Sander says businesses need to be mindful of the unique needs of their employees when considering their work environment. “I think the key thing is that there’s no one size fits all. Companies really need to think carefully about what kind of workers they have and what kind of work they’re doing, and design different | 22 |

environments to suit that. Being together in a very small space is not something that a lot of people enjoyed before the pandemic, and they’re probably not going to enjoy it very much afterwards either.”

Some companies are paying attention and making changes. Software giant Atlassian has told employees they only need to come into the office for four days a year, while those working for graphic design company Canva need to visit the office for just eight days annually. “70 per cent of staff in recent surveys internationally have said they will look for a new job if their employer doesn’t offer flexibility about where they can work and the ability to work from home for at least some of the time, so we’re going to see that very much become part of this war for talent,” Dr Sander says.

The Covid pandemic has permanently altered the workplace dynamic, now and into the future, Dr Sander says. “We’ll see smaller head offices, people coming in for meetings, more of that social contact. But what the pandemic showed us is a lot of people can work more productively, they can concentrate more, they can get less distractions, working from home. And that’s as well as the benefits of not commuting.”

According to Dr Sander, businesses should consider whether their staff need to be in the office and, for those that were required to come in, using acoustic treatments to reduce noise could also help. She says the pandemic has led to people reconsidering the balance between work and the rest of their lives. “I think people are ... questioning much more the role of work in their lives.

We’re seeing that coming out in research as well, whether or not the trade-off they make is worth it.”

“People are questioning much more the role of work in their lives... whether or not the trade-off they make is worth it.”

Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour Dr Libby Sander.

Arch, Edition 29

| 23 |

Our Bond community continues to innovate and break new ground as they strive to help build a better world for future generations.

Whether it be through embracing their heritage, influencing organisations to be better, shaping new companies from the ground up or preserving Indigenous cultures, these Bondies are focused firmly on the future.

| 24 |

Arch, Edition 29

| 25 |

FUT URE GENERATIO N S

Mr Dion Enari is an advocate for Samoan language and culture.

Culture of success DION ENARI IS PRESERVING THE LANGUAGE AND HERITAGE OF SAMOA FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

by Reon Suddaby

M

r Dion Enari speaks softly – but carries a message he hopes will echo through generations.

The 31-year-old New Zealandborn Samoan recently submitted his PhD thesis exploring the perceptions of Fa’a Samoa (Samoan way) held by New Zealandborn Samoans living in Brisbane, Australia, bringing an end to nearly four years of study at Bond University. But while Mr Enari may have come to the end of his immediate academic ambitions, his quest to preserve the language and culture of his homeland is only just beginning. It’s a task he takes seriously.

“I push the importance of the Samoan culture at all levels and in all ways that I can, whether it be speaking at public events,

| 26 |

speaking to educators and policy makers and arguing and lobbying for implementing and including our languages and cultures in school curriculums, particularly where there are high Samoan and Pacific Island populations.” Mr Enari says. “Any language can disappear within three generations if we’re not careful, particularly for our migrant communities. It’s a very real threat and we’re seeing that it’s going to take a lot more than just asking people to speak the language at home, the language they speak at home should also be supported in curriculum as well, so they know there’s a home for their mother tongue beyond just their household, that it’s also supported in their place of education.”

As part of his research, Mr Enari interviewed New Zealand-born Samoans residing in Brisbane, exploring their perceptions of the Samoan culture and their lived experiences. He also spent time in the local Samoan community, observing how they used their language and practised their culture. While expecting his research to show his participants identifying more strongly with Australia or New Zealand, he found that overwhelmingly they strongly identified as Samoan, first and foremost.

“Quite a lot of their values and beliefs were centred around Samoan values and beliefs, even though they were born outside of the motherland,” Mr Enari says.

He sees three critical steps in ensuring the Samoan culture continues to thrive: speaking Samoan, building connections between generations, and ensuring the diaspora living offshore return to Samoa as often as possible. Mr Enari says the main issue confronting the future of Samoa was the relationship between those Samoans living offshore and those still on the island, in particular the ongoing dialogue over the country’s political future and the correct way to preserve Samoan language and culture.

The recent election of Samoa’s first female Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa was a landmark occasion for Mr Enari.

“Samoa has many women leaders, we have many high chiefs, our greatest warriors were all women, so it’s an exciting time to see the potential of a Samoan female Prime Minister, and I support the movement of Samoan women leadership.”

The election was not without controversy, with Ms Mata’afa only confirmed as Prime Minister following a three-month political

impasse with the caretaker government.

The right to elect a government is one which is currently reserved only for those Samoans still living on the island. Despite being one of an estimated 500,000 Samoans living in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and elsewhere offshore, Mr Enari would like to see the status quo retained.

“Now there are more Samoans who reside overseas than live in the motherland, I believe there must be laws in place to protect the sovereignty of those who live on-island, to ensure they get full say on their political leaders that they have to live under, as opposed to the diaspora potentially taking over the way the election goes and not having to live with the consequences. It can be a bit unfair if you have Samoan people from Sydney, Auckland and Seattle calling the political future of those who live in the village and work in the plantations.”

For now though, Mr Enari’s own future lies a little closer to Samoa, having just moved to New Zealand to take up a role lecturing

in Auckland University of Technology’s Faculty of Health & Environmental Sciences.

He’s open to the prospect of making a permanent move back to Samoa one day, with a view to working either in government or back in his ancestral village. But wherever Mr Enari’s journey takes him, his passion for his country and its culture will go with him.

“Many of the world’s problems and many of the world’s dilemmas that we face today can be answered by the knowledge, wisdom and guidance of Indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems. Indigenous peoples and their culture must not be viewed as a barrier to success but a carrier of success.

We’re able to navigate the world and our futures, through our culture.”

Watch the video to hear more from Mr Enari.

“INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THEIR CULTURE MUST NOT BE VIEWED AS A BARRIER TO SUCCESS BUT A CARRIER OF SUCCESS.”

