2016 MBA Directors Forum Speakers
Below are some of the speakers from the 2016 MBA directors Forum.

Dr Richard David Hames
Dr Richard David Hames, was recently described by Forbes Asia as one of the smartest people on the planet, Richard is considered to be among the world’s most influential intellectuals and philosopher-activists. An Australian citizen, educated in Europe, and until recently domiciled in Asia, Richard has been honoured with numerous awards including a French Government Scholarship, a Leverhulme European Fellowship, the Mondadori Professorial Fellowship and the inaugural Lord Attlee Fellowship.
Richard is an elected Fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science. In July 2015 he accepted the position of founding Chief Executive Officer at Centre for the Future – a global enterprise focused on finding practical solutions to Buckminster Fuller’s challenging question: How can we make the world work for 100 per cent of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous co-operation without ecological damage or disadvantage to anyone?
Richard now works as a strategic adviser to institutions and multinational corporations in the USA, Europe, UK, China, Japan, India, South Africa, Brazil, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and advises governments on issues as diverse as whole system change, ecologically intelligent urban development, governance, security and alternative energy. Richard is a member of various advisory boards and is personal mentor to Heads of State, cabinet ministers, entrepreneurs and some of the world’s most innovative CEOs.
A compelling public speaker and celebrated writer, Richard is author of several best-selling books, including:The Management Myth: Exploring the Essence of Future Organizations, Burying the 20th Century – New Paths to New Futures, The Five Literacies of Global Leadership and the soon to be published Dancing with the Future – The Art and Practice of Strategic Navigation, is a practical guide for organizations wishing to implement a ‘real-time’ approach to strategic management.
An authority on the design of strategically relevant yet viable ‘whole system’ solutions for business and government in the knowledge society, Richard has built an enviable reputation with a range of clients spanning the globe and in all sectors of the economy.

Paul R Carlile
Paul R Carlile, Associate Professor of Management and the Senior Associate Dean for Innovation at the Questrom School of Business, Boston University, formerly at MIT Sloan School of Management. Dr Carlile’s research focuses on the boundaries between people in different knowledge domains and how to enhance collaboration and innovative outcomes. Dr Carlile’s currentile work focuses on enhancement of student learning through curricular innovation and new models of program delivery, and has recently launched a new integrated and experiential MS in Management Studies (MSMS) Program, cited as a Most Innovative Business School Ideas of 2015 by Poets & Quants. Dr Carlile holds a BA Phil and Masters in Organizational Behavior from Brigham Young University, and a PhD in Organizational Behavior from the University of Michigan.

Nick Wailes
Professor Nick Wailes, Associate Dean (Digital & Innovation), is responsible for leading the digital transformation of the UNSW Australia Business School, he is also Director AGSM Online. Nick’s role is to enhance the student learning experience across the Business School through new technologies. Prior to Nick’s appointment as Associate Dean (Digital & Innovation) he was Director of the MBT and AGSM Online; he also has extensive experience gained while Director of the MBA program at the University of Sydney.
His research has focused on technology and organisational change. He has also conducted research in international and comparative human resource management and strategic management.

Zack Belinson
Zack Belinson, Co-Founder and Learning Design Studio Director, is an Ed-Tech enthusiast with over 10 years experience delivering rich, interactive and adaptive courseware. Zack joined UNSW Australia’s Adaptive eLearning Research Group in 2007 and since then has been working closely with innovative teachers, learning design teams and institutions to deliver the best possible online learning experience for each individual student. He holds a BA (Hons) from Middlesex University London and MCom IT from UNSW.

Sally Capp
Sally Capp, Chief Operating Officer, Victorian Chamber. Sally has extensive experience in CEO and executive leadership roles in both government and large corporations. Before joining Victorian Chamber, Sally was the Head of Markets, Victoria at KPMG where she helped develop and implement revenue growth strategies for organisations in the higher education and government sectors in particular.
Other positions that Sally has held include: Agent-General in London for the Government of Victoria and CEO of the Committee for Melbourne.
Prior to these roles, Sally worked as a senior executive within the ANZ Bank, as the Managing Director of an ASX listed venture capital group and started her career as a commercial lawyer with Freeholds.
Sally has acted on a number of Boards including for private and public companies, ASX listed companies, and not for profit organisations. Sally is currently a Board Member of Rowing Australia, an Advisory Board Member of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne, a Board Member of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, and Trustee of the Mary Jane Lewis Trust.
Sally holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), Bachelor of Commerce and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Mat Jacobson
Mathew, Founder & CEO Ducere Business School, is disrupting the higher education landscape, creating some of the industry’s most innovative educational platforms and projects. He is a regular media contributor on topics of business, innovation and entrepreneurship, including articles in Wealth Creator, Marketing Magazine, Business First, Smart Magazine, Start-Up Smart and Business Builders.
As a thought leader on innovation within education, Mat has hosted and spoken at numerous academic and business events including chairing the 2014 ADC Forum Summit on ‘the Future of Australian Higher Education’, Harvard University and at the Apple Emerging Leaders Program. Mat is also on the Victorian Education Ministerial Advisory Roundtable.
Ducere is a global education provider which links MBAs with companies and world leaders to do hands-on learning. It utilises in-depth case studies by world leaders including Presidents, Prime Ministers, Nobel Prize Winners and Global CEOs and many other notable visionaries.
As founder of the Dūcere Foundation, Mathew has established partnerships with sovereign states, major universities’, philanthropic leaders and major businesses in the delivery of educational programs to some of the most disadvantaged children in the world.

