As your career advances to senior management, your view moves beyond your technical domain to consider the whole of the organisation. Your Deakin MBA is about making that transition to managerial and executive thinking. But, how about taking your perspective to the next level so you not only understand the principles of technical domains like marketing, HR or finance but the here and now?

Welcome to the MBA Big Think, a series of in-person events that bring together the best minds from industry and research to give you the current state of play, the future directions, and their business implications, in the professional domains you need to understand.

Join us for this event featuring experts Jo Fisher (Founding Director of Fisher Leadership), former Federal Minister Hon. Chris Pearce, Professor Colin Higgins from Deakin Business School, and MBA Director Dr. Paul Harrison. They will discuss the crucial topic of governance in the rapidly changing business environment, with an emphasis on ethics, innovation, accountability, and new risks to businesses. This panel will provide valuable insights for leaders and professionals seeking to grasp the role of governance in today's complex world.

If you aspire to a senior role, plan to become a director of a company, or just want to better understand decision-making at the board level, don't miss this chance to hear from leading experts and expand your knowledge, have your questions answered a Q&A session, and network with MBA peers, alumni and industry experts. Register now!

Meet the Speakers

Adjunct Professor Jo Fisher

Jo is Founder and Board Director of Future Leadership (www.futureleadership.global), formerly Fisher Leadership, an Australian-owned internationally operating executive search and leadership advisory company. She currently sits on the Board of technology focused social enterprise Infoxchange, and is a former Committee member of the AICD. She is also a part-time PhD student, and Adjunct Professor at Deakin University.

Jo is a champion of diversity and inclusion in leadership at board, executive and team levels, having been recognised through a Telstra Business Women's Award and international AESC Lifetime Achievement Award for positively impacting diversity and ethical practice across the Executive Search industry. Jo believes that the governance of any business should include a focus on diversity equity and inclusion, alongside other key areas such as employee well-being, ESG, regulatory compliance, and financial sustainability.

Adjunct Professor the Honourable Chris Pearce

He is an accomplished Director and Senior Executive with wide ranging domestic and international experience to CEO/MD level in ‘blue chip’ companies in the telecommunications, information technology and music industries having lived and worked in four continents throughout his career.

Chris has been a Member of the Australian Parliament and of the Ministry in the Federal Government of Australia, together with serving as a Shadow Minister until his decision to leave Parliament and return to the corporate world.

He has served on commercial, government and not-for-profit boards and is currently Deputy Chairman and Non-Executive Director at the St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Non-Executive Board Director of the McKinnon Institute and External Representative on the Learning, Engagement & Innovation Committee of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Chris is an Adjunct Professor at Deakin University providing industry expertise and insight in the areas of Executive Leadership, Strategy and Value-Creation.

He has a strong interest in executive leadership and development and the influence of positive psychology on individual and team peak-performance, wellbeing, and flourishing.

Chris has completed a Management Development Process Program at the Monash Mt Eliza Business School, a Bachelor of Business (BBus) from Monash University, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Deakin University, an Executive Program in Strategy and Organisation at Stanford University, a Graduate Certificate in Divinity from the University of Divinity, and a Graduate Certificate in Positive Psychology from CQ University.

He is a Justice of the Peace, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, Member of the Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices, and a Member of the Royal School of Church Music.

Professor Colin Higgins

Colin Higgins is Professor of Management and the Associate Dean: International and Partnerships in the Faculty of Business and Law. For six years Colin managed the Deakin MBA program.

Colin's research focuses on how business organisations use language in their social/environmental and sustainability reports, and how this shapes but is also constrained by institutional drivers in the environments where they operate. Most recently, he has been exploring the role of integrated reporting in meeting business and sustainability challenges.

He is the Co-Editor of A-ranked 'Business & Society' journal and is the 2021 Program Chair for the Social Issues in Management (SIM) Division of the Academy of Management (AoM). He is a fellow and former President and Conference Chair of the International Association for Business & Society (IABS). His work is published in Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of Cleaner Production and Accounting Forum.

Outside of Deakin, Colin is an experienced non-executive Director and a graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is Chair of the Board of Knoxbrook Inc a leading Victorian disability support provider.