Arch, Edition 29

| 27 |

FUT URE GENERATIO N S

The loan ranger CHRISTIAN FAES IS MAKING MORTGAGES SIMPLER AND FASTER WITH LENDINVEST

by Reon Suddaby

mong the many new things Christian Faes (Class of 1995) discovered during his time at Bond University in the mid-1990s was email. Fast-forward a quarter century and

A

Technology is critical to the work of LendInvest, and is described by Mr Faes as the company’s key differentiator. “We’re trying to change the experience of getting a mortgage. In the UK the average mortgage

commonplace. “I think that’s going to cause huge changes across society. I look at things like cities, places like the Gold Coast – it’s a much smaller city than Sydney but offers a great lifestyle and a more affordable place to

far more sophisticated technology sits at the heart of LendInvest, the property finance platform Mr Faes co-founded at the height of the Global Financial Crisis and recently floated on the London Stock Exchange.

After graduating from Bond with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in 1998, Mr Faes worked as a lawyer in Australia and the United Kingdom, before returning to the Gold Coast and setting up a small mortgage lending business. But London was calling, and for Mr Faes that meant a return to the English capital in 2008 to form LendInvest alongside a co-founder he met through a mutual friend.

The timing was far from ideal, with markets rocked by the impact of the Global Financial Crisis. Sharemarkets were crashing, people were losing their jobs, and the mortgage market was at the eye of the storm. “I had no real idea in terms of how I would do it, I didn’t really know that many people, I was very naïve,” Mr Faes says.

Describing LendInvest as a mortgage lender that views itself as an asset manager, Mr Faes says the company’s early days focused on niche areas of the property market, before slowly building a base of institutional investment. “We’ve got investors like JP Morgan, National Australia Bank, Citibank, HSBC, large institutions invest with us, we’ve got around 3 billion pounds of funds under management from those institutions.

We’re a pretty mainstream mortgage lender now, we’re not very active in the home lending space, but investment mortgages – short-term mortgages, development finance, through to investment, 30-year buy-to-let mortgages they call them here.”

takes three months, at most lenders it’s an entirely offline paper-heavy process.

At LendInvest, when someone comes to us they can apply online, and we use all sorts of new technology like open banking to be able to assess the credit of the borrower.

I think generally financial services is a very slow-moving beast. Our core competitors in the core products we’re in are legacy banks, and they’ve got legacy systems, they’re using coding language from the 80s, where we’re using the latest technologies, recruiting people from Facebook and Amazon, cuttingedge engineers, and creating something very different.”

He is thrilled to have taken LendInvest from start-up to being publicly-listed. “I guess you kind of see it as the pinnacle of success in some respects when you’re an entrepreneur, to list your own business. It’s taken a long time to get there, 13 years building the business. To see it listed now, I have a huge sense of personal pride in that.”

As for young entrepreneurs wanting to follow in his footsteps and take a company to public offering, Mr Faes’ advice is simple.

“I’d say just do it. If I sat down and thought about how you’d get to here, you definitely wouldn’t say rationally that’s a sensible thing to go and do. You’ve just got to believe in yourself and if you’re willing to work hard enough, luck will come your way eventually.”

While technology is the centrepiece of LendInvest’s business model, the societal shifts that often accompany technological progress have only been accelerated by the Covid pandemic according to Mr Faes, who sees work-from-home becoming

live. Historically, a big challenge is accessing talent, now I feel it’s almost a democratisation of that, through online and people making lifestyle choices and living where they want.”

| 28 |

“YOU’VE JUST GOT TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND IF YOU’RE WILLING TO WORK HARD ENOUGH, LUCK WILL COME YOUR WAY EVENTUALLY.” The pace of change is such that he feels many of today’s university students will end up working in jobs and industries that currently don’t exist. But with that rapid change also comes risk. “For future generations there is the very real prospect of burning out. I think certainly for the younger generation now, I imagine that’s quite difficult, the pace of movement and the expectations that places on people.

I think we’ll probably see a real renaissance – we’re already seeing it – of people focussing on mindfulness and exercising and lifestyle, which I think is really important. With social media and the other influences people have, there’s a lot of perceptions that things are an overnight success. It’s often not the reality.

Hopefully people are more aware of the need for personal time.”

Mr Christian Faes is Co-Founder and Executive Chair of LendInvest which has just been listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Arch, Edition 29

| 29 |

FUT URE GENERATIO N S

Hope floats TANAH SULLIVAN WADES INTO A SUSTAINABILITY DEBATE IN THE WORLD’S FASTEST-SINKING CITY

by Andrew Bryan

M

s Tanah Sullivan’s (Class of 2005) commute through the bustling streets of Jakarta is a daily reminder of the lofty goals she has set herself at Indonesia’s largest technology group. Picking her up for her daily trips will be one of two million drivers for Gojek, a company that comprises one half of the GoTo Group where Ms Sullivan is Head of Sustainability.

Jakarta, a sprawling metropolis home to more than 10 million residents, is the world’s fastest-sinking city. Scientists believe 95 per cent of it will be underwater by 2050, and that looming deadline helped drive Gojek’s first ever annual sustainability report in which the company committed to zero emissions, zero waste, and zero socioeconomic barriers by 2030. Even with full buy-in from leadership, the challenge for Ms Sullivan is shifting the company’s immediate short-term cyclical focus to a long-term strategy. The stakes for the Indonesian capital and its inhabitants – including the Gojek drivers – are high.

“SUSTAINABILITY ONLY WORKS AS WELL AS EVERYONE’S BOUGHT INTO IT.” | 30 |

“Jakarta is sinking pretty fast,” Ms Sullivan says. “So why wouldn’t we be preparing as best as possible our ecosystem, which consists of millions of drivers, users and merchants, because they’re going to be the most impacted. By 2050, if 96 per cent of the northern city is underwater - and science says it will be - for sure there’s going to be a disruption to our business model and to the livelihoods of the people in our ecosystem.

My job is really to build the resilience of the company, platform and ecosystem to those types of risks, which have historically fallen through the cracks because they’re not imminent financial risks. But if I don’t do my job well, they will become financial risks.

The bottom line for us is we want to be part of the solutions to these big, global challenges, and the investment now is going to be worth it because it reduces our exposure to these potential risks in the future. We’re in big trouble if we can’t demonstrate how we’re responding to the environmental, social and economic challenges across our ecosystem, because our ecosystem will suffer and our stakeholders alongside it.”

GoTo Group comprises Indonesia’s two most valuable startups - Gojek and Tokopedia. Gojek is an Indonesian ondemand multi-service platform and digital payment technology group with more than 170 million users across southeast Asia.

