The School of Management at RMIT has a proud history of providing programs that meet the evolving needs of students and industry, while creating mutually beneficial partnerships with industry.
The development of all our programs and activities is informed by our Industry Advisory Board of prominent alumni and members of the business community, who give expert advice on ensuring our programs are relevant to industry requirements. We also have a number of active adjunct professors from industry and academia who contribute to the development of the work of the School.
All of our programs incorporate Work Integrated Learning (WIL) which means that you are work-ready by the time you graduate.
This embedded industry perspective places you ahead of your competitors in the job market, and provides an invaluable opportunity to start developing social and professional networks during your RMIT studies.
We also connect with the local Victorian community, professional bodies, businesses, research centres, governments and secondary schools in Australia to run projects, provide services, host conferences and provide networking opportunities for business leaders and alumni.
Our Industry Advisory Board plays a crucial role in guiding the strategic development of the College and our School, both nationally and internationally. The board consists of high-profile business leaders from a range of industries who work together to further business education and research at RMIT.
Sarah Goss – Chair
Sarah is a member of Ericsson’s local executive team, responsible for company-wide strategy execution and innovation. She is also Chair of Ericsson’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, and host of award-winning podcast, Tech Cetera, where she sits down with expert voices from across the region to discuss the impact of technology and connectivity on the way we live, collaborate and innovate.
Prior to her current role, Sarah led Ericsson’s government and enterprise practice for Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, focusing on digital transformation in industries such as utilities, transport and public safety. Sarah was a founding director of health tech startup, Umps, where she remains a shareholder, and she serves as Advisory Board member for In2Science, which provides STEM peer mentoring in low socio-economic schools.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from RMIT.
Meni Barrass
Meni Barrass currently serves as Senior HR Business Partner, CSL Asia Pacific & Global. Meni is a Human Resources generalist with expertise in all aspects of HR including change management, HR strategy, talent management and development, employee engagement, performance management and employee relations.
Meni is a commercial HR leader with a global mindset having gained experience across many industries, geographies and business environments including a start-up and organisations going through significant change due to business growth.
Meni has managed a number of HR projects in a wide variety of specialisations including organisational design and restructures, development programs, cultural change, pre-employment screening, employment law compliance and career development
Jo Smyth
Jo Smyth is the founder of Twiga Group, a trusted leader in shaping impactful organisational cultures and delivering sustainable change, in Australia and beyond.
With a strong corporate background and extensive industry experience, Jo has partnered with leaders across governments, multinational corporations, and non-government organisations to navigate change with clarity and confidence.
Passionate about education and workforce development, Jo also serves on literacy and employment boards, using her expertise to drive meaningful social impact.
Gina Chinnery
Gina Chinnery is the Director of Employment & Education Partnerships at Orygen and oversees a team developing and implementing innovative projects focussed on improving employment and education outcomes for young people locally, nationally and internationally. Gina has worked in the field of youth mental health and more broadly across the employment services sector for over 20 years. She has been a key contributor to the development and evaluation of innovative vocational interventions for young people with mental ill health including Individual Placement and Support (IPS), youth vocational peer work, international student mental health peer work and the online career support platform, YOTES.
In 2018, Gina was awarded an International Specialised Skills Fellowship to investigate vocational peer work and online career interventions in Canada and the USA and in 2015, was awarded the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA) Career Practitioner of the Year and Long-Term Unemployment Conference, Employment Officer of the Year.
Scott Douglas
As a 10x startup founder, Scott has designed, launched and exited startups, while also designing and delivering Innovation programs using the human centred design thinking (HCDt) model for ASX listed companies.
With a passion for delivering user-experience-led product and service outcomes, right now Scott is focused on supporting the development of the national biocircular economy and regional innovation Eco-system.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship) from RMIT.
Wendy Hanrahan is a highly respected senior executive with over 20 years of experience spanning both the private and public sectors. Renowned for her dynamic and pragmatic leadership, she excels in fostering collaboration among senior leaders and teams to drive sustainable success. With a strong focus on culture, leadership, and inclusion, Wendy combines strategic vision with commercial acumen to translate complex strategies into actionable outcomes that maximise business performance. Her ability to challenge conventional thinking and provide fresh perspectives makes her a trusted advisor, facilitator, and coach.
Throughout her career, Wendy has held senior executive roles at ANZ, Australia Post, Pacific Brands, and Vanguard Investments, where she has led transformative change initiatives. She is recognised for her expertise in reflective practice and is an accredited practitioner of the Facet 5 personality profiling tool.
