MICHAEL SHARPE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Fellow of the Institute of Managers
- Member of the Australian
- Member of the Industry Advisory Network for the School of Mechanical
- Member of the Industry Engagement Committee at Microscopy Australia
- National Director for Industry at the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre
Michael Sharpe is the National Director for Industry at the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre. He has vast industrial experience including nearly three decades at Sharpe Bros (Australia), one of the nation's leading road companies.
Michael has been involved with a range of industries including infrastructure, health & medical research and also manufacturing. He is an advocate for the future of energy in Australia and aims to boost skills and manufacturers efforts for access to global supply chains.
He serves on a range of our university's initiatives including as a Steering Committee Member of The Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub and as a Member of the Industry Advisory Network for the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.
Michael is a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders; he's a Fellow of The Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures & Commerce; and he's also completed executive education in the Leadership Initiative at Harvard Business School.
It is a great pleasure for me, to ask Michael Sharpe to speak to us.
Michael is an active member of the Australian community, a dedicated volunteer, a proven leader, a highly successful family businessman and committed to improving the opportunities for all Australians.
Michael is the eldest son of Carol and Ron Sharpe. "My father is an inspiration to all of us having lived his life quietly helping others in service to the community. Dad was recognised for his service as Gosford City's Citizen of the Year in 2005 and on Australia Day 2006 received the Order of Australia Medal for community service and social welfare organisation support."
Moving directly from school into the family business, Michael built a highly successful career in a key Australian infrastructure industry. Sharpe Bros is a multi award winning leader in the roads industry, providing innovative services for road surfacing and maintenance operations throughout Australia. The company can trace its roots back over four generations and more than 70 years.
Sharpe Bros was awarded Business of the Year in the Gosford City Australia Day Awards and is a winner of the Australian National Safe Work Award for best workplace health and safety practices. Michael has worked with the Federal Safety Commissioner to produce a best practice case study for distribution to Australian workplaces. He has developed Patents and Trademarks for road machinery technologies designed and manufactured for the repair and maintenance of roads.
Together with his brothers, Richard and Hayden, Michael shared the recognition for their community work when the company was awarded the New South Wales Family Business of the Year by the peak body for families in business, Family Business Australia. The company has donated $25,000 to support Australian Artists through the Sharpe Bros Art Prizes.
Michael joined the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) in 2017 and is the National Director for Industry. AMGC is an industry-led, not-for-profit organisation which supports the development of a world-leading advanced manufacturing industry in Australia.
He has served in numerous senior roles leading up to his AMGC Directorship, including as a Board Member at the Central Coast Local Health District which provides public health services to the local communities, including at Gosford and Wyong Hospitals. As a member of the Board Research Committee, he provided experience and insight for the development of the governance framework and the philanthropy procedures for the new Central Coast Medical School and Medical Research Institute at Gosford Hospital.
Michael is a former Chairman of HunterNet, a co-operative of companies in Newcastle, the Hunter and Central Coast. He was a director and acting CEO of the organisation which is widely recognised within Australian manufacturing and academia as the most successful industry ‘cluster' of its type nationally. HunterNet involves approx 200 companies, active in national and international infrastructure and asset management, energy and resources, defence and advanced manufacturing supply chains.
Michael has served on the Board of Lifeline Newcastle, Hunter and Central Coast which provides suicide prevention services and mental health support; a Committee Member of 5 Lands Walk Inc, which brings over 20,000 people together for a day long festival along 10kms of spectacular coastline; and as a Board Member at Masonicare New South Wales & ACT, the Freemasons charity which supports youth and family welfare, medical research, education, aged care and health and emergency services across the State and the Australian Capital Territory.
He supported the establishment of the Canterbury Bankstown Chamber of Commerce as an Advisor to the CEO and is involved in a wide range of community groups.
He is a Steering Committee Member of The Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub, part of the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program, a ground breaking program that has for the past six years delivered practical environmental outcomes through almost 400 successful science projects and helped to shape the nation's environmental science agenda.
As a Member of the Industry Engagement Committee at Microscopy Australia, Michael supports the mission to empower Australian science and innovation by making advanced microscopes accessible to over 3,500 researchers from universities and industry who use their instruments and expertise in facilities around Australia.
At the University of New South Wales, Michael is a Member of the Industry Advisory Network for the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. The committee makes recommendations to the Head of School and provides high-level strategic advice.
Michael is an advocate for the future of energy in Australia and is the Founder of the Nuclear Capabilities Forum which includes leading industrial companies and researchers to boost Australian capabilities to manufacture and gain access to global supply chains in the nuclear industry. He is a Member of the American Nuclear Society, the Australian Nuclear Association, and the Australian Institute of Energy.
Michael is a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders; a Fellow of The Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures & Commerce; and has completed executive education in the Leadership Initiative at Harvard Business School. He is an Associate Member of the Harvard Club of Australia and a Director of the Sharpe Family Office.
At the 2017 Central Coast Council Australia Day Awards, Michael received the Community Volunteer of the Year (Highly Commended) Award for significant contribution to volunteer service in the community.
He is a recipient of the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and was a committee member of the Australian Olympic Team Fund which supported the 2008 Australian Olympic Team to travel to Beijing; he is a Past President of Umina Apex Club and was Awarded the Young Apexian of the Year for the Central Coast District. During the National Day of Thanksgiving, Michael was honoured with a Local Hero Award for service to the community.
Michael is happily married to Elizabeth. They are long term life partners, having been together since they were teenagers and married for 27 years. They have encouraged volunteering and public participation all their lives, whilst bringing up three children and involving themselves in a wide range of local sporting and community groups.