Human Resources Magazine is the industry's only publication to have an editorial board, whose role it is to ensure the magazine continues to be the reporting authority on HR related issues and leader of the people management debate. The board is also there to share information and offer specialist advice for our readers.
Human Resources Magazine is the industry’s only publication to have an editorial board, whose role it is to ensure the magazine continues to be the reporting authority on HR related issues and leader of the people management debate. The board is also there to share information and offer specialist advice for our readers.
We have selected 12 of Australia’s top HR practitioners and educators, whose depth and breadth of experience and expertise will be a real asset to us in the coming year. Between them, our award-winning group has more than 20 degrees and about 180 years of domestic and international experience! They also have a variety of outside work interests including golf, sailing, philanthropy, travelling and beef farming.
As the Australian economy and share market continues to reach record highs eight of our new board members come from ASX listed companies representing five of the ten sectors. These are consumer discretionary (Fairfax), financials (ANZ, Babcock & Brown, IAG, Stockland), healthcare (CSL), industrials (Transurban) and materials (Iluka Resources). Many of them have overseen massive organisational change and restructuring, or have been responsible for setting the HR agenda’s within their companies.
We also have expertise from the tertiary sector and are delighted to welcome Professor Roger Collins, winner of the Australian HR Award Lifetime Achievement in 2005, onto the board again.
Special mention must also be made of Venture Capitalist turned Venture Philanthropist Michael Traill who brings a unique and practical perspective to many people management issues from his experience in the banking and charity sectors.
So we hope you will look out for their contributions, comments and opinion in HR Magazine throughout 2006.
Do you have any questions or comments for our new board? If so please send them to [email protected].
Joanne Barber, General Manager, Human Resources, Transurban
Joanne has been at international toll road developer Transurban since 1999. She has more than 15 years of experience across a variety of business and industry sectors.
Joanne oversaw the company’s transition from an infrastructure developer with fewer than 50 employees to an organisation with more than 600 staff.
Since commencing operation, the company has introduced a range of innovative programs for its employees including regular online learning and development opportunities, performance incentives (including an employee share plan and executive long-term incentive plan), an electronic self-service HR system, innovative reward and remuneration programs and extensive online employee relations policies/information. Transurban has major assets in Australia and emerging interests overseas.
New year’s resolutions: Revisit and consolidate our HR learnings of the past 2-3 years so we can readily adapt to the growth and changing nature of the business. Review and make best use of the changes being brought about by new legislation. Keep up to date with my professional reading; at least reduce the size of the reading pile!
Dale Calhoun, Executive General Manager, People & Communities, Iluka Resources Limited
Dale Calhoun commenced as Executive General Manager People & Communities with Iluka Resources Limited in February 2005. Iluka Resources is a global leader in mineral sands exploration, production, processing and marketing.Dale has extensive senior management experience within the consumer, industrial and manufacturing sectors.
Before joining Iluka Resources, Dale was Executive General Manager Human Resources for Southcorp Limited and prior to that was Director Human Resources for George Weston Foods. She was previously the General Manager Human Resources for Boral Limited and Human Resources Manager for Pacifica Limited. Dale is a member of the Australian Human Resources Roundtable, the Australian Human Resources Institute, and the Institute of Company Directors.
Dale’s role at Iluka Resources covers accountability for human resources; government, indigenous and community relations; and internal communications.
New Year’s Resolutions: Contribute to the profession. Deliver ‘people’-based value to the business. Continue to build a great people and communities team for the business.
Roger Collins, Professor Of Management, AGSM
Before joining the AGSM, Roger was an industrial chemist and line manager, in the armed services, and a psychologist and manager in the public sector and in tertiary education.
Roger’s professional interests include: how managers can provide leadership that sustains their organisations’ performance and success; how to link an organisation’s HR practices to its strategy in ways that offer competitive advantage; and organisational renewal and change.
He has a consulting practice and has co-authored and edited a number of books, including Australia’s best selling text Management in Australia. In 2004 he was appointed as a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for his services to teaching.
New Year’s Resolutions: To be more critical of the things to which I give priority and to say “no” more often! To identify more people who are particularly effective and to make time to learn from them. Reciprocally to give more to people who are in career transitions. To spend time talking to colleagues about the longer term issues, the timeless principles and the things with which they are struggling. Given all the changes that we are experiencing, there seem to be some things that we shouldn’t discard or allow to be replaced.
Stewart Fotheringham, Managing Director, Aon Consulting
Stewart Fotheringham is responsible for Aon Consulting in Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. He is also responsible for ensuring a close liaison between his team and Aon Consulting's operations in Asia.
