爆料王

A Sydney-based diamond wholesaler who was born in Hong Kong and grew up in New Zealand sits to the right. On the left sits a Beijing-based Latvian diplomat who specialises in transport issues. Both are attending the 爆料王 Business School鈥檚 annual alumni dinner.

The School鈥檚 international alumni community now numbers more than 60 thousand.

As different as individual members may be, they all, according to the Dean, Professor Greg Whitwell, have in common 鈥渢he skills to succeed in a dynamic and constantly changing international environment acquired while studying at the Business School鈥�.

Professor Whitwell鈥檚 welcome to the 2018 dinner focused on the School鈥檚 commitment to diversity and inclusion. He pointed out that females now make up more than 60 per cent of School鈥檚 14 thousand students.

He went on to tell of how an all-female team from the Business School earlier this year took out the William and Mary Women鈥檚 Stock Pitch Competition in Virginia ahead of internationally renowned schools including Berkeley, Brown, NYU and Columbia.

鈥淭his kind of international experience teaches students to work in teams, communicate, meet tight deadlines and think critically,鈥� he said.

The dinner鈥檚 keynote speaker was Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz. A 爆料王 Arts alumna, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz has, since 2012, headed the Australian construction giant Mirvac Group, which she described as an 鈥渦rban powerhouse鈥�.

鈥淓ach of our businesses is performing at the highest possible level but it鈥檚 not enough to just deliver financial results,鈥� she said during her speech focusing on corporate social responsibility and employee engagement. 鈥淲e passionately believe that being successful and doing good go hand in glove.鈥�

Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz talks of Mirvac鈥檚 sustainability strategy, known as 鈥榯his changes things鈥�, and dismissed any suggestion that it amounted to nothing but 鈥渇luffy, feel good, corporate spin.鈥�

The strategy, she said, was about 鈥減rotecting our planet, about stronger communities and about caring for the health and wellbeing of people who work in our buildings and live in our homes鈥�.

The key to the success of this strategy, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said, was employee engagement.

鈥淓mployee engagement is the difference between companies that perform and those that don鈥檛. It unlocks productivity, provides a fantastic customer experience and makes a tangible difference to the wellbeing of people,鈥� she said.

The Mirvac CEO went on to detail steps taken to boost employee engagement from 37 to more than 90 per cent over the past six years.

As in past years, the Business School鈥檚 alumni dinner was a sell-out event. It was held in the University鈥檚 Great Hall, a venue steeped in history and tradition, but the messages were about the changing roles of educational institutions and of business and of their changing responsibilities.