Since
graduating from QUT in 1992, Robert has steadily built a reputation in the
competitive world of professional dance. He has performed with several of
the world's leading dance companies in Australia and overseas, and is currently
based in London with premier contemporary performance company DV8 Physical
Theatre. Robert's roles in DV8's productions such as Enter Achilles
(1998) and The Happiest Day of My Life (1999) have promoted the innovation
and quality of his work and training at QUT, and Australian dance.
He is currently rehearsing DV8's Wasted, which will premiere at the Sydney
Olympic Arts Festival in August before returning for a London season.
Robert's achievements also include choreography for promotional work in
film and TV, and providing dance masterclasses in countries across Europe.
Recently he choreographed and performed in a Chris Cunningham film, yet
to be released.
Noel
Robinson Faculty of Built
Environment and Professional Excellence Award Winner
Leading
Brisbane architect and designer Noel Robinson is known for his award-winning
building designs, urban scale designs and interiors. His outstanding achievement
in business has been the development of Robinson Design Inc, an entrepreneurial
design firm that is active internationally. The firm has been appointed
to design the new city of Jiangbei and the Pujiang Tunnel, Shanghai, China.
Noel was instrumental in forming the Asia Pacific Design Group, cited by
Austrade and the Federal Government as the most appropriate model for new
networks to use as their export vehicle. Noel has received more than
45 awards for achievements in architecture, environment and business. He
takes a sustainable approach to design and has been heavily involved in
a variety of community action groups in Queensland. Noel has also lectured
at QUT and tertiary institutions in Papua New Guinea and Tasmania.
David
Moffatt Chancellor's Outstanding
Alumnus and Faculty of Business Winner
As
the CEO of General Electric (GE) Australia and New Zealand, David Moffatt
is responsible for sales of $1.5 billion, almost 4,000 employees and more
than 2.5 million customers. David's career at GE is the result of
leadership, innovation and vision/values that were tested when he launched,
from nothing, GE Capital Australia and New Zealand in 1995. "My
greatest business achievement is conceiving and building a profitable, successful
and sustainable financial services franchise for GE in the highly competitive
Australian market," David said. In just five years, David has
developed GE Australia to an $8 billion business and pioneered Australian
business initiatives globally. He is a member of GE Capital Services Global
Leadership Council, the world's largest non-bank financial institution,
and the Asian Corporate Executive Council, responsible for GE's Asian interests.
Just 15 years after graduating from QIT with a Bachelor of Business (Management),
39-year old David is well-positioned to take advantage of Australia's new
business opportunities. "The combination of e-business and Australia's
developed intellectual capital base is a perfect incubator for the development
of world-class businesses," he explained. "I propose to
be right in the middle of that equation." David's achievements
also include co-founding Interfinancial Limited in 1987, a boutique investment
bank that has arranged debt and equity transactions totalling $140 million
and $28 million respectively, advised acquisitions, and completed two Australian
Stock Exchange listings. At 24,
while still a student at QIT, David was one of the youngest assistant vice-presidents
and managers at Citibank in Brisbane. In 1989 he moved to Chicago as chief
financial officer for Palmer Tube Mills. He joined GE in 1991. David
attributes his success to energy, integrity, having a plan, and a very supportive
family. He is the founding director of Giant Steps (Sydney), part
of an international organisation supporting education for autistic children,
and founding chair of the Australian chapter of ELFUN, a GE-employee organisation
promoting community service. David also regularly raises funds for hospitals
in Melbourne, where he lives with his family, and where GE's Australian
head office is based.
Champion
netballer Vicki Wilson OAM has made an outstanding contribution to sport
and the promotion of sport in Education. Representing Australia in
netball since 1985, Vicki has been a Sports Promotion Officer for Education
Queensland since 1992 and also served as a Ministerial Policy Adviser on
sport. Earlier this year, Vicki became a project manager in events coordination
for the Premier's Department. A teacher until 1992, Vicki has served
on numerous sporting and community committees including the Australian Institute
of Sport Advisory Board and the National Breast Cancer Centre. Vicki's
sporting achievements include three World Championship awards, the first
Commonwealth Games gold medal for netball, and playing 99 Tests for her
country. She has received numerous civic awards for sporting excellence.
Renowned
athlete and coach Glynis Nunn-Cearns OAM has extended her career in athletics
to managing the Sports Super Centre, a purpose-built training facility she
hopes will become the best in Australia. Glynis's sporting achievements
include gold medals for heptathlon at the 1982 Commonwealth Games and 1984
Olympics. She has also coached national youth teams and athletes in Australia,
Germany and America. Her programs for children, coaches and the disabled
help participants achieve their goals and allow her to share her love of
sport and health with others. A PE teacher for many years, Glynis
was also a School Sport Development Officer and chair of the State Government's
Youth Action Program. Glynis helped develop an education unit at Couran
Cove resort, South Stradbroke Island, to enhance children's interaction
with the environment. Holder of numerous civic awards, Glynis regularly
attends Camp Quality, Paradise Kids respite unit and is a patron of ACCESS,
a group assisting IVF couples.
