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UWA Business School

The University of Western Australia EMBA student Ann Maree O'Callaghan has won the inaugural AICD Prize. The prize, awarded by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, recognises the academic, professional and community achievements of a UWA Business School postgraduate student.

Ann Maree will graduate with an EMBA this March. She has an impressive record, having achieved six high distinctions and six distinctions in her twelve units, and having also being named dux of two units: Senior Management Project and Mergers and Acquisition. She will use the prize - a Company Director's Course - to further her skills in her current job as Operations Manager at the Indigenous Land Corporation.

‘I am thrilled to have been awarded the AICD Prize and look forward to undertaking the Company Director's Course this year,' said Ann Maree. ‘It will be a significant capstone to my EMBA studies and greatly assist in my ability to help other people in my current role and in future positions that I may hold including future board positions which I am keen to explore.'

Ann Maree holds a Bachelor of Science and Diploma of Business, and has spent more than 20 years working in the environmental sector, including in positions at the WA Department of Environment and Conservation and New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.

‘My 20 year career has been dedicated to working with the community across natural resources management, biodiversity conservation, landscape ecology, and Indigenous land management,' said Ann Maree. ‘The issue of capacity building and governance has featured strongly across all this work, and these are areas in which the EMBA has sparked even greater interest.

‘New learning from the EMBA (especially the Corporate Failure and Turnaround, and Strategic Management II units) has made me more aware of the importance of governance and the structure of organisations and the obligations of senior executives'

During her course, Ann Maree was able to combine her interest in corporate governance with her passion for the environment and helping local communities.

‘My Senior Management Project for the EMBA reflected my desire to balance sustainable development and the creation of economic, social, cultural, and environmental value,' explained Ann Maree. ‘My research focused on the potential commercial development of Terminarlia ferdinandiana (Australian Bush Plum), a plant of local provenance to the Kimberley and with a fruit extraordinarily high in vitamin C and antioxidants. The fruit is a traditional food source for local Indigenous people, and the focus of my research was how to create a business model to ensure development of the species that delivered benefits to local communities, whilst protecting culture and the environment.

‘I am passionate about helping people and helping the environment and have a keen interest in sustainable land management and development. I would like to contribute at a highly strategic level to the benefit of appropriate organisations and people either at the executive or board level.'

Ann Maree also acknowledged the role of the UWA Business School in assisting her professional development. ‘My favourite part of studying at the Business School has been the people I have met and have been exposed to, such as the contacts established, the expansion to my network, and the wonderful new friendships forged,' she said. ‘I look forward to continuing my relationship with the Business School in the future, perhaps in a coaching or mentoring role for other students.'

The AICD's State Manager, Suzanne Ardagh, said that the judging panel was impressed by Ann Maree's drive and enthusiasm. ‘Ann Maree is very dedicated to improving corporate governance,' she said. ‘We were very impressed with her work and engagement with Aboriginal communities with her work for ILC.  She is extremely passionate about the environment, giving back to the community and UWA Business School.'

The Australian Institute of Company Directors has a long history of involvement with the UWA Business School, and is a partner of the career and professional development Panorama Seminar series for postgraduate students and alumni.

The Company Director's Course, delivered by AICD, is a comprehensive course of ten modules covering topics including governance, strategy, risk, legal environments, management finance, decision making and the duties and responsibilities of Directors. Completion of the course gives one credit for an elective unit in the UWA MBA programme.

Media references

Heather Merritt
Director, External Relations
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 8171
M: 0419 950 027
E: [email protected]

Verity Chia
Communications Officer
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 1346
E: [email protected]