2024 Melbourne Foundation for Business and Economics Dinner

In her speech, Sofia Ahmed, a Bachelor of Commerce student and recipient of the John D. and Dagnija Balmford Travel Grant, shared how she hopes to use her education at the University of Melbourne to improve the well-being of other people in Asia.

Growing up in India, she was exposed to the role education plays in alleviating poverty as she attended a convent school run by nuns who would bring in non-profit and charity organisations to give presentations.

“In one such visit, we saw the work of a microfinance [initiative] with the aim to empower women in rural regions. By providing a loan as tiny as 2,000 rupees (approximately AU $36.47) and teaching basic financial literacy, these women were able to bring their entire families out of poverty. Seeing the kind of impact education could have, I became aware of my own privileges, my intentions and my purpose. I felt a duty to give back in some way.”

After a “life-changing” exchange program to Singapore, Ms Ahmed learnt of the Global Management Consulting subject offered by the Faculty - a unique subject that provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’re learning in a real-world global business environment. She had the option of working in Berlin or Kuala Lumpur but while the cost of the subject was covered in her tuition, Ms Ahmed would have to cover the costs for accommodation, flights, meals, and other incidental travel expenses. She had also seemingly learnt of the opportunity too late and the deadline for applications had passed.

“[I thought] ‘Oh, well, it wasn't for me. Besides, how would I justify the travel and living costs associated with the subject?’ Then a few days later, [I found out that] the University had extended the application deadline and offered travel grants to students who required financial aid. I took this as a sign to apply and was extremely fortunate to receive the John D. and Dagnija Balmford Travel Grant. It was only due to this contribution that I was able to participate and fully immerse myself in the program.”

In Malaysia, she was assigned to work with the World Wildlife Fund and joined a diverse team of people who were genuinely passionate about the work they did.

“When I asked someone why they chose to work for a nonprofit, the simplicity of their response struck me: ‘I wanted to change the world when I was young. So, this is how I try’. It reminded me of the pact I made with myself in school and reaffirmed my commitment to do good for society. It reminded me of all the opportunities I was given in my life, and my responsibility to make the most of them.”

Looking beyond, Ms Ahmed said she would love to eventually form her own microfinance initiative and hopes “to become a tide that lifts all boats”.

Every year, the FBE Alumni Council recognises alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their discipline and society. Award recipients are nominated by their peers and fellow alumni. Joanna Weston, Danielle Wood and Tony Shepherd accepted their awards in-person on the night. Unfortunately, Edmund Tan and Lim Shiew Li were unable to attend the event.

Rising Star Award for Young Alumni

Joanna Weston, Bachelor of Commerce, 2016

The Rising Star Award for Young Alumni is presented to an individual aged 35 and under who has demonstrated an outstanding level of professional achievement and community involvement since graduating from the University of Melbourne and/or recognition by colleagues and peers of outstanding leadership and impact as a global citizen, over a period of at least five years.

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-forprofit, 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.

Entrepreneurial Leadership Award

Edmund Tan and Lim Shiew Li, Bachelor of Commerce, 2004

The Entrepreneurship Leadership Award is presented to those who have achieved significant and recognised impact in the entrepreneurial ecosystem over time.

Edmund Tan and Lim Shiew Li are the visionaries behind the innovative Malaysian ice cream brand, Inside Scoop. As co-founders, the couple have established over 40 stores across the country over 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 Southeast Asian flavours like cempedak, durian, teh tarik, and kopi peng.

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.

This award was presented in absentia, as Edmund Tan and Lim Shiew Li were unable to attend the dinner.

Leadership Award

Danielle Wood, Master of Commerce, 2005 and Master of Competition and Consumer Law, 2015

The Leadership Award recognises an individual who has achieved significant and recognised impact in business, government or the non-profit sector through leadership in their career to date.

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 and Consumer Law from the University of Melbourne with First Class Honours in 2015.

Outstanding Achievement Award

Anthony Shepherd AO, Bachelor of Commerce, 1969

The Outstanding Achievement Award is given to an individual who has achieved long-term, sustained and outstanding achievement and leadership in business, government or the non-profit sector.

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 NonExecutive 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).

Bachelor of Commerce alumnus and celebrated athlete, author, and disability advocate, Dylan Alcott AO was interviewed by the Right Honorable the Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp AO and announced the Dylan Alcott Foundation is partnering with the Faculty of Business and Economics on a generous new scholarship to support students living with disability.

In 2024, two Bachelor of Commerce students will be awarded the Dylan Alcott Foundation Scholarship, receiving a total AUD 60,000 over the course of their undergraduate degree.

“We're going to put two young Melburnians through the Faculty of Business and Economics so they can get a degree just like I did. I just hope they get better grades than I did,” he joked.

Dylan is one of the country’s most successful and well-recognised Paralympians with four gold medals in wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketball, 23 Grand Slam titles, former Australian of the Year, and an Officer of the Order of Australia. He is the only male in any form of tennis to win the ‘Golden Slam’ in the same calendar year, winning the Australian, French, Wimbledon and US Open Championships, together with his gold medal from the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2016 with a Bachelor of Commerce, the same year as his double gold medal win at the Rio Paralympics.

“I was a young, disabled Paralympian who, up until eight years ago, was on a disability pension. Because we didn’t get paid – we had to pay to go. It was hard. I was like, ‘I need a job’.”

“I know [at one point in my life] I had given up hope, I honestly didn't think my life was going amount to anything. And I think part of that reason is a lot of people that looked at me, probably thought the same thing. There are four and a half million people with disability in this country. Only 54% of them are involved in the workforce. The participation rate has not changed in 31 years. I'm 33. So, my whole life that number hasn't changed.”

“Of the four and a half million people in Australia living with disability, three and a half million are over the age of 20 but only 17% of them have a bachelor's degree. It’s pretty hard to get a job if you're competing against everyone else who has one. Of every single young person who is going to graduate university this year with an undergrad, only 4% will be people with disability.”

“I'm so honoured, lucky and grateful that the University of Melbourne found me and listened to my lived experience. They said ‘so, do you want to come to our school? How are we going to do this together?’ That's why my experience was so good.”

“I had a real keen interest in business. I hit up Melbourne University Sport and said that I really would dream of studying commerce at Melbourne. And just like that, I had people that really wanted to support me.”

The Dylan Alcott Foundation was created in 2017 with the mission to remove barriers and provide equal opportunities for young Australians living with disability to fulfil their potential and achieve their dreams. Through their programs and initiatives, they aim to support and empower young Australians living with disability to pursue their goals whether it be in sport, education, or other vocational ambitions.

"One of the biggest things that I wanted to do was support people with disability in education. We really struggle because of attitudinal barriers, but also financial barriers, to get involved in education. I'm so proud that I was able to get a degree from the University of Melbourne, like my parents cried, their kid who almost died in hospital, wearing a gown, [graduating]. You know, it was massive, and people with disability face so many barriers to get out there and be the people they want to be.”

"For the young people with disability that are going to apply and get this scholarship, it is life-changing. It’s a life-changing opportunity.”

“I think it's a pretty beautiful 360; the University of Melbourne took a chance on me and gave me an opportunity so I could be the person that I want to be and now to be able to come back and, and [create this scholarship] together, is pretty cool.”