Brett
Hooker Faculty of Information
Technology Winner
Outstanding
IT graduate Brett Hooker has established an exceptional career in the global
information technology industry. Since 1993, Brett has worked for the second
largest software firm in the world, Oracle Corporation. As senior director
of software development and based at Oracle's headquarters in California,
Brett leads a team of 60 developers. Best known for developing the
Applications Desktop Integrator, a product that is translated into 22 languages
and used by thousands of companies worldwide, Brett believes the only barriers
to solving a business problem are your imagination, focus, determination
and ability to deliver. It is with this determination that he has
contributed greatly to the software industry in Australia by convincing
Oracle to establish a software development centre in Brisbane.
Twelve
years after graduating from QIT with honours in Law, Jane Macdonnell is
Director-General of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General in Queensland.
In 1988, Jane received the James Archibald Douglas Prize for a law student
with the most promise to enter practice. She has certainly fulfilled that
promise/Jane is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court in Queensland
and the ACT, a practitioner of the High Court of Australia, and can practice
as a barrister in any Australian Federal Court. Jane is a career public
servant, holding a number of senior positions in both State and Federal
Government during the past 25 years. Prior to making the law her career,
Jane headed aged care and corporate services programs for the State Government.
After graduating, Jane spent some time in private practice before moving
to the Queensland Treasury and then to the Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
Mary
Magee Faculty of Science
and Excellence in Contribution to the
Community Award Winner
As
one of the first women to build a career in pharmacy in Queensland, Mary
Magee brings extensive business experience to her role as the President
of Zonta International, the prestigious women's organisation that is active
in 71 countries worldwide. Mary has given nearly thirty years of her
life to Zonta, which aims to raise the status of women, and has personally
assisted the development of numerous Zonta clubs worldwide. Mary has also
assisted a variety of community organisations including the Red Cross, the
Brain Foundation, and the Breast Cancer Association of Queensland, among
others. Mary also serves a critical role on the Premier's Council for Women,
advising on health and violence against women and children. The owner
of two thriving pharmacies in Brisbane, in 1998 Mary received the Telstra
Business Woman of the Year (Qld) Award and the Westpac Business Owner Award.
She remains a tremendous advocate for the advancement of women.
Since
graduating from QUT in 1992, Robert has steadily built a reputation in the
competitive world of professional dance. He has performed with several of
the world's leading dance companies in Australia and overseas, and is currently
based in London with premier contemporary performance company DV8 Physical
Theatre. Robert's roles in DV8's productions such as Enter Achilles
(1998) and The Happiest Day of My Life (1999) have promoted the innovation
and quality of his work and training at QUT, and Australian dance.
He is currently rehearsing DV8's Wasted, which will premiere at the Sydney
Olympic Arts Festival in August before returning for a London season.
Robert's achievements also include choreography for promotional work in
film and TV, and providing dance masterclasses in countries across Europe.
Recently he choreographed and performed in a Chris Cunningham film, yet
to be released.
Leading
Brisbane architect and designer Noel Robinson is known for his award-winning
building designs, urban scale designs and interiors. His outstanding achievement
in business has been the development of Robinson Design Inc, an entrepreneurial
design firm that is active internationally. The firm has been appointed
to design the new city of Jiangbei and the Pujiang Tunnel, Shanghai, China.
Noel was instrumental in forming the Asia Pacific Design Group, cited by
Austrade and the Federal Government as the most appropriate model for new
networks to use as their export vehicle. Noel has received more than
45 awards for achievements in architecture, environment and business. He
takes a sustainable approach to design and has been heavily involved in
a variety of community action groups in Queensland. Noel has also lectured
at QUT and tertiary institutions in Papua New Guinea and Tasmania.
As
the CEO of General Electric (GE) Australia and New Zealand, David Moffatt
is responsible for sales of $1.5 billion, almost 4,000 employees and more
than 2.5 million customers. David's career at GE is the result of
leadership, innovation and vision/values that were tested when he launched,
from nothing, GE Capital Australia and New Zealand in 1995. "My
greatest business achievement is conceiving and building a profitable, successful
and sustainable financial services franchise for GE in the highly competitive
Australian market," David said. In just five years, David has
developed GE Australia to an $8 billion business and pioneered Australian
business initiatives globally. He is a member of GE Capital Services Global
Leadership Council, the world's largest non-bank financial institution,
and the Asian Corporate Executive Council, responsible for GE's Asian interests.
