ABINGDON ADVISORY - Key Persons
Building on a strong commercial background, Grace has extensive experience developing and delivering innovative solutions to produce efficient and highly integrated services in the public sector. She is frequently called upon to undertake reviews and reform programmes in areas such as Higher Education and Health.
Along with high-level analytical and problem-solving skills, Grace has significant experience in establishing and implementing strategic and operational reform programmes. She is also a seasoned executive coach.
As well as having decades of management experience, Grace holds a Graduate Diploma in Management and a Masters of Business Law, both from Monash University. In addition, Grace has undertaken a Senior Leadership Development Program, held across three countries, by the European Consortium of Innovative Universities. She has also completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course for company directors.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor, Operations
Helen is an experienced IT and management consultant whose broad range of skills derives from more than thirty years as an IT professional and from Helen's management roles in small and large organisations. She has worked as a consultant in all levels of Government, for government agencies and utilities undergoing privatisation and outsourcing, and for NFP organisations. Her experience in the education sector includes reviews of administrative systems for three Universities. An experienced workshop facilitator, Helen has also been a lecturer and written distance education material and a textbook. Helen holds a BSc, BA and MBA, all from the University of Melbourne.
In addition to a range of executive management positions, Helen has held non-executive directorships of several statutory authorities and private companies.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Senior Executive Group at Swinburne University
With a strong background in leadership, strategy, policy and operations, Michael has undertaken a broad range of reviews and consulting projects with wide selection of organisations. He is very experienced at facilitating strategic planning workshops, at risk management and at finding innovative solutions to difficult challenges. Michael's work includes everything from investigating specific allegations of workplace misconduct through to executive coaching - as well as advising CEOs and Ministers on identifying and maximising strategic opportunities.
Previously a member of the Senior Executive Group at Swinburne University, Michael has also served on the Board of Open Universities Australia. Before joining Swinburne, he provided public policy advice to governments - including providing countless Cabinet and Ministerial Council Briefings on a very wide range of matters.
Michael has studied at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard. He undertook graduate research at the University of Pennsylvania and, for a year, at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Michael holds a BA(Hons), LLB(Hons) and a PhD from the University of Melbourne.
Peter Thorne, BSc, Dip Pub Pol, PhD, DEng (Hon), is a former senior academic at the University of Melbourne, where he was a Head of Department, Deputy Dean and chaired a number of university-wide committees. He has experience in education policy formation, and has conducted reviews of courses at academic institutions in Australia and overseas.
He has acted as an advisor to public and private organisations on the policies and processes for the purchase of defence equipment and major IT systems (hardware, software and tenders for complete solutions).
Often called to consult on a wide range of issues, Peter specialises in litigation relating to failed IT projects, and on the subsequent remediation of such projects.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor, Marketing
Tim provides Abingdon Advisory clients with well-developed analytical skills and a passion for stakeholder engagement, business development and marketing. Commercially focused and strategically driven, Tim has nearly three decades of experience in engagement and marketing using a broad range of channels and innovative approaches. He has brought his highly-developed creative skills to organisations in the education, retail and investment industries - advising everything from internet start-ups to large finance sector corporations.
A first-rate communicator, Tim has a strong background in developing brand strategies and stakeholder communications.