30th Anniversary Dinner 2007

23 October 2007

A Great Night to Celebrate 30 years of leading business education.

Reunion, laughter and good conversation marked a very special 30th Anniversary for the AGSM as alumni from the past 30 years caught up at a Gala Dinner at the Sydney Town Hall.



Education in business is vital, said David Gonksi AC, Chancellor of UNSW and noted businessman and philanthropist. He was addressing an animated audience of nearly four hundred Alumni who had come together to celebrate the AGSM’s 30th Anniversary at a glittering occasion held at the Sydney Town Hall.

David Gonski went on: “There will always be the odd character who creates a Microsoft or a Google from his garage and that’s great. But even that sort of business will need people who understand much more than the particular gadget and its special market. We need to understand, reflect and learn about the complexities of business.”

David Gonski also spoke about his passion for linking together the not-for profit-sector, the community and business. He spoke about the new Centre for Social Responsibility. The Centre will be situated at the Australian School of Business and has been given a matching grant of $12.5 million by the Federal Government.

The Anniversary dinner brought together Alumni from the past 30 years, together with advisory council members, former deans, academics, professional staff and supporters. They all enjoyed a trip back into the past 30 years through film and sound clips from the archives, produced by alumnist Brian Keough.

There was much catching up and networking during the evening, which was a real celebration of the AGSM, its history and its future.

The Alumni were also addressed by Professor Alec Cameron, Dean of the Australian School of Business, who looked at some of the major milestones in the past 30 years and who talked about the bright future of AGSM programs.

Rod de Aboitiz, President of the AGSM Alumni Board thanked David Gonski. He said that getting your MBA is the start of a new journey. Rod continued “It doesn’t mean you’ve arrived. This is consistent with the transformative nature of the AGSM experience”.

“The best gift in life is your time. Conversely it’s a sin to waste it. So if you believe that the AGSM has helped put you onto a new and better path, there are other Alumni amongst the 11,000 who can continue to help you along the way. And there are future Alumni who you can help too. I urge you to get involved and to stay connected”.

“It is to this end and it is with great pride that I can say that the AGSM Alumni board has been true to this goal. By the end of this year we will have conducted over 25 Alumni functions, in eight cities and spanning four countries. These functions – including tonight – will have been attended by over 2,000 people”.

The picture gallery of the evening will be available shortly.