Beyond her advisory role, Wendy contributes to governance and education as the Nominations & Remuneration Committee Chair for a boutique funds management business, an Advisory Board Member for RMIT’s School of Management programs, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
Elisha Harrington is the Senior Director of Executive Innovation Strategy at ServiceNow, leading the transformation of executive engagements across the Asia-Pacific region. With a background in business strategy, digital transformation, and industry innovation, Elisha works at the intersection of technology and business, helping organizations navigate change, drive operational excellence, and unlock new growth opportunities.
Formerly with PwC, KPMG, and Accenture, Elisha has extensive experience in AI, automation, datadriven strategy, and executive advisory. Passionate about the future of work, emerging technologies, and enterprise innovation, they are dedicated to shaping thought leadership and creating impactful, strategic go-to-market strategies.
David Hauser started his startup journey back in Germany in 2002 as designer of exo-skeletons for NoDNA, a pioneer in body motion capturing technology. Shortly followed by his first startup accelerator experience with the Cologne University of Applied Sciences.
After graduating from University with a masters degree in engineering he started his career as design engineer for machine tools. Leading engineering teams in the designing high precision grinding machines in Germany and Australia, he gained experience in solving complex manufacturing challenges for demanding customers in the automotive, aerospace, consumer goods industries.
In 2017 he ventured back into the startup space. With qualifications in user experience design and research he helps entrepreneurs, SMEs, and researchers understand customer needs and develop solutions that generate sustainable value for their customers and clients.
Over those years David did not just mentor founders in global accelerators like Founder Institute and Startup Bootcamp but also participated as founder in several accelerator programs like Antler himself. His latest startup, ELIoT Energy, is aiming to accelerate the energy transition through a network of plug’n’play energy storage solutions for electrical appliances in the food & beverage industry and their retail partners
Dorothy Hisgrove
Dorothy is the National Managing Partner of People & Inclusion at KPMG Australia, a member of the firm’s National Executive and Vice President of the Essendon Football Club.
She is a strategic adviser to board and executive management on leadership, workforce planning, organisation culture and business performance.
An accomplished executive, Dorothy has held senior leadership roles in ASX listed companies including BHP, National Australia Bank and Australia Post.
She spent 3 years on the AFL Executive where she led Brand, Marketing, People & Diversity, Community Football, AFLW and International Football Operations. She was also Chair of AFL Tasmania.
A former Director of Golf Victoria and Director of Teach for Australia, Dorothy is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a member of Chief Executive Women and a member of the G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation.
She holds a Bachelor of Business with a major in Marketing and Post Graduate Qualifications in Marketing and was recognised by the Australian Financial Review as one of Australia’s most powerful Consultants in 2022.
Becky Hyde Becky is highly experienced commercial leader with over 20 years’ experience across a diverse sector of industries driving innovation and sustained growth across complex matrixed national and multinational organisations. Includes managing P&Ls over $1b, building high performing cross functional teams to drive sustainable growth and end to end business transformation. Disciplines include human centred design, proposition development and innovation, B2B and B2C sales, marketing and GTM strategies, digital transformation and multi-channel optimisation. A valued member of Executive teams with strong stakeholder management and experience with Boards, investors and industry partners.
Driven by a passion for innovation and growth, James Natsis serves as an advisory board member and alumnus of RMIT from the EMBA program. With a background in leading innovative ventures and providing strategic consulting across all sectors, I am committed to empowering the next generation of leaders and contributing to the university's continued growth and success.
Frank Oerlemans
Frank Oerlemans serves as the Chief Marketing Officer APAC for Randstad, overseeing marketing and communications throughout Asia Pacific, as well as guiding digital transformation and customer experience. With over two decades of expertise in marketing and digital, including a 12-year global executive tenure at Randstad's Netherlands HQ, he has spearheaded the expansion of digital strategies across its 38 operating companies. Frank has played a foundational role in developing Randstad’s digital strategy to industry leading levels, and was an early contributor to the Randstad Innovation fund.
Frank is passionate about cultivating independent high-performing teams and achieving growth and innovation by trial and error. He is also very passionate about supporting students to prepare for life after studying, having contributed to multiple experiential learning programs within RMIT and other universities across Australia.
Jay Patel
Jay Patel is a highly accomplished leadership development professional renowned for fostering continuous learning and cultivating exceptional leaders. With a stellar career spanning various industries, Jay's expertise in technology and adult learning principles has driven significant growth.
Notable achievements include leading transformative learning initiatives at Australia Post, implementing game-changing platforms at National Australia Bank, and providing crucial support for IPO preparation at Saudi Aramco. Jay's profound impact on organizations is fueled by a Master's in International Management and a Certificate in Driving Digital Transformation.
A trusted advisor and visionary leader, Jay Patel continues to leave an indelible mark in the realm of leadership development, empowering organizations to thrive in today's dynamic business landscape.
Jay holds a Master of Business Administration (International Management) from RMIT.