Tokopedia is a technology company

specialising in e-commerce, with more than 100 million active users and 11 million merchants. Among the services offered by Gojek are mobility and logistics services with more than two million drivers, and it’s a service Ms Sullivan is well acquainted with.

“I still take a Gojek every day, and a lot of the time they’re facing really challenging times, especially because of the pandemic,” she says. “If they don’t get orders, there’s an impact on their livelihoods which can be tough where they have families to support. If there’s flooding in the city, which can happen often, that disrupts their ability to get around. Increasingly extreme weather and temperatures affects them disproportionately. I feel those things very, very personally, I always have. I spend most of my day advocating for better policies, tools and programs that the company can roll out in the service of the people who keep our engine running, literally and figuratively.

Without these drivers, without these merchants, we’re nothing.”

Ms Sullivan hopes the GoTo Group’s sustainability efforts will not only shape the future direction of the company, but also help solve some of the challenges Indonesia faces.

To achieve this requires sometimes difficult conversations and a lot of alignment with Ms Sullivan’s colleagues, articulating the need to implement change across the organisation.

“Sustainability only works as well as everyone’s bought into it,” she says.

“This is what sustainability is, it’s looking at the whole picture and the whole ecosystem.

We are redesigning what a company means in this day and age, and for the future.

We are not just beholden to investors but also to a broader set of stakeholders across our ecosystem, who don’t just care about our financial metrics. We’ve also got to be sure we’re transparent to this and the next generation of consumers who are going to be financially driving our platform and our business.”

Ms Sullivan had a unique career path spanning six countries since graduating from Bond with a Bachelor of International

Relations. Her career started in foreign policy and nuclear security for the Canadian government in Japan and she has since worked on issues spanning trade and investment, food security, gender parity, deforestation and energy transition - most recently at the World Economic Forum in Geneva. The one constant has been her insatiable determination to make a difference.

“I think the recurring theme in my career and life is a good global citizen,” she says.

“I always wanted to diversify as best as possible and get different international experiences and exposure to different cultures, in order to best understand the perspectives of others who may not be able to advocate for themselves ... because

I was brought up that way by my parents.”

The mother of two children – born in Canada and Switzerland – has more than a vested interest in her role. “I would do anything for my kids,” she says. “I think it’s not just my kids, but also everyone else’s kids. I look at mine and I think, by the time they’re in their 30s, a lot of the city we’re living in is going to be underwater, that’s pretty crazy. What world are our kids inheriting? At least in my instance, I can look at my kids and say, ‘You know what, Mum did the best that she could’.

It might not move the needle for the entire world but, for this community, it will make a difference.”

“WHAT WORLD ARE OUR KIDS INHERITING? AT LEAST IN MY INSTANCE, I CAN LOOK AT MY KIDS AND SAY, ‘YOU KNOW WHAT, MUM DID THE BEST THAT SHE COULD’.”

Ms Tanah Sullivan is Head of Sustainability at the GoTo Group in Indonesia.

Arch, Edition 29

| 31 |

PwC CEO Mr Tom Seymour. | 32 |

FU TURE GENERATI ON S

The problem solver TOM SEYMOUR AND PWC THRIVE IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX WORLD

by Ken Robinson

I

t is a good time to be in the business of answering difficult questions.

Can a mass vaccination centre be set up in four weeks? Will taxes increase to cover ballooning government debt? How

a home that earns money, and that means the deals market is the hardest it’s been.”

Business is booming at PwC which has 700 partners and 8000 employees – but so is competition for the next generation

do we end homelessness? As CEO of PwC Australia, Mr Tom Seymour (Class of 1992) is prognosticator-in-chief, selling solutions in an uncertain world.

“Clients don’t come to us for easy things they can do themselves,” Mr Seymour says.

“When the world is sailing along in a stable environment we’re probably not as busy.

But when the world has lots of complexity we’re really busy - and the world is as complex as ever at the moment.”

The early 1990s must have seemed like simpler times when Mr Seymour was living in an old unit on the beach with a couple of fellow Bondies. “I loved it there (at Bond),” he says. “It was still pretty new as a uni.

I think I saw the quality, the smaller class sizes, quite practical legal teaching, and a real sense of community.”

With a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Bond, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce from QUT under his belt, Mr Seymour joined the Gold Coast office of PwC in 1994 as a graduate. Twenty-six years later in March 2020, following stints running the firm’s tax and legal operations, he ascended to the top role. His elevation came just as Covid began to wreak havoc. In the time since then the ‘big four’ audit and advisory firm has been grappling with some of the most pressing issues facing government, public and private clients.

“Government finances and budgets are more complex than they’ve ever been,” Mr Seymour says. “You’ve got geopolitical complexity probably like we haven’t had since World War II. You’ve clearly got Covid. Interest rates are effectively zero which means anyone with money is looking to get it into

of young problem-solvers. Mr Seymour says it is “probably the hottest market for professionals I’ve ever seen in my career.”

That is a critical challenge at PwC which recruits 800-900 university graduates every year.

“The number one issue for us is attracting and retaining really smart, great people,” Mr Seymour says. “We don’t dig stuff up and sell it, we don’t make things - we sell professional services. So the quality of our professionals is everything to us. It defines our success, our brand and our sustainability.”

The firm recently launched a Total Reward strategy to attract, retain and motivate the best talent. Under the program, about 80 per cent of PwC employees can expect to receive bonuses, up from around 40 per cent.

The firm is investing $15 million in a PwC Academy to upskill employees, while workers can swap out public holidays for other days off during the year, among other perks.

Most graduates still need good university marks to nab a job but Mr Seymour puts a premium on well-rounded candidates.

Have they had good part-time jobs?

Contributed to community groups? Do they play sport? Are they into the arts? “We’re a pretty diverse organisation so we try to look for people that have had different experiences,” he says. “If you’re a cookie cutter, you’ll keep some clients happy but you won’t keep all your clients happy because they come in different shapes and sizes too.”

Once in the PwC ecosystem, graduates can expect to rise rapidly through the ranks.