Stewart joined Aon in the UK in 1985 and worked in both Glasgow and London becoming part of the senior management team in 1991. Appointed to his current position in 1998 Stewart has continued to grow and develop the company's core superannuation practice while expanding the range of services available to include a broader focus on benefits and a cross section of people risk consulting services.Stewart also sits on the Global Operating committee of Aon Consulting Worldwide.
New Year’s Resolution: With talent quickly becoming one of the world's scarcest resources, the key issue for human resources executives has to be the attraction and retention of high-performing skilled employees. Successfully attracting and retaining, is of course, the result of a number of different HR strategies and I want to be spending lots of time with our clients understanding how their needs are developing in this rapidly changing area – and ensuring that Aon Consulting is helping with that change.
Shane Freeman, Group GM, People Capital And Breakout, ANZ
Shane joined ANZ in August 2001 and is responsible for the bank’s strategic HR function. This includes the major practice areas of leadership, talent and learning, performance and rewards, employee relations, and Breakout. In the last five years he has managed the ambitious people agenda that has spurred ANZ to transform its culture, and achieve consistently increasing levels of staff satisfaction and engagement.
Prior to joining ANZ, Shane worked at Mobil Oil in both Australia and the United States in a variety of roles, including Manager of Labour Relations, Manager of Organisational Development for the Marketing and Refining Group, and Manager, Human Resources for Mobil Chemical Company.
Previously he also worked for National Australia Bank as General Manager, Global HR Shared Services and at BHP as Global Practice Leader, Organisational Effectiveness.He is a director of the Diversity Council Australia, a not-for-profit organisation that supports all aspects of diversity.
New Year’s Resolutions: To work from home two days per week through 2006. To ‘give back more’– to broaden my community involvement. To maintain my ‘stunning’ health and wellbeing!
Paul Gordon, National Strategy Manager, Corporate Client Relations, ipac
Paul has 15 years experience in consulting to corporate Australia. Before joining ipac in April 2002 he held senior executive roles with MLC, National Australia Bank and St George Bank plus consulted to other industries such as the accountancy profession, media groups and corporate charities on issues related to Business Development.
In his role at ipac Paul consults to major corporations and professional firms on issues relating to improving productivity of key people. Paul and his team then develop programs to ensure key people have a financial coaching regime to help them achieve the best possible financial position.
Paul is also the facilitator of the ipac-sponsored ‘Thought Leaders Forums’ which provide stimulating debate and leadership solutions for HR professionals across Australia. Structured like a Geoffrey Robertson ‘Hypothetical’, during the forums Paul creates a scenario related to ‘people’ issues and then engages the ‘expert’ guests to comment on the scenario. Expert guests have included doctors who specialise in executive health, search firm experts, psychologists, speech therapists, lawyers, economists, herbalists, many non for profits experts, journalists, career coaches and lifestyle experts.
New Year’s Resolutions: Embrace the concept of reciprocity – give first and you will receive many times over. If everyone else is doing it the same way, head the other way. Surround yourself with complimentary skills (not the same skills).
Kelvin Milroy, HR Consultant
Kelvin was most recently the General Manager, Human Resources for CSL Limited, a global, specialty biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets products to treat and prevent serious human medical conditions. He joined CSL in March 1994 as HR Manager for the Pharmaceutical Division and was promoted to the role of GM, HR in 1996.
During Kelvin’s time at CSL the size of the workforce grew from 1,500 people in 1996 (mostly based in Australia and New Zealand), to approximately 6,500 people in 2005, with the vast majority of those people based in either the United States or Europe. The transformation was all the more significant because as recently as May 1994, CSL was a government-based enterprise with an 80-year history. Previously, Kelvin held a number of HR management positions with Ford Motor Company, Australia.
New Year’s Resolutions: Continue to learn every aspect of the business with which I am working. Continue education – for example, on the implications of the Workplace Relations Act. Ensure I do not get trapped in the office, but rather that I get out, talk to people and remain in touch with people at every level.
Rilla Moore, Executive Manager, Human Resources, Stockland
Rilla has been with Stockland, one of Australia’s most diversified listed property groups, since September 2004. She has a wealth of management experience, having worked at the most senior levels of HR for the past 15 years. Rilla has a particular interest in leadership capability, performance management, reward, talent and succession management and people metrics. She has also overseen many organisational changes including large mergers. Previously she held roles with Westpac, AMP and ANZ.
