New Board Chair For Swinburne Leadership Institute
In Summary
Former Swinburne Deputy Chancellor Kathy Townsend has taken over from Chancellor Graham Goldsmith in the Chair of the Swinburne Leadership Institute Advisory Board. Kathy has also been a member of the Board since 2014, and has led her own executive search practice for 15 years.
“It is a real privilege to assume the Chair of the Advisory Board of the Swinburne Leadership Institute. Graham Goldsmith has done a wonderful job establishing the Institute, and now that the building blocks are well and truly in place, I look forward to working with colleagues as SLI takes its place as a key contributor to the corpus of knowledge and debate around leadership,” Kathy said.
Graham Goldsmith had been the SLI’s inaugural Chairman from its inception in 2013.
“I am delighted to have been involved in the SLI, first under the executive leadership of Professor Ken Chern and now Professor John Fien. During that period the Institute has defined its mission and goals and made some great strides forward. I would like to thank the executive team and my fellow advisory board members for their counsel and support," he said.
“I am also very pleased that Kathy Townsend has agreed to take on the role as Chair, and I am very confident that SLI is in good hands to achieve its mission.”
The Swinburne Leadership Institute is a joint university and benefactor-funded research centre which aims to catalyse research, discussion, and collaborative learning about important leadership issues in business, government, and the wider community, through research, leadership development, and public engagement. It is unique in its broad perspective on leadership across all sectors, and its focus on “Leadership for the Greater Good”.
Its major research projects include the soon-to-be-launched Swinburne Leadership Survey. It has also taken on more than a dozen new PhD research scholars in the past year. The SLI also hosts regular Swinburne Leadership Dialogues, public forums discussing relevant leadership themes in diverse and often innovative contexts.
“The Institute’s work could not be more important and I look forward as we work with others in business, government and community in gaining a clearer understanding of leadership for the public good,” said Kathy Townsend.