“We’re a fast-paced, agile organisation that propels careers,” Mr Seymour says. “I’ll often get a bunch of our grads in a virtual room and

“WE HAVE TEAMS WORKING ON THE BIGGEST TRANSACTIONS AUSTRALIA’S EVER SEEN.” say, ‘Put your hand up if the job you’ve got now is the job you want 18 months from now’, and not one hand goes up. And you could do that across our entire business, because a first-year partner wants to be a senior partner. Our whole organisation is predicated on the ability to advance your career.”

While some, like the boss, remain longterm PwC employees and partners, others stay for a few years before going on to other endeavours. “Our alumni network is critically important to us,” Mr Seymour says. “There’s a huge number of CEOs, government ministers, heads of government departments and chairs of boards who can say, ‘I started my career at PwC’. That’s a big part of what we offer as well.”

Currently, Mr Seymour is putting some of the best minds in Australia to work on problems that will shape the nation during the pandemic and beyond. “If you’re in a situation where you’ve left uni and you’re not exactly sure what you want to do but you want experience and to learn, you couldn’t come to a better organisation because we’re so diverse in what we do,” he says. “We’ve got teams who have designed and stood up vaccination stadiums in four weeks from scratch - all the technology behind it, the process management control, the reporting - end to end. We have teams working on the biggest transactions Australia’s ever seen, on complex tax matters, legal issues, some of the most complex audits and cyber risk issues.”

Arch, Edition 29

| 33 |

FUT URE GENERATIO N S

TOM SEYMOUR ON… Working from home “If anyone doubted you could work flexibly from anywhere, Covid has absolutely proven you can. But it has also shown that people don’t want to work from home five days a week because humans want human interaction. Younger team members are missing out on experiences like jumping in a cab with a partner and going across the city to a client meeting. You don’t get the dinner on Friday night after you’re finished a big transaction or a big audit. You don’t get to travel. And those sorts of experiences are part of what we offer. I think in a perfect world post-Covid, staff will get the flexibility of working from home a day or two a week. But I’ve got to be honest, I think the negatives (of working from home) outweigh the positives.”

Tax reform “Tax reform will be inevitable as a result of (the pandemic) but in Australia it will require federation reform to go with it at a time when the states are getting further apart rather than more integrated. If you go back over history, whenever there’s been a major shock to government finances - the Great Depression is a good example - the only way governments got out of it was fundamental reform. My own view is you’re going to see taxes going up because governments are going to need to raise more money.

The second point I would make is pandemics increase inequality. We are going to enter a high inflation environment - look at car and house prices - everything’s expensive at the moment. And as inflation increases, if you’re asset rich you get richer. But if you haven’t got assets it’s even harder to get assets and inequality becomes entrenched. I think in Australia you’ll see a reform and increase to indirect taxes like GST. But it’s going to take a brave Australian government to do what they need to do.”

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors “ESG is beginning to really embed itself into the cost of capital and if you’re raising capital in a sector which is non-ESG friendly, you are paying a significant premium. If you look at big transactions that have played out recently, like the BHP transaction, ESG is littered through that. The critical issue with ESG in Australia, from both the government perspective and how companies react to it, is around what I’d refer to as the just transition.

It’s a lot easier to be environmentally friendly if you’re well-to-do. It’s a lot harder if you haven’t got a lot of money. A lot of the people who are the most vocal for change are living in the cities. Are they prepared to pay an extra two per cent in their tax bills every year to fund the transfer of wealth?

That’s where that conversation will ultimately get to because the transition is not free.”

PwC prides itself on its innovative, welcoming workspaces.

| 34 |

“TAX REFORM WILL BE INEVITABLE AS A RESULT OF (THE PANDEMIC) BUT IN AUSTRALIA IT WILL REQUIRE FEDERATION REFORM TO GO WITH IT AT A TIME WHEN THE STATES ARE GETTING FURTHER APART RATHER THAN MORE INTEGRATED.”

Arch, Edition 29

| 35 |

FUT URE GENERATIO N S

Pride and prejudice PROFESSOR KEITHA DUNSTAN UNCOVERS A FAMILY SECRET AND A PASSION FOR ADVANCING FIRST NATIONS CAUSES

by Ken Robinson Pictured: Professor Keitha Dunstan

P

rofessor Keitha Dunstan remembers flipping through an old family photo album and coming across an unfamiliar face. “Who’s the little Aboriginal lady?” a young Keitha asked her mother. “That’s your great-grandmother,” came the reply, “but don’t tell your grandmother.” The 12-year-old was puzzled.

How could her grandmother not know her own mother was Indigenous? “I knew all my relatives in Roma were quite dark-skinned but as a child I just thought people who lived in the country were very suntanned,” says the Provost of Bond University. “They were all bush people and I never thought anything of it.” So began a decades-long awakening for Professor Dunstan - a Mandandanji woman and the revelation of a difficult family history ultimately capped by great success.

“It wasn’t that my grandmother was ashamed of her Aboriginal heritage,” Professor Dunstan says. “She thought she was doing the right thing by shielding us because she had lived a life of prejudice and persecution. I remember very clearly her insisting that we not be open about our heritage. She said, ‘If they find out that you’re

| 36 |

Aboriginal, you’ll lose your jobs. Don’t make things hard for your families, your kids’.”

Although Professor Dunstan’s grandmother relented towards the end of her life, it was only after she died at the age of 99 years and 11 months that Bond University’s most senior academic felt fully free to explore her family history.

The Mandandanji people’s homeland is crossed by the Maranoa and Balonne rivers in south-central Queensland where the towns of Roma, Surat and Mitchell are today. The original inhabitants put up some of the fiercest resistance to British settlement in the mid-1850s, leading to harsh reprisals by authorities and settlers, including massacres. “My ancestors were involved in the Roma land wars and, unfortunately, some of the significant atrocities that happened out west in which a lot of Aboriginals were killed,” Professor Dunstan says. “My third Great-Grandfather was a witness in a major court case over one of those massacres.”

In 1911 Professor Dunstan’s great-great grandmother was separated from her children including a daughter, the little lady in the photo album, and removed to the Taroom

Aboriginal settlement on the northern extremity of Mandandanji land. It was the time of the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 which effectively made all Aboriginal people wards of the state and allowed Queensland authorities to dictate where they could work, live and who they could marry. “My great-grandmother was separated from her mother as a child and was estranged from her extended family for much of her life,” Professor Dunstan says.

