Murrell Appointed to UWA Alumni Business Council


Thomas Murrell has been elected to the Council of the Graduate Management Association, the peak body representing Alumni and current students from postgraduate courses at the University of Western Australia’s prestigious Business School.

Operations management consultant Paul McCann (pictured far right), AM, (EMBA 2010) has been elected President, International business speaker and CEO of 8M Media and Communications, Thomas Murrell (MBA 1997) is Vice-President, Coordinator - Leadership Development Program, Learning and Development, Workforce with the North Metropolitan Area Health Service, Wendy Jacobsen (pictured middle) (EMBA 2010) is Secretary and Mack & Co Partner, Simon Fermanis (MBA 1998) has been appointed Treasurer.

“This is an exciting time for the GMA as we have just developed a new strategic plan for the next five years and aspire to be vibrant, relevant and meaningful to every current and past post graduate student of the UWA Business School,” Mr McCann said.

The GMA was established in 1976 with a mission to create infinite links between current and past post graduate students and alumni of the UWA Business School, the business community and community at large, both in Australia and internationally.

“As we head towards our 35th anniversary in 2011 one of our key strategies will be to re-engage with past Alumni including MBA students from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s,” Mr McCann said.

UWA Chancellor Dr Michael Chaney is the Association’s Patron and the organisation holds monthly networking events, professional development programs and will be holding a signature black tie dinner on 11th September featuring Dr Bob Every, Chairman of Wesfarmers as keynote speaker, in association with the Business School.

“All these activities help position the GMA as the premier alumni and networking group for business professionals in Perth,” said Mr McCann.

Media Backgrounder GMA Executive Biographies

Paul J. McCann AM, BSc (UWA), EMBA (UWA), GAICD
Paul is a West Australian-born operations management consultant, with over 20 years experience in management in both government and private sectors.
He was educated in Western Australia, taking a Bachelor of Science and Executive MBA from the University of Western Australia (UWA). He served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for 20 years accumulating 4000 flying hours as Navigator and rose to the rank of Wing Commander. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1997, for excellence in air lift operations.
In his Air Force career he served as: an operational instructor and flight examiner on C130 Hercules aircraft in the RAAF and on exchange with the US Air Force; as the HR manager of over 800 engineering professionals; as deputy commanding officer of an operational squadron; and, as executive operations manager for the Defence air transport capability. His final appointment in the RAAF was a tour as assistant air attaché on the diplomatic staff of the Australian Embassy, Washington DC.
Since 2000, when he joined the private sector to develop an innovation division at Jacobs Australia he has managed and consulted on large government and military projects in several locations including Sydney, Canberra and Perth. He has been specialising in design, implementation and monitoring of operations management systems and in methodology for complex decision making.
Paul is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Member of the Institute of Management Consultants. He was elected to the Council of the UWA Graduate Management Association in 2008 and as President in 2009.
Paul is married with two sons, and lives in Perth. His personal interests include ice hockey, walking, technology, reading and cinema.

Thomas Murrell BAgSc (Hons) (Adel), DipAgEcon (UNE), MBA (UWA), CSP, Vincent Fairfax Fellow

Thomas Murrell is a multi-award winning broadcaster, international business speaker, author and advisor.

The Australian Institute of Management calls him "one of Australia’s leading management thinkers and practitioners" and BRW Magazine as "committed to using creativity as a competitive edge", he is recognised internationally as an expert on how to be media and marketing savvy.

In a former life he was a TV and radio presenter, executive producer and senior media executive … describing his 12 years at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as an "apprenticeship".

Now as the CEO of his own consulting company, 8M Media and Communications, Thomas has been recognised by his peers as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), the highest possible international qualification and accreditation for professional speakers.

His latest book, Understanding Influence for Leaders at All Levels (co-author McGraw-Hill) is published in seven countries including the USA and UK.

A graduate of three Australian Universities, he gained his MBA from the University of Western Australia with distinction.

Wendy Jacobsen Executive MBA (UWA), Ma Commerce - Human Resource Development

Wendy has expertise in change management and turnaround within the health sector and has more than thirty years experience obtained in clinical and corporate roles in WA, Indonesia, Singapore and Sydney.

She is the Coordinator of the Leadership Development Program for the multidisciplinary staff of the North Metropolitan Area Health Service (NMAHS). The NMAHS Learning and Development Department is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and as the RTO Coordinator Wendy oversees compliance with the Australian Quality Training Framework to provide nationally recognised training and issue qualifications.

Previous roles include Project Director and Cancer Director at Siloam Hospitals Indonesia where Wendy prepared a range of strategic business plans, for example to build the first private Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Indonesia.

Wendy was the Principal Project Officer for the Radiation Oncology Skills Mix and Work Analysis Project. This was a federally funded project conducted in association with Queensland and Tasmania that investigated strategies to meet the growing demand for Radiation Oncology services.

She is a senior registered nurse with an Executive MBA from UWA, a Ma of Commerce in Human Resource Development and a Bachelor of Health Science.

Simon Fermanis, BCom (UWA), MBA (UWA), FCPA, AICAA

Simon has over 20 years experience in the accounting profession and commerce. Before joining Mack & Co, he was a Senior Manager of audit within a big four international accounting practice. Simon has a diverse range of experience in audit and has been responsible for the audit of large multi site corporations, large construction companies, manufacturing companies, publicly listed companies and not for profit organisations. Simon’s audit experience also includes the responsibility for auditing large complex corporations with annual sales revenue in excess of $450 million.

Simon has also worked professionally in commerce and received a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia. He is a registered company auditor, a Fellow of CPA Australia and an affiliate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

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