Monash Business School Dean’s Gala Dinner 2024

Please join us for a special evening of celebration, inspiration, and recognition - our annual Monash Business School Dean's Gala Dinner.

This esteemed occasion will highlight our exceptional accomplishments throughout the past year, acknowledging the commitment and excellence that define our community.

During the event, we will proudly celebrate some of our distinguished alumni, with six major awards to be presented by our Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics and Head of Monash Business School, Professor Simon Wilkie.

They will comprise the Emerging Talent Award, Professional Achievement Award, Impact Award, Community Award, Indigenous Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. 

We are thrilled to welcome distinguished Monash alum and Australian business, arts and philanthropic leader Ian Carson AM, as our keynote speaker.

Joined by Monash Business School Professor Richard Hall, Mr Carson will share his insights and passion for the philanthropic sector, and the lasting positive changes his organisations have made,

As we gather to applaud our achievements, recognise our distinguished alumni and engage in meaningful conversations, the Monash Business School Dean's Gala Dinner promises to be an enriching evening of networking, inspiration, and festivity.

We invite you to join us in commemorating our collective triumphs and shaping a future that is prosperous, fair, and sustainable for all.

For further information on the awards, please visit our dedicated website.

Keynote speaker

Ian Carson, AM, Founder SecondBite, Executive Chair Tanarra Restructuring Partners 

Mr Carson, a Monash Business School alum, and his wife Simone revolutionised food rescue in Australia by creating a new national sector - the rescue of fresh food. They founded SecondBite in 2005, which has now provided the equivalent of more than 350 million meals to their Australian charity partners.

SecondBite’s unique model rescues fresh nutritious food from growers, processors, markets and retailers. They utilise volunteers through 1100 soup kitchens/agencies, partner with major retailers collecting from more than 100 supermarkets, and maintain the lowest cost food rescue in Australia. 

Mr Carson has a lifelong record of changing society - he held presidency of the State Liberal Party from 1999-2001, played an instrumental role in supporting a financial settlement for Australian Thalidomide victims, helped establish the Boykett Tallship Fund (to provide roles on tall ships to disadvantaged kids), and helped rescue the Amy Gillett Foundation, which was in liquidation earlier this year.

He is Executive Chair Chairman Tanarra Restructuring Partners, (TRP), which invests in stressed companies to turn them around and help owners. It also invests 10 per cent of its profits to support social entrepreneurs. Mr Carson is also President of Arts Centre Melbourne and a member of the Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust.

Host

Professor Simon Wilkie, Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics, Head of Monash Business School

Professor Wilkie’s career spans a remarkable array of roles that extend beyond the higher education sphere and include appointments as Chief Economic Policy Strategist at Microsoft Corporation and Chief Economist with the US Federal Communications Commission.

In 2019, Prof Wilkie joined Monash Business School from the University of Southern California (USC). His research has particularly focused on game theory, its application to business strategy, economic and regulatory policy design, and the economics of the communications industries.

With an exceptional record for advancing multi-disciplinary collaborative research and leveraging its potential to transform policy and create lasting impact, he is widely published on the subjects of spectrum auctions, game theory and telecommunications regulation in leading scholarly journals.