“Eventually she applied for an exemption from the Protection Act to avoid being sent to an Aboriginal settlement, as her mother had been, and so that she could get married. Her exemption was issued on the condition that she not associate with other Aboriginals, so she was actually prohibited from knowing her family. The impact of this is still felt by us as descendants … we are just very separated from our culture and country.

As a young adult I didn’t have a sense of how I could identify as an Aboriginal or how I could become more involved because we were cut off from the past.”

Professor Dunstan was the first in her family to go to university, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce, a Master of Accounting, and a PhD in the field of Commerce. She has held senior academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand and is a former Commissioner of the NZ Securities Commission. Her sister Lorelle Holland, a senior nurse, has also entered academia as an Associate Lecturer in Nursing at the University of Queensland.

“I’ve certainly received the benefit from the socio-economic bridge that education provides,” Professor Dunstan says. “I haven’t faced any prejudice or persecution because of my Aboriginal heritage but I don’t know what would have happened if I had more clearly identified earlier in my life. For a long time, I felt a lot of guilt because not openly embracing my ancestry may have helped me succeed in my career. That’s part of the reason I want to be confidently vocal now - because I feel like I’m in a position to do so. I can use my privilege to provide voice to my people.”

Professor Dunstan’s time in New Zealand opened her eyes to how a country can reconcile with its First Nations People. “In New Zealand you are aware at all times that you – are in a bilingual environment where Maori culture is valued and respected. It was warm and embracing,” she says. “I think Australia is at a really important stage where we can seriously talk about what true reconciliation would look like. There is growing awareness in the community about what has been stolen from Indigenous Australians. This is the right time to be really visible and to do what we can to make sure that we close the gap, because most Australian Indigenous people are still in dire circumstances.”

Although Professor Dunstan and her four sisters have been able to research their ancestry, they regret they will never be able to fully connect to Mandandanji culture.

“We haven’t had the advantage of knowing our mob and having community elders teaching us,” she says. But returning to Australia and the Gold Coast has made Professor Dunstan feel part of a greater

Indigenous community. “What has really helped me is having close links with the elders of the Aboriginal community on the Gold Coast. The Kombumerri people, the people of the broader Yugambeh language group and the Indigenous students and staff at Bond, they’ve all been very welcoming and supportive of me. Even though I didn’t grow up on country and I wasn’t brought up in the culture of my ancestors, I have a spiritual link which was very easily reignited by meeting with others who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. And that is quite wonderful.”

“SHE SAID, ‘IF THEY FIND OUT THAT YOU’RE ABORIGINAL, YOU’LL LOSE YOUR JOBS’.”

The matriarchs: left to right, Professor Dunstan’s Aunt Helen Bellville, Grandmother Gladys Fisher, Aunt Lyn Reynolds and Mother Desley Ball, circa 2000.

From left to right, Professor Dunstan’s father Ben Ball, Keitha, sister Lorelle Holland (front) mother Desley Ball holding sister Nicole Taylor, sister Natalie Dean (front) and sister Michelle Burkin, circa 1973.

Professor Dunstan’s Great-Great Grand Aunt Jane Weribone, circa 1910.

Arch, Edition 29

| 37 |

Ms Lara Boath with a photograph of her late father Mr George Boath. | 38 |

P HIL ANTHROPY

Love flows strong A PLAQUE ON THE FOUNTAIN OF GIVING PAYS TRIBUTE TO A MAN WHO STRIVED FOR IMPROVEMENT IN HIMSELF AND THE WORLD AROUND HIM

by Reon Suddaby

George Boath’s (Class of 2009) plaque is one among many on Bond University’s Fountain of Giving. But for Lara Boath (Class of 2012), the plaque she bought in memory of her late father represents more than just a name – it’s a heartfelt tribute to a man who loved his wife, four daughters, two grandchildren, and Bond University.

Ms Boath says purchasing a plaque on the Fountain of Giving was a fitting way to remember her father, who graduated from Bond in 2011 with a Master of Property Valuation, before passing away in 2017.

“Dad could always see the bigger picture.

He would make the time to approach all people as individuals and encourage us to understand our potential and that opportunities can be endless. He saw Bond University as a platform to continue to understand the bigger picture, be a part of the world and affect positive change.

“Bond recognised Dad’s experiences and saw his potential within the world too.

Dad was 57 when he started his degree, he was the first of his family to go to university, he constantly educated and improved himself through higher learning.”

Mr Boath’s connection with Bond began even before he commenced studying at the University, as he spent part of his 20s working with Indigenous communities with his wife in the Northern Territory alongside future Bond University Executive Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Harry Messel AC CBE. After graduating from Bond, Mr Boath worked as a Land Access Research Officer for Land Field Services, followed by a role as a Land Management Co-ordinator with major resource companies Saipem Australia and Santos before moving to the P4 Group and a new position as Land Access Manager – Resources and Infrastructure Projects.

Mr Boath continued to work in preconstruction land access management up until his passing, with a passion for negotiation toward synergistic infrastructural growth, respecting people and culture first.

Ms Boath is herself a Bond alumna, graduating in 2013 with a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in journalism.

She went on to work with both 9 News and 7 News, while also featuring on radio as the National Station Voice of Triple M, working for Southern Cross Austereo, and providing public relations and communications strategy and writing services. Ms Boath is one of many people who have either purchased a plaque on the Fountain of Giving or found another way to give back to Bond University.

Earlier this year, the University’s firstever Giving Day set a target of $100,000, but raised almost $115,000, thanks to the generosity of alumni and supporters.

Vice President Engagement Catherine Marks says the funds would go towards multiple areas of need including the Student Hardship Fund, Student Opportunity Fund and Scholarship Fund. “We are so proud of the generosity shown by the Bond community at our very first Giving Day,” Ms Marks says.

“We hope to build this event into a staple

of the Homecoming calendar, allowing Bondies here in Australia and those abroad to help foster the success of the next generation of Bond students.”

Ultimately, it’s those fellow staff and students that Ms Boath says made a difference to both her and her father during their time studying at Bond. “It’s just the spirit that you feel when you are here, just the positivity and the openness of people that are studying here, and something my Dad always said was to surround yourself with those who have a similar mindset and would also like to succeed, and Bond is definitely the place to do that.”

