Rotary Melbourne Weekly Club Meeting - 29 January 2025

Guest Speakers Chair/Moderator Jenny Taing OAM, Principal Solicitor, KHQ Lawyers,

Panel Joseph Ebbage, Market Development Manager, Almond Board of Australia,

Dr Carol Janson Bond, Senior Lecturer RMIT University

Topic 'Ethics in Marketing'

Details 12.30 for 12.50 - 2.00pm at No35 Sofitel Melbourne & by ZOOM

Venue No35 Sofitel Melbourne

January is Rotary International’s Vocational Service Month. In this truncated month of Club activity, we reflect on the importance of Vocation as the foundation of Vocational Service – a pillar of Rotary’s guiding philosophy of Service Above Self.

Rotary Melbourne’s first formal meeting for 2025 will be held on Wednesday 29 January 2024 and our featured speakers will be 3 Club members whose roles immerse them in a highly topical issue confronting Australia in multiple variants - ‘Ethics in Marketing’.

Whether its packaging and processing of fast-moving consumer goods, pricing practices of food retailers, marketing addictive and unhealthy processed goods, financial service complaints or selling mobile phone contracts, questions abound about accountability for unethical business practices.

This diaspora and consumer discontent created by questionable marketing tactics has featured prominently over the past year or two. The issues raised highlight the responsibilities of corporate Boards and Executives to prioritise ethical practices as a critical part of the business’s social license.

Members of this year’s Vocational Panel are:

Jenny Taing OAM: Jenny Taing OAM is a Partner at KHQ Lawyers where she leads the financial services practice. Jenny previously worked at Vanguard and the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. Passionate about community, Jenny is Chair of the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, a member of the Club’s Ethics and Integrity Committee, on the boards of AFL Victoria, VicScreen and a member of the Cricket Victoria Tribunal. Jenny has also served on the boards of The Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, Screen Australia, Channel 31, was Vice President of the University of Melbourne Alumni Council and Commissioner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Jenny has a BA/LLB (Hons) from the University of Melbourne, attended Harvard Business School as the Hugh D.T. Williamson Scholar, appeared in the AFR 100 Women of Influence list and received an OAM for service to the financial and investment sectors, and to the community.

Joseph Ebbage: Joseph held the role of Market Development Manager for the Almond Board of Australia for over 20 years, concluding in June 2024. In that time, he managed a broad portfolio of marketing activity streams including both domestic and international programs. One of the key roles was to maintain the industry’s collaborative approach to market development. Prior to working in the Australian almond industry, Joseph’s previous major role was with Coles Supermarkets where he was a Senior National Category Manager, working in the Melbourne-based Buying Office.

Joseph has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland, a Theology Degree with Honours from Catholic Theological College and a Diploma of Education (Secondary). Joseph is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and long-standing member of the Australian Research Society.

Joseph served as the Communications Director of the Rotary Club of Melbourne for three years from 2016/17-2018/19. Joseph had also served as a Board Director with Camberwell Grammar School for three years from 2010-2012.

Dr Carol Janson Bond: Carol Bond is a political and social scientist investigating business-related socio-economic and policy topics in the energy and resources sectors, working closely with peak energy bodies.

Carol is a Lecturer in Management at RMIT University. Over the course of her career, Carol's work has been concerned with investigating and analyzing how government policy and investment in the energy and resources sectors in Australia affects socio-economic factors. Carol is currently on the Board of Rotary Melbourne as Director International Services.
Carol will address the issue of ‘Greenwashing’ in marketing.

The event will not only showcase the impressive vocational callings of three Rotary Melbourne members. Our panellists will share fascinating insights into the ethical challenges of Commercial marketing in the digitally supercharged markets of the 21st century and deepen our pride in the relevance and diverse capabilities of Rotary Melbourne members.

Together they will explore the topic 'Ethics in Marketing'.