Just 15 years after graduating from QIT with a Bachelor of Business (Management),
39-year old David is well-positioned to take advantage of Australia's new
business opportunities. "The combination of e-business and Australia's
developed intellectual capital base is a perfect incubator for the development
of world-class businesses," he explained. "I propose to
be right in the middle of that equation." David's achievements
also include co-founding Interfinancial Limited in 1987, a boutique investment
bank that has arranged debt and equity transactions totalling $140 million
and $28 million respectively, advised acquisitions, and completed two Australian
Stock Exchange listings. At 24,
while still a student at QIT, David was one of the youngest assistant vice-presidents
and managers at Citibank in Brisbane. In 1989 he moved to Chicago as chief
financial officer for Palmer Tube Mills. He joined GE in 1991. David
attributes his success to energy, integrity, having a plan, and a very supportive
family. He is the founding director of Giant Steps (Sydney), part
of an international organisation supporting education for autistic children,
and founding chair of the Australian chapter of ELFUN, a GE-employee organisation
promoting community service. David also regularly raises funds for hospitals
in Melbourne, where he lives with his family, and where GE's Australian
head office is based.
Champion
netballer Vicki Wilson OAM has made an outstanding contribution to sport
and the promotion of sport in Education. Representing Australia in
netball since 1985, Vicki has been a Sports Promotion Officer for Education
Queensland since 1992 and also served as a Ministerial Policy Adviser on
sport. Earlier this year, Vicki became a project manager in events coordination
for the Premier's Department. A teacher until 1992, Vicki has served
on numerous sporting and community committees including the Australian Institute
of Sport Advisory Board and the National Breast Cancer Centre. Vicki's
sporting achievements include three World Championship awards, the first
Commonwealth Games gold medal for netball, and playing 99 Tests for her
country. She has received numerous civic awards for sporting excellence.
Renowned
athlete and coach Glynis Nunn-Cearns OAM has extended her career in athletics
to managing the Sports Super Centre, a purpose-built training facility she
hopes will become the best in Australia. Glynis's sporting achievements
include gold medals for heptathlon at the 1982 Commonwealth Games and 1984
Olympics. She has also coached national youth teams and athletes in Australia,
Germany and America. Her programs for children, coaches and the disabled
help participants achieve their goals and allow her to share her love of
sport and health with others. A PE teacher for many years, Glynis
was also a School Sport Development Officer and chair of the State Government's
Youth Action Program. Glynis helped develop an education unit at Couran
Cove resort, South Stradbroke Island, to enhance children's interaction
with the environment. Holder of numerous civic awards, Glynis regularly
attends Camp Quality, Paradise Kids respite unit and is a patron of ACCESS,
a group assisting IVF couples.
Outstanding
IT graduate Brett Hooker has established an exceptional career in the global
information technology industry. Since 1993, Brett has worked for the second
largest software firm in the world, Oracle Corporation. As senior director
of software development and based at Oracle's headquarters in California,
Brett leads a team of 60 developers. Best known for developing the
Applications Desktop Integrator, a product that is translated into 22 languages
and used by thousands of companies worldwide, Brett believes the only barriers
to solving a business problem are your imagination, focus, determination
and ability to deliver. It is with this determination that he has
contributed greatly to the software industry in Australia by convincing
Oracle to establish a software development centre in Brisbane.
Twelve
years after graduating from QIT with honours in Law, Jane Macdonnell is
Director-General of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General in Queensland.
In 1988, Jane received the James Archibald Douglas Prize for a law student
with the most promise to enter practice. She has certainly fulfilled that
promise/Jane is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court in Queensland
and the ACT, a practitioner of the High Court of Australia, and can practice
as a barrister in any Australian Federal Court. Jane is a career public
servant, holding a number of senior positions in both State and Federal
Government during the past 25 years. Prior to making the law her career,
Jane headed aged care and corporate services programs for the State Government.
After graduating, Jane spent some time in private practice before moving
to the Queensland Treasury and then to the Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
As
one of the first women to build a career in pharmacy in Queensland, Mary
Magee brings extensive business experience to her role as the President
of Zonta International, the prestigious women's organisation that is active
in 71 countries worldwide. Mary has given nearly thirty years of her
life to Zonta, which aims to raise the status of women, and has personally
assisted the development of numerous Zonta clubs worldwide. Mary has also
assisted a variety of community organisations including the Red Cross, the
Brain Foundation, and the Breast Cancer Association of Queensland, among
others. Mary also serves a critical role on the Premier's Council for Women,
advising on health and violence against women and children. The owner
of two thriving pharmacies in Brisbane, in 1998 Mary received the Telstra
Business Woman of the Year (Qld) Award and the Westpac Business Owner Award.
She remains a tremendous advocate for the advancement of women.