Amanda Robinson is a seasoned professional with extensive expertise in Sustainability/ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), Social Impact and Responsible AI strategy development and execution. Currently serving as the Director of Sustainability Strategy, Governance & Reporting at PwC Australia, Amanda is responsible for developing and driving PwC's sustainability strategy and commitments; monitoring and measuring success, enabling best practice governance and reporting in line with Board and stakeholder requirements.
Prior to PwC Amanda has worked in leadership roles at Australian Red Cross and SEEK as well as served on a number of advisory boards including the National Blockchain Working Group and National AI Centre Responsible AI Think Tank.
Amanda is passionate about bringing people together, translating complex concepts into practical solutions, and delivering tangible results towards a more sustainable and just future for all
Sally Smith
With expertise in people analytics, strategic HR, and consulting, Sally was named an Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia (IAPA) Top 5 Analytics Leader in 2021.
Sally is an experienced people analytics professional with a record of delivering measurement solutions that shape strategy and drive performance in large complex organisations. She is recognised for untangling people related business issues and delivering decision ready insights.
Sally holds a Masters of Applied Science and is passionate about using analytics to answer critical questions and challenge the status quo.
Vicki Stirling
As the CEO of The Startup Network I care deeply about supporting a diverse community of founders from around Australia. As an organisation we equip founders with the tools they need to navigate founder life, and connect them to a supportive community both nationally and internationally
Throughout my career I have been involved in startups from early stage ideation, to IPO. This provided me with a unique and rare insight into what it takes for a company to experience hockey stick growth and consistently double its monthly revenue.
As a passionate advocate for authentic leadership, I aim to empower other founders and leaders to develop deeply authentic relationships with their teams, their peers and their stakeholders, and as such give ourselves the permission to show up authentically every day - even when it feels hard.
Victor Khuu
Victor Khuu is proud and grateful to lead a range of free financial education programs for the Brotherhood of St Laurence at a national level.
“Building my skills over 16 years with ANZ, leading and transforming a range of National Programs/Initiatives and providing oversight at an enterprise level for both ANZ and the regulator. The RMIT Executive MBA Program transformed my career and I am honoured to be a member of this Industry Advisory Board."
Peter Williams
Pete is a recognised thought leader and practitioner in Innovation with a particular focus on digital innovation as well as how societal and technology changes will impact the future of industries.
Pete started working with internet technologies in 1993. In 1996 he founded an eBusiness Consulting group within Deloitte Australia. Pete was the founding partner of Deloitte Digital which operates in over 35 countries and employs more than 15,000 people. In that role Pete led many transformation projects with clients across a range of industries.
Pete pioneered innovation at Deloitte Australia as the Chairman of the Deloitte Innovation Council from 2004-2013 and still is at the forefront of driving innovation in professional services.
Pete leads Deloitte Centre for the Edge, a future’s think tank. The Centre focuses on major changes in the business environment driven by digital innovation and globalisation. It identifies and explores emerging opportunities related to big shifts not yet on the senior management agenda but ought to be. These topics include the future of work, understanding technology and data driven opportunities, leveraging both old and emerging technology and driving creative potential in business. Pete is still hands on and works with many of the Deloitte teams operating at the cutting edge of innovation.
Pete is also co-founder of www.packform.com a fast growing platform business for the packaging industry which recently completed a $15m capital raising. Pete has also mentored many start-up founders. Pete brings direct experience of working in both larger corporations and start ups.
He on the board of the Deloitte Foundation. Pete co-founded the RMIT Fastrack program which ran for many years and was previously an Adjunct Professor at the University.
To find out more check out his profile on LinkedIn.
Pete holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting and Finance) from RMIT University.
With a deep expertise in artificial intelligence, business data products, and data engineering, Frank Windoloski is a recognized Subject Matter Expert. He brings extensive executive -level leadership experience across marquee consulting and industry - leading organizations. Known for his strategic, collaborative, and storytelling style of engagement, Frank believes in leading with empathy, fostering innovation, and empowering his teams to achieve their best work.
Frank has delivered business value through hundreds of AI and Data programs globally, cutting across every industry and region. He is a seasoned public speaker on AI and Data topics. He has efficiently and rapidly grown businesses of all sizes, from small teams of a dozen to enterprises with thousands of people. His detailed knowledge of the market for AI and Data skills, their future evolution, and global talent pools adds to his capability to influence successful programs. Frank is passionate about entrepreneurship, recently founded a new company called smartofai which aims to bring AI Agents to life as digital coworkers. He has been a continuous learner all his life, and he maintains up-to-date expertise in the fast -paced changes currently sweeping the field of artificial intelligence
The following are just some of the global companies that engage with RMIT's Master of Business Administration and Executive Master of Business Administration:
These organisations help influence the course content, ensuring that our students graduate with industry-relevant skills and invaluable professional networks.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.