10 years of the Foundation Dinner

Three outstanding alumni were celebrated at the 10th annual Melbourne Foundation for Business and Economics Dinner at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Every year, we acknowledge the leaders and trail blazers in our alumni community with our Alumni of Distinction Awards.

This year’s recipients have all had immense impact in their chosen fields and contributed positively to society in unique ways.

Selected from a community of over 60,000 alumni worldwide, these recipients join an esteemed group of previous Alumni of Distinction awardees and exemplify the Faculty’s aspiration to educate leaders who make a global difference in business and the wider community.

Madeleine Grummet: Driving social progress through entrepreneurship

Madeleine Grummet (Master of Entrepreneurship 2016) was the recipient of this year’s Leadership Award.

Madeleine Grummet and Faculty Dean, Professor Paul Kofman.

After completing her Master of Entrepreneurship, Grummet co-founded award-winning education start-up, girledworld, which to date has worked with 30,000 students to equip them with industry mentors, enterprise skills and pathways to the future of work.

In mid-2019, she launched Future Amp, a global edtech platform which will bring world-leading interactive career education to students.

“Doing the Master of Entrepreneurship at the University was really the springboard to launching my companies,” Grummet said at the Dinner.

“I was given incredible access to mentorship and knowledge that allowed me to plug into the thriving Victorian startup ecosystem.”

In addition to running her companies, Grummet is an angel investor, mentor to early stage startups, board member and mother to four young girls.

Dylan Alcott OAM: A star athlete with a strong sense of purpose

This year’s Rising Star for Young Alumni Award went to Dylan Alcott OAM (BCom 2016).

Alcott is one of Australia’s most successful and well recognised Paralympians, having won multiple gold medals in basketball and tennis.

Most recently, Alcott achieved his sixth Australian Open win, and 10th grand slam quad singles title.

Beyond his extensive sporting achievements, he has gone on to found two businesses – disability and accessibility training startup, Get Skilled Access and the Dylan Alcott Foundation.

Bill Conn OAM: Balancing career success with community support

The Outstanding Achievement Award went to Bill Conn OAM (BCom (Hons) 1968), a former investment banker and experienced company director.

Bill Conn
Bill Conn OAM.

As well as his commitment to improving the business sector, Conn has had a longstanding dedication to the wider community.

He has been heavily involved in the NGO sector, focusing on issues affecting young people, health and the arts.

Conn reflected on how his time at the University of Melbourne shaped his career.

“My studies gave me the confidence in my own ability, the capacity to challenge myself and a vision of the opportunities available to me,” he said.

He encouraged current students to make the most of their time at University and to learn to develop a balanced approach between their academic and personal lives.

“Don’t forget to make friends! The friends you make at University will be with you for the rest of your life, so make them and cherish them.”

View the photos from the 2020 Melbourne Foundation for Business and Economics Dinner here.