Rilla has extensive business experience in sales, customer service, consulting, commercial lending and internal communications. At Stockland she is responsible for 1,400 staff across Australia. In addition, Rilla sits on Stockland’s executive management team and a number of board committees.
New Year’s Resolutions: As a senior HR executive, Rilla does not make New Year Resolutions, but believes in planning throughout the year and not leaving things undone.
Sam Mostyn, Group Executive, Culture & Reputation, Insurance Australia Group
Sam joined IAG in February 2002 with an extensive background in law, management and politics. She has responsibility for managing the HR, Organisational Effectiveness, Corporate Affairs, Government Relations & Policy, Corporate Sustainability and Community Engagement functions. Over the past three years her team has developed a corporate, social and environmental sustainability plan.
Prior to joining IAG Sam was the Director of Corporate Development and Acting Human Resources Director at Cable & Wireless Optus. She also spent two years in London in the role of Group Director, Human Resources for Cable & Wireless Plc. Prior to joining Cable & Wireless Optus, she was a senior adviser (communications policy) to the Australian Prime Minister, The Hon Paul Keating.
New Year’s Resolutions: To really build on the exciting groundwork we've already put in place to broaden the diversity of our workforce across all dimensions, including gender, age and ethnicity; and to help our people understand the compelling business case for a diverse and flexible workforce. To develop a deeper understanding of the diverse and rich cultures that we now have within IAG as a result of our Asian acquisitions, and how best we can leverage that cultural diversity to create a great global company.
Linda Price, Organisation Development Director, Fairfax
Linda has 17 years experience in media, manufacturing, distribution and services organisations – having come to the corporate arena from a teaching background. Linda joined Fairfax in 2000 as Technology Director for The Age. In September 2002, she was promoted to General Manager of Fairfax IT. In July 2003 Linda was promoted to Organisation Development Director reporting to the CEO.
This unusual career change was in recognition of Linda’s ability to drive structure and process in the workplace to optimise resource allocation, improve customer service and deliver better business outcomes. Linda’s role immediately prior to joining Fairfax was with Gartner, a world-renown US research and advisory organisation. She provided advice and guidance regarding technological direction and strategic business impact of key business and IT initiatives.
New Year Resolutions: Lead the development and delivery of a model to assist our business effectively manage the immense change that is fundamental to succeeding as a media organisation today. Integrate our capability profiles into OD processes so that people can be successful in their roles, and collectively improve performance to drive business results. Advance our agenda to develop and retain talent.
Michelle Seddon, Global Head of HR, Babcock & Brown
Michelle joined international investment and advisory firm Babcock & Brown in June 2004. In her role, Michelle has responsibility for all aspects of people management strategy and operations across 18 offices worldwide, anchored by administrative offices in Sydney, San Francisco, New York, Munich and London.
Michelle’s main achievement to date with Babcock & Brown has been to establish the global HR framework. This enabled the company’s transition from operating as a global private partnership, to being a global public company, listed on the ASX (Top 100). No previous regional HR functions in Australia, Asia, or Europe existed and the longstanding US personnel function needed to be adapted to an Australian commercial context. Previously Michelle spent five years with Lend Lease in a variety of senior HR roles. She has also worked in HR and change management capacities with several large corporations in the financial services sector.
New Year Resolutions: Develop and implement an HRIS globally so as to automate low value adding, high volume processes wherever possible. Focus on the development of new initiatives; implementation of key projects; and make employees and managers increasingly accountable for maintaining basic processes and their own data. Continue to work closely with the business to demonstrate through our results the value HR can add to the economic worth of a global business.
Michael Traill, Chief Executive, Social Ventures Australia
Michael joined Social Ventures Australia (SVA) as founding Chief Executive in 2002, after 15 years as a co-founder and Executive Director of Macquarie Bank’s successful $400m private equity business Macquarie Direct Investment. SVA is a not-for-profit venture philanthropy organisation. It partners with outstanding social enterprises, supports their growth efforts and holds them accountable for generating increased social change in Australia.
SVA has so far supported more than 50 social enterprises – providing a mix of funding access, corporate mentor support and best practice shared learning. Michael holds several commercial and non-profit directorships, including Infochoice, the Indigenous Capital Fund, the John Maclean Foundation and the Opera Australia Capital Fund.
New Year’s Resolutions: Create space and time to think and reflect by having a year-end mini sabbatical. Make sure that as SVA grows we put in place more HR structure without damaging our high energy and informal culture. Continue prioritising important personal connections – coaching my 10-year-old’s Aussie Rules team has at least the same status as ‘important’ work appointments!
