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OES board changes

05 July, 2017

Today, Online Education Services Pty Ltd “OES” is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor (Emeritus) Sally Walker and Geoff Roberts to the Board of Directors of OES, effective from 3 August 2017.

OES was launched in 2011 as a joint venture between SEEK and Swinburne University of Technology to design, deliver and promote high quality online education programs. In March 2017, SEEK increased its ownership stake in OES from 50% to 80%. In six years, OES has established itself as a leader in online education.

The new appointments to the Board reflect the change in ownership.

Commenting on the appointments, Non-Executive Chair of OES Wendy Thorpe said “We are pleased to welcome Sally and Geoff to the Board; they both bring significant depth and expertise in their respective fields. As OES enters its next phase of development their collective experience will be immensely valuable to support the growth ambitions of OES.”

“As OES enters its next phase of development their collective experience will be immensely valuable to support the growth ambitions of OES.”

Professor Sally Walker – Educational Institution Director

Professor Walker has been appointed as Educational Institution Director, a non-executive role representing the interests of all Education Institution partners. Sally trained as a lawyer; after several years practising law she joined the Law School at the University of Melbourne teaching constitutional and administrative law, trade practices law and security law.

Sally also was responsible for developing and teaching new curricula in media, communications and information technology law. Sally was later appointed as Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Melbourne and then went on to become Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University. In 2011 Sally was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in recognition of her contribution to education, to the law as an academic and to the advancement of women. Sally also sits on the SBS Board and she is a member of the Felton Bequests Committee.

Geoff Roberts – Non-Executive Director

Geoff Roberts has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director of OES. Geoff currently holds the position of Group Chief Financial Officer at SEEK where he has overall responsibility for SEEK’s global finance and administration operations.

Prior to SEEK, Geoff was Managing Partner of Deloitte Victoria and Group CFO of AXA Asia Pacific. Geoff also sits on the Board of AMP. Geoff is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Spear-heading online education in Australia

Professor Linda Kristjanson, AO Vice-Chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology said “Swinburne University of Technology is proud of the contribution it has made to spear-heading online education in Australia through OES. We recognise the growth potential in OES and are very supportive of Sally Walker taking the position on the OES Board in the next stage of OES’s evolution, given her exemplary academic experience and her vision for innovation in the higher education sector.”

Swinburne University of Technology Chief Operating Officer Andrew Field will be retiring from the Board of OES, effective 2 August 2017.