Watch the video to hear more from Ms Boath.

Ms Lara Boath at the Fountain of Giving.

Arch, Edition 29

| 39 |

Class of 2000

Class of 2000

Mr Justin Gabbani was recently appointed CEO Asia for Lendlease. After graduating from Bond University with a Bachelor of Finance and Bachelor of Commerce, Mr Gabbani joined Lendlease as a graduate in 2003 and has gained over 18 years of experience in strategy, corporate finance, capital markets, investment management, development and construction across Australia, Asia and Europe. A Chartered Accountant, Mr Gabbani is based in Singapore and has overall responsibility for the Lendlease business in Asia. Mr Gabbani is passionate about the development of young talent and champions the Asia Graduate Program that provides exposure for graduates to various parts of the business and enables them to take charge of their career development.

Dr Baden U’Ren left his position as Head of Entrepreneurship at Bond University in May of this year to pursue his commercial interests in entrepreneurship education and corporate innovation. He was appointed inaugural Entrepreneur in Residence at Somerset College, Academic Dean at CG Spectrum (an animation, VFX and game design school), and launched corporate innovation consultancy The Unconventional Group. He remains committed to embedding entrepreneurship curriculum in Australia’s education system and continues to embark on extreme outdoor adventures with his wife Cathy (May) U’Ren (Class of 2012).

Class of 2003

Class of 2003

Dr Caroline Graham has written a book about a quirky Outback town and one of Australia’s most infamous missing person cases. Dr Graham has co-authored Larrimah, exploring the disappearance of local man Paddy Moriarty, who vanished from the remote Northern Territory town almost four years ago. The new book builds on the 2018 Walkley Award-winning podcast Lost in Larrimah. Since the podcast, an inquest has been held, with NT police offering a $250,000 reward for information about Mr Moriarty’s disappearance. Dr Graham and co-author Ms Kylie Stevenson trawled archives in Darwin, Canberra and Adelaide to delve into the pasts of Larrimah and Mr Moriarty, and also travelled to the Gulf Country and the sprawling Brunette Downs cattle station in search of answers.

Mr Nitay-Yair Levi is the Managing Director and founder of Koenig Heritage, an investment holding company. Before founding Koenig Heritage, Mr Levi acquired and managed 10 other businesses. In August, he represented Australia, and the Asia Pacific Region, at the 2021 World Championship of Public Speaking. Mr Levi was crowned first runner up. The World Championship of Public Speaking is the largest in the world, with over 35,000 contestants from over 145

Justin Gabbani

Caroline Graham

| 40 |

Baden U’Ren

Nitay-Yair Levi

countries. “It was very humbling to win this title. The outreach from across the world is overwhelming and supportive. It is incredible to be invited to share messages across the world with such a diverse group of people.”

In total, Mr Levi spent eight months competing across varying levels of the competition.

Chris Dolling

Class of 2013

Helena Franco

Class of 2013

In June 2021, Mr Chris Dolling (Class of 2009) joined Boeing Defence Australia as a Senior Contract Manager.

Having returned to Australia after working for the Embassy of Australia in Washington, D.C., the Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) graduate is now working in Brisbane. “Living and working in Washington D.C. during Covid and the closing days of the Trump administration, and having the opportunity to make a contribution towards the achievement of Australia’s foreign policy goals in the defence environment (has been a career highlight).”

Dr Helena Franco recently commenced a Master of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery at Harvard Medical School.

Dr Franco is the first R.G. Menzies Scholar to attend Harvard Medical School and will be conducting research for a thesis aimed at improving the delivery of surgical care in Australia. At the beginning of 2021, Dr Franco moved to Cairns to work as an Orthopaedic Principal House Officer. “It was a brilliant opportunity to work with a wonderful department, continue to develop skills within Orthopaedic Surgery and learn about some wonderfully interesting conditions which I had never seen in Brisbane.”

Since graduating from Bond University in 2017, Dr Delo Subhaharan has taken on full-time work as a Medical Registrar at Gold Coast University Hospital.

In 2020, Dr Subhaharan was awarded the Young Investigator Award at the American Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (AIBD) Conference, as well as the 2021 Gastroenterology Society of Queensland (GESQ) Young Investigator Award. “I was quite shocked initially as I didn’t expect to win. I felt really proud to represent my colleagues and the gastroenterology department as well as GCUH as a whole,” he says.

Class of 2009

Deloshaan Subhaharan

Class of 2012

Joseph Marcus The UFC has teamed up with a fitness product designed on the Gold Coast by a Bond University graduate. Mr Joseph Marcus devised his blood flow restriction cuffs while completing a thesis research project, as part of his Doctor of Physiotherapy degree in 2014. The cuffs work by using pressure to restrict blood flow to the heart, while ensuring sufficient arterial blood reaches the limbs. After initially launching the product himself, Mr Marcus sold his company to Brisbane-based Vald Performance, which has now launched BFR Cuffs as the flagship product of its SAGA Fitness brand. Mr Marcus said the deal with UFC was formalised after SAGA’s BFR Cuffs were used by strength and conditioning coaches at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai. BFR Cuffs will now also be used at UFC’s other performance institute, in Las Vegas, as well as being distributed globally to athletes.

SHARE YOUR STORY

Bondies on the move.

Have you recently changed roles or want to share some exciting career news? Email your update to alumni@bond.edu.au.

Arch, Edition 29

| 41 |

BOND IES ON THE MOV E

Class of 2014

Class of 2014

Class of 2017

Sachiko Kokue has recently been appointed as the DHL Country Lead of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) for Japan. In her current role, she evaluates a firm’s conscientiousness for social and environmental factors. “ESG is quite a hot area,” she says, “and it is expected to continue.” Before taking on her new role, Ms Kokue was the Internal Control Manager for DHL Supply Chain. Following her Master of Business Administration degree, Ms Kokue began her career working for Fast Retailing, a Japanese retail holding company that works with large brands like UNIQLO.

Ms Holli Sargeant has dedicated her work as a solicitor to the lawful design and deployment of emergent technologies, like artificial intelligence. Recently, Ms Sargeant has been named a 2021 BHP John Monash Scholar.

