2024 Award Recipients

Joanna Weston (BCom 2016)

Ms Joanna Weston is a role model, a community leader and widely regarded as one of the best defenders in Australian netball with over 50 international caps. She plays for the Melbourne Vixens and the Australian Diamonds, making her a reigning world champion with wins at the 2023 Netball World Cup, and the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. She is a member of the Melbourne Vixen Leadership Group and a member of the Melbourne University Sport Board.

Ms Weston is well known for fighting for fairer pay agreements for her fellow netballers as the President of the Australian Netball Players' Association. She is passionate about equality, equity and recognition for the fantastic achievements and sporting calibre of professional female athletes in Australia.

She has used her platform to bring attention to important social, environmental and community issues. This includes her work as an Ambassador and Non-Executive Director for The United Project, a not-for-profit charitable foundation working towards the prevention of mental ill-health and suicide through early detection.

Ms Weston joined the Victorian Institute of Sport honour roll as a winner of the prestigious VIS Award of Excellence in 2023. She is also a seven-time Constellation Cup winner, a Netball Quad Series gold medallist, Suncorp Super Netball premiership winner, an ANZ Championship winner, a two-time Melbourne Vixens Premiership player, and Melbourne Vixens Excellence in Sport and Life award recipient.

Danielle Wood (MCom 2005)

Ms Danielle Wood is the Chair of the Productivity Commission and is one of the most visible and highly regarded economists in Australia. She is a passionate advocate for women in economics through advocacy and example. She is the first woman to chair the Commission or any of its predecessors, and the first woman President of the Economic Society of Australia in its 99-year history.

Prior to joining the Commission, she was CEO of the Grattan Institute and Head of its Budgets and Government Program. During her time at Grattan, Danielle also held roles as a member of the Australian Government’s Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, the Parliamentary Budget Office Expert Advisory Committee, the Jobs and Skills Australia Consultative Forum, and the Australia and New Zealand School of Government Research Committee.

Ms Wood has previously worked in senior roles at the ACCC and NERA Economic Consulting. She has published extensively on economic reform priorities, budgets, tax reform, women’s workforce participation, generational inequality, and reforming political institutions. She is also a passionate advocate for women in economics and was the co-founder and first Chair of the Women in Economics Network. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Economic Society of Australia and a Research Fellow of the Women’s Leadership Institute. She is currently an ex-officio member of the Australian Government’s Competition Review Expert Advisory Panel.

Ms Wood earned her Master of Commerce (Economics) with First Class Honours from the University of Melbourne in 2005. She also earned her Master of Competition Law from the University of Melbourne with First Class Honours in 2015.

Edmund Tan (BCom 2004) & Lim Shiew Li (BCom 2004)

Mr Edmund Tan and Ms Lim Shiew Li are the visionaries behind the innovative Malaysian ice cream brand, Inside Scoop. As co-founders, the couple has established over 40 stores across the country in the last decade, carving out a niche in the local food and beverage industry and disrupting a market once dominated by foreign brands.

After graduating from the University of Melbourne, they worked in Singapore’s corporate world, Mr Tan as an investment banker and Ms Lim as an actuary. They combined their business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit, a course at Gelato University in Italy, and their desire to give back to their home country of Malaysia to create a successful brand with high customer satisfaction.

Alongside traditional crowd-pleasers, they push the boat out with uniquely South-East Asian flavours like cempedak (a fruit similar to jackfruit), durian, teh tarik (local black tea), and kopi peng (iced coffee with condensed milk).

They adapt their offerings to serve and delight the community around them, including a halal option flavoured with chicken bakkwa (a dried meat traditionally eaten around Lunar New Year) and a late-night, drive-through buffet during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions to cater to Muslim customers breaking their fast. Inside Scoop’s revenue grew exponentially during the pandemic by pivoting to focus on takeaway and online orders when dine-in sales were limited.

They have contributed greatly to their home country’s economy and community throughout the supply chain, offering their predominantly local employees living wages and ensuring their products are made fresh using ingredients from Malaysian suppliers where possible. Inside Scoop now has an estimated value of over AU $32 million with plans to create a new line of consumer packaged ice cream products to cater to the masses.

Anthony Shepherd AO (BCom 1969)

Mr Anthony “Tony” Shepherd AO is an accomplished business leader and corporate figure with a distinguished career spanning more than five decades. He continues to play pivotal roles across various public and private sectors and was made an officer of the Order of Australia for his services to business, the arts and sport.

Mr Shepherd graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1969 with a Bachelor of Commerce. He began his career in the public service with multiple roles across within the Defence and Transport and Infrastructure Departments. Upon joining Transfield in 1979, he pioneered private infrastructure with projects such as the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Melbourne City Link and East Link.

He was the Chairman of Transfield from 2005 to 2013, steering the company's significant growth and diversification. His leadership played a crucial role in expanding the company's portfolio beyond construction services, embracing new sectors and markets. He has been a prominent advocate for public infrastructure development, recognising its importance in fostering economic growth. He was the inaugural Chairman of WestConnex, and oversaw the listing of Transurban, Transfield Services and Connect East.

Mr Shepherd’s tenure as the President of the Business Council of Australia was marked by efforts to foster collaboration between the business community and the government, emphasising the role of the private sector in driving national prosperity. He is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Patron of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.

He has served on numerous boards and advisory bodies, providing his insights to organisations across multiple sectors. He is currently the Chairman of the respective boards at the Sydney Entertainment Quarter, Infrastructure SA (inaugural), Bingo Industries, and the Sydney Bradfield Oration. He is the Director of Virgin Australia International, Independent Non-Executive Director of Enviropacific and Director of NSW Racing Authority.

He has previously been appointed chair of Venues NSW, the GWS Giants, Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, ERG Limited, ConnectEast Group, ASTRA Subscriber Television, Macquarie Specialised Asset Management, and the Federal Coalition Government’s Audit Commission into Commonwealth expenditure. He has held directorships at Snowy Hydro, Menzies Research Centre, NSW State Transit Authority, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, VicTrack, and the Migration Council of Australia (inaugural).