Jessica Schubert
Jessica Schubert is the Regional Sales Director Asia, HK Office,International Study Programs. She has over 16 years of Business Development and Operations experience in the services and hospitality industry. Originally from Germany, Jessica has lived and worked in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Hong Kong in the past 14 years and has been managing multicultural teams across Asia Pacific and has helped businesses expand into new markets.
As Regional Sales Director for International Study Programs (ISP) based in Hong Kong, Jessica consults Business Schools in Asia to provide them with customised high level academic study programs in order to achieve their rigorous learning goals and to enable the students to connect the classroom with the international business world. Jessica is also an accredited Executive Coach and trained Team Coach.

Jason Lawrence
Jason Lawrence is the Director for Market Development ASEAN, for the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC®) based in Hong Kong. Jason is charged with working with business schools and others in ten markets including, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.
Prior to joining GMAC in June 2012, Jason was a Professor at KAIST College of Business, where he worked for 6 years. At the same time, he managed the Association of Asia-Pacific Business Schools (AAPBS).
Jason has a range of experience in managing sales teams or teaching/training roles, in Japan, Korea, and Australia. Jason holds a Bachelor of Business (HRM) and a Master of International Business.

Andrew Crisp jointly founded CarringtonCrisp in 2003 with Mary Lou Carrington. He has considerable research and communication experience having worked in branding agencies, as the Employment Correspondent for The European newspaper, as Marketing Director for an internet business and as a student campaign leader at The Industrial Society.
Previously, Andrew led the agency team that carried out the London Business School rebrand. Since setting up CarringtonCrisp he has carried out projects for a wide range of clients including INSEAD, Cranfield University, University of Queensland, University of Winnipeg, Sheffield Business School and the University of St Gallen.
Andrew’s research work ranges from focus groups for universities through to major quantitative studies. Andrew works on all of the group research studies run by CarringtonCrisp, providing analysis, report writing and presentation of results.
Andrew has also spoken at industry events organised by The Economist, The Design Council, the Association of Business Schools (ABS), the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the Canadian Federation of Business School Deans (CFBSD), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the European Association for International Education (EAIE).
2016 MBA Directors Forum Program
Wednesday 11th May
10:30 | Registration and Morning Tea |
11:00 | Conference welcome and introductions |
Plenary – Business Schools of the Future | |
11:30 | Physician Heal Thyself – managing disruption in Business Schools (via video and Skype from USA) Prof Paul Carlile, Senior Associate Dean of Curriculum and Innovation Information Systems, Questrom School of Business, Boston University |
12:20 | Disruption – addressing the gap between academic programs and industry relevance Mathew Jacobson, Founder and CEO Ducere Business School |
13:10 | Lunch |
14:10 | Confessions of some MBA Directors – relationships with business/industry In this session three Directors who have useful relationships with business and industry will talk about what they have done, why and how and then answer questions. This will be followed by table discussion. |
15:40 | Afternoon tea |
Plenary – MBA Programs and Student Learning | |
16:10 | How technology will continue to challenge the design and methods of offering MBA Programs Prof Nick Wailes, Associate Dean Digital and Innovation, UNSW Business School and Zack Belinson, Co-Founder and Vice-president, Global Services, Smart Sparrow |
17:00 | Free time |
18:45 | Dinner – Canberra Room
Dinner Speaker: The Learning Business |
Thursday 12th May
07:00 – 8:30 | Breakfast (Restaurant) |
Plenary – Our Future Leaders | |
08:30 | Effective recruitment and management of part-time teaching staff: latest research (‘Hotspot’ morning cuppa session) Dr John Toohey, Director, AdjunctFinder.com |
09:00 | Preparing global-ready graduates – how international residencies help students to develop cross-cultural intelligence Jessica Schubert, Regional Sales Director Asia, International Study Program |
09:50 | How MBA Programs and industry can tap the potential of Millennials Jason Lawrence, Director, Market Development (North Asia), Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC®) |
10:50 | Morning Tea |
11:20 | Working Groups |
13:00 | Lunch |
Plenary 3 – Business and Students Today and Tomorrow | |
14:00 | The SME Sector: a potential champion in the development of MBA education Sally Capp, COO, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry |
14:50 | Why does no one want to study my MBA? Andrew Crisp, Founder, Carrington Crisp, UK |
15:40 | Concluding remarks and afternoon tea |
16:00 | Depart |