With this scholarship, she is studying her PhD in Law at the University of Cambridge where she will focus on the legal and ethical design and governance of artificial intelligence.

“The way technology underlies our modern interactions and behaviours requires us to test not only the assumptions about how technology is designed, but also how the law manages these risks. To me, this is a fascinating area of study that has a tangible real-world impact.” The Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of International Relations

After completing her Master of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ms Shilpi Arora now runs private practice clinics called Karma Nutrition.

Her private practice helps both Indian and Australian people in need of dietary and nutritional assistance. During her course, Ms Arora was inspired to establish Karma Nutrition after learning there was a gap in nutritional support for Indians living on the Gold Coast. “My perception towards private practice has completely changed,” she says. “There are only a few Indian dietitians available on the Gold Coast to support the diet of the Indian population.” With Karma Nutrition, Ms Arora is looking to make a positive change. Ms Arora is now a nationally recognised and award-winning dietitian with

graduate has also worked at Herbert Smith Freehills as a founding member of its Digital Law Group and undertaken a secondment to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Human Rights and Technology project.

over 10 years’ experience supporting clients to achieve their nutritional goals.

Sachiko Kokue

Holli Sargeant

Shilpi Arora

Class of 2019

Moh’d Al-Saadi

Class of 2014

Kristen Viccars Apex Tool Group Marketing Director/Company Director Kristin Viccars has been named as one of the Top 50 most innovative and effective marketers in Australia, in this year’s CMO awards. The CMO50 list is in its seventh year, and celebrates those leading the marketing function and demonstrating innovative and strategic thinking, while driving business change and commercial success. Mr Viccars, who completed an Executive MBA at Bond, says he was honoured to be recognised and paid tribute to Apex Tool Group. “At ATG, we have collectively been able to innovate in our industry, the second oldest one in the building and construction sector, and achieved record results in the midst of a global pandemic.

The support and hard work from our customers, agencies, suppliers, and consumers has been paramount in this success – something I’m incredibly proud of.”

| 42 |

Since graduating with a Master of Project Management and Master of Architecture earlier this year, Mr Moh’d Al-Saadi set his goals sky high. In February he received the 2020 Queensland Institute of Architects’ Memorial Medallion. “I was honoured to receive the QIA memorial medallion as the highest achiever for my Thesis subject,” Mr Al-Saadi says. “But more importantly, it means that people see value and positive impact in my work, especially as my work is related to social and humanitarian architecture.” Mr Al-Saadi is now working as an Architecture Graduate at Rothelowman Architects - Gold Coast.

Virtual Coffee Chats CONNECT WITH A BONDY Start our 33rd anniversary celebrations with a 33-minute chat with a Bond student.

Register today to join our 2022 Virtual Coffee Chat series.

alumni.bond.edu.au/coffee-chats

Golden age of sail MAT BELCHER SKIPPERS BONDIES TO GLORY AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS

| 44 |

Mat Belcher and teammate Will Ryan sailed into Olympic history by claiming gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

S P ORT

Homeward bound AFTER ANOTHER GOLD MEDAL, GLOBETROTTING SAILOR CRAVES TIME IN PORT

by Andrew Bryan

“Miss you Anton”.

Mat Belcher’s (Class of 2001) scribbled message on his hand to his eldest son after claiming gold at the Tokyo Olympics summed up the sacrifices of an incredible five years of uncertainty and unprecedented challenges. Being relegated to a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics after gold at London 2012 drove Belcher to become a two-time Olympic sailing champion. But it was his loved ones who got him over the line.

“It was really tough on the family,” Belcher says. “Not only the complexities of being in lockdown and home schooling, there were risks with me travelling around (in a pandemic), which was a big concern.

I had to spend a couple of nights pretty much in my garage without being able to see my kids while I waited for Covid test results.

I don’t know how my wife was able to do it with me being away so much. Anton’s had to cope with being the big helper of the family, particularly with my wife and supporting the girls. My middle girl has a disability, he’s so

| 46 |

protective and such a big helper and I wanted to give him a special moment to say thank you so much. (Winning gold) would have been impossible without my wife’s support, my parents’ support, and the sailing community to get us through.”

Belcher had already tasted success in London and was a 10-time World Champion, but he and teammate Will Ryan knew they could do better than their second-place finish in the 470 class in Rio. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics shaped as unfinished business for Belcher. But the journey to get there was more than they could have ever imagined in a world gripped by a pandemic.

“To win Olympic gold in Tokyo was pretty special,” Belcher says. “It was unfinished business and the main driver to continue.

I won in London and we had a great campaign leading into Rio but during that week everything was really difficult and things just didn’t go our way. Tokyo was a fairytale ending. To take that risk and spend another

“To win Olympic gold in Tokyo was pretty special. It was unfinished business and the main driver to continue.” five years of your life just to have that one-week opportunity to go one better, the fact that it worked out - that was the plan and the goal - but there is so much that you can’t control. To cross that line and realise that it did happen, it’s absolutely the best feeling.”

Does a third Olympic gold medal beckon?

Belcher says he’s taking the rest of the year off to spend time with his family before competing in his first Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Only then will he decide on setting sail for Paris 2024.

Mat Belcher and his wife Friederike at home with their children Anton (rear), Amelie and Zoe. Arch, Edition 29

| 47 |

S P ORT

Tokyo Olympics honour roll Bond University alumni and students finished the Tokyo Olympics with two gold and three bronze medals – a world-beating performance in per capita terms. With a combined student and living alumni population of 34,161, the University’s population per medal of 6832 eclipsed the best pocket rocket countries in the world including San Marino (three medals, 11,313 people per medal), the Bahamas (two medals, 196,625 per medal) and New Zealand (20 medals, 254,215 per medal).

