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Q&A Business School alumnus, His excellency paul madden CmG (Global mBA 1999–2002), talks about his career and life post-Durham. He is currently the British High Commissioner in Australia and has been included on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list to receive a CmG in recognition of his services to British foreign policy. Q. What is your current role? A. I am the British High Commissioner in Australia. Q. What would you say has been the most satisfying aspect of your career so far? A. I have enjoyed the opportunity to work in a variety of overseas countries, including the US and the fast growing Asia-pacific region (Japan, Singapore and now Australia), and to contribute to British interests there. That means helping British companies in those markets, and encouraging inward investment into the Uk; supporting British nationals who get into difficulty; and all the defence and foreign policy collaboration which diplomats get involved in on a daily basis. Q. What would you describe as your main strengths and how have these led you to where you are today? A. When I entered the public service in my early 20s, intellectual abilities tended to be seen as most important but nowadays leadership skills and management of people and resources are rightly recognised as just as important to get to the top of the Foreign Office. I think curiosity is a really important attribute for a diplomat – always wanting to learn about new things. It’s always fascinating to move to a new country and learn what makes it tick and how you can influence it.
Q. What are your fondest memories of your time in durham?
Q. What is the most exciting thing you have done since graduating?
A. my mBA was by distance learning (I lived on three continents while I was doing it), so I only attended summer school in Durham but I was struck by the beauty of the city and the quality of the faculty.
A. You get the chance to do quite a lot of exciting things as a diplomat, landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier at sea; travelling in the Australian outback; going in to take charge of our embassy in Bangkok temporarily when rioters were surrounding our building. Helping grieving relatives in the aftermath of the Bali bombings was very challenging but rewarding. It’s a rich and varied life which means that most of us are pretty passionate about our job.
Q. do you feel that your durham degree and connections have helped your career? A. The mBA helped me do my job better in a number of ways. I specialised in international marketing and shortly after graduating became Head of public Diplomacy at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), working on many aspects of promoting the Uk ‘brand’, including the BBC World Service, the British Council, some big branding campaigns and our prize-winning pavilion at the 2005 World expo. I then moved to be a managing Director at Uk Trade & Investment, the government’s trade promotion agency. my mBA gave me the ability to speak the same language as the businesses we worked with and understand their priorities, and enhanced my credibility with them. I was pleased to be able to give something back to Durham University Business School by hosting an alumni event at my official Residence when I was High Commissioner in Singapore.
Q. if you were to offer some advice to current students, what would it be? A. Develop habits of curiosity and challenging yourself. In a globalised world, think about the importance of the international dimensions of what you do. Use your holidays to travel. It’s hard to predict how your career paths will develop, so you need to be adaptable and flexible and ready to learn continuously throughout your career. With the support of the FCO, I have twice returned to university since my undergraduate degree in Geography at Cambridge, once to learn Japanese (at the School of Oriental & African Studies) and the second time for my Durham mBA. Q. What about your plans for the future? A. I’m only halfway through my time in Australia. After this I may go off to be an Ambassador in another country but at some stage I’d like to move into business and use my Asian experience and networks.