Swinburne University of Technology is pleased to announce that Mr Graham Goldsmith has been appointed as its new Chancellor.
Graham Goldsmith is a highly-respected figure in the Australian financial services industry and an experienced company director and community leader with a deep commitment to education.
Mr Goldsmith will take up the office of Chancellor after Bill Scales AO concludes almost 9 years of outstanding leadership of Swinburne’s Council in August 2014.
Swinburne’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Linda Kristjanson, paid tribute to the enormously valuable contribution made by Bill Scales and welcomed the incoming Chancellor.
“Bill Scales has overseen a period of tremendous growth, innovation and progress at Swinburne. The contribution he has made to the development of Swinburne as a world-class university cannot be understated,” said Professor Kristjanson.
“Under his stewardship, student numbers have grown significantly and our research achievements have seen Swinburne promoted into the top 400 universities in the world. The University also established Swinburne Online as a joint venture with Seek, which has significantly expanded the reach of Swinburne’s programs beyond Victoria.”
“At the same time, Bill Scales’ contributions as a panellist on both the Bradley and Gonski Reviews have placed him at the centre of the education policy debate in Australia.”
Professor Kristjanson said that Swinburne looked forward to working with Mr Goldsmith to make further progress on the university’s vision to be a leading university of science, technology and innovation.
“At a time that the university sector is experiencing rapid change, Mr Goldsmith’s deep understanding of the challenges that we face will help Swinburne to prosper in an increasingly competitive environment,” she said.
Mr Goldsmith has served as a member of Swinburne’s Council since August 2010 and Deputy Chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology sinceFebruary 2014.
He was educated at Swinburne Institute of Technology, as it then was, and graduated with a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) in 1983.
Mr Goldsmith’s career began with National Australia Bank in Melbourne before joining JBWere & Son in 1987. He worked in London for five years in the 1990s before returning to Melbourne in 1996. Following the merger of JBWere with the Australian operations of Goldman Sachs & Co in 2003, Mr Goldsmith held a number of senior roles, including as chair of the Goldman Sachs Australia Foundation. Mr Goldsmith retired in 2012 as Vice-Chairman and a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Australia after a 25 year career with the firm.
Mr Goldsmith said he was honoured to have been appointed Chancellor of Swinburne and thanked Mr Scales for his outstanding contribution.
“I believe Swinburne is very well placed in terms of the clarity of its vision and market position across research and teaching, which will enable it to adapt successfully to the changing tertiary education environment in Australia and globally, and to continue to best serve the needs of its students,” said Mr Goldsmith.
“I am committed to the University’s vision to be a leader in science, technology and innovation and I look forward to serving as Chancellor of Swinburne at this exciting time of change.”
“It has been a privilege to serve on Council and its committees over the last few years under the insightful leadership of Bill Scales, and to work with management in advancing Swinburne’s excellent teaching and research. Bill’s leadership in the development of Swinburne over the past 9 years has, by any measure, been outstanding.”
In addition to his roles at Swinburne, Mr Goldsmith is a non-executive director of ASX listed companies Djerriwarrh Investments Limited and SEEK Limited, and NYSE listed Zhaopin Limited. He is also president of the Bialik College School Council, a K-12 independent school in Melbourne.
He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia, and a CPA member of the Australian Society of Chartered Practicing Accountants.