Mat Belcher

Jean van der Westhuyzen

Class of 2001

Class of 2018

Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Project Management, Master of Valuation and Property Management

Bachelor of Business

Gold medal in the Men’s Two Person Dinghy - 470

3rd in the B final of the Kayak Single 1000m

Alex Graham

Elijah Winnington

Class of 2015

Current student

Bachelor of Sports Management, studying MBA, Georgina Hope Rinehart Scholarship

Bachelor of Business, Georgina Hope Rinehart Scholarship

Bronze medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay

7th in final of the 400m freestyle

Bronze medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay

7th in heat of the 200m freestyle

| 48 |

Gold medal in the Kayak Double 1000m

Bronze medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay (heat swimmer)

Maddy Gough

Jenna Strauch

Current student

Class of 2017

Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Georgina Hope Rinehart Scholarship

Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Georgina Hope Rinehart Scholarship

8th in final of the 1500m freestyle

9th in the 200m breaststroke

Alex Beck

Maddison Levi

Class of 2010

Bond University Rugby

Bachelor of Exercise Science, Doctor of Physiotherapy

Scored two tries on debut for the Australian women’s Rugby Sevens team which was knocked out in the quarter finals

6th in heat of 400m in personal best time

Arch, Edition 29

| 49 |

S P ORT

Around the grounds

The Bull Sharks celebrate their national title in front of the Fabian Fay Clubhouse.

Rugby: Women crowned Uni7s national champs on home turf A historic national championship headlined Bond University’s 2021 rugby campaign.

The Bull Sharks secured their maiden national championship after a scintillating performance in the final round of the AON Women’s Uni7s. Bond raced to a 22-0 lead in the final against Griffith University, with a Maddison Levi double in the first half spearheading Bond’s charge to the national title. The Bull Sharks defeated Griffith 29-7 to win their first national silverware, holding their nerve on the final day of competition in front of the Fabian Fay Clubhouse at Bond University. | 50 |

“It was unreal to win the national title,” says Bond University captain Emily Bass.

“We had to play with heart and the girls certainly did that. I’m super proud. I’ve been here since 2017 and this group is special.

We’ve never had this much talent come through the ranks. To win at home in front of our family and friends is unbelievable.”

Coach Setu Nasiri was thrilled with his team’s performance. “It is surreal,” Nasiri says. “I’m happy for the group of players because it’s been a big commitment for this group and the staff and their families.

They are not just good footy players, but great people.”

While the women’s 7s team toasted national glory, the Bull Sharks Premier Women, Second Grade, Colts 1 and Colts 2 teams all made the Covid affected finals series.

Director of Rugby Luca Liussi says the looks on players’ faces across the two days of semi-finals told the story. “The players were shattered not to progress further,” Liussi says.

“It wasn’t for lack of effort. All four teams gave everything. We definitely had our chances in every game and of course it is disappointing but that is finals football. Congratulations to all Bond players, coaches and support staff for doing our colours proud.”

Mooney rises after search for new coach After glittering success in Tokyo, Bond Sport is refocussing on the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics. As part of this preparation, the University has signed a new Head Coach to drive its acclaimed swimming program.

Chris Mooney was one of Australia’s most successful coaches in Tokyo, guiding swimming sensation Kaylee McKeown to three gold medals and one bronze. He was previously Head Swimming Coach at Spartans Swimming at the University of the Sunshine Coast and has coached in the acclaimed US college system at the University of Hawaii.

His other charges have included the likes of Jennie Johansson, the 2015 50m breaststroke World Champion, and Taylor McKeown who won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Director of Swimming Kyle Samuelson

“There is some unbelievable talent in the Bond program,” Mooney says. “We have three years of opportunity (until the 2024 Olympics) and we want to make that daily training environment the best it can be. There will be no pressure on the results, there’ll be just a little bit of pressure on the process to make sure we get those day-to-day things right.”

says Bond’s coaching staff are excited at the appointment of Mooney to lead the program. “He brings an immense amount of experience for our swimmers to learn from and we’re thrilled to have him on deck at the University,” Samuelson says. “I look forward to working with Chris on driving the program through to the next level for the Paris 2024 Olympics and beyond.”

New Bond University swimming Head Coach Chris Mooney.

Executive

Director

of

Sport

Garry

Nucifora says Mooney’s appointment is a natural evolution of Bond Swimming. “Chris Mooney is a coach of exceptional standing and we are very excited about the contribution he will make to the swim program’s exciting story. His values align very well with those of the university where excellence in swimming complements the academic pursuits of our elite student-athletes.”

AFL: Four sides make grand finals

Netball: Players net national spots

A QAFLW Development premiership was the highlight of another highly successful season for the Bond University AFL club. All four Bull Sharks sides made grand finals across the men’s and women’s programs, with the women’s development team claiming silverware.

Medical student Clara Dahlenburg was voted best on ground in the winning grand final, showing up all over the field in a tense 44-32 victory over Coorparoo.

Bond also further strengthened its reputation as the biggest AFLW talent factory in the country with 16 players drafted into the premier women’s competition since the AFLW was formed in 2017.

Five more Bull Sharks were drafted into the AFLW in 2021 – Lucinda Pullar & Mikayla Pauga (Brisbane Lions), Teagan Levi, Shannon Danckert and Giselle Davies (Gold Coast Suns), while two former players were also picked up – inaugural Bull Shark Imogen Barnett (Collingwood Magpies) and Casidhe Simmons (GWS Giants).

Bond University is fast establishing itself as the breeding ground for future netball superstars. Four Bull Sharks players - Elsa Sandholt (U17s), Ava Black and Ashleigh Ervin (U19s) and Maddi Ridley (U21s) were all picked in Australian squads.

“The pathways we have in place mean we are able to help these young athletes further their careers in the sport,” says Director of Netball Stu Allen. “We have won consecutive U16s state titles and had consecutive U18s grand final appearances as well.”

In state competition, the Sapphire and Ruby teams claimed their fair share of scalps throughout the season before ultimately finishing just one place out of the finals in Queensland’s premier competition. It was a remarkable season considering the Bull Sharks were hampered by injuries.

The squad suffered more lost games due to injury this season than in the previous two seasons combined.

University Nationals: Bull Sharks punch above their weight again Bond University claimed the University Nationals Queensland per capita trophy in 2021 for the fourth consecutive year.

The Bull Sharks men’s rugby 7s team were the headline act, claiming the gold medal after going through the tournament undefeated. They won all three games on day one of the tournament with an aggregate of 149-0, before backing up on day

two with four more victories, winning the grand final 36-7 over James Cook University.

Bond’s women’s netball team also had a strong tournament, finishing with a silver medal.

Bond competed well across men’s and women’s basketball and mixed netball to retain the nationals per capita crown.

Arch, Edition 29

| 51 |

| 52 |