Business leaders, entrepreneurs, engineers, community leaders and artists in Queensland have been recognised as leaders in their professions in this year’s QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards.
The awards recognise the achievements of graduates who have made significant contributions to industry and for ‘giving back’ to their areas of expertise.
Steve Johnston, QUT 2022 Outstanding Alumnus
Receiving his award for Outstanding Alumnus Suncorp’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Steve Johnston, said it was important to learn and take advice from every leader you work with in your career.
“Good leadership means being authentic, communicating well, and supporting your customers, and importantly, your people,” he said.
“I think money is best spent preparing for natural disasters than mopping up after them … so I’ve been arguing very strongly to improve the resilience of our communities and create a more resilient Australia.
“The biggest challenge that we have is climate change.”
Mr Johnston graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Business (Management) in 1994.
Linda Hapgood, QUT 2022 Outstanding Alumnus
Harnessing unity on the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, aviation engineer and Outstanding Alumnus Linda Hapgood, who is Vice President of Digital Transformation for Boeing, has made sustainability not an outcome but rather a “design objective”.
“Digital aviation is making the aviation industry better, really changing the way we work,” she said.
“What we need to do together is solve some of the hardest problems that we’ve ever encountered.
“Problems that are not obvious and are not easy and may have never been solved before, is really what I enjoy the most.”
Ms Hapgood graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace) in 1999.
Adjunct Associate Professor Bronwyn Nardi, QUT 2022 Outstanding Alumnus
COVID-19 was a problem that plunged the world into uncertainty, but a nursing degree and vast experience in the public health sector helped Bronwyn Nardi manage COVID-19’s Vaccination Task Force for the past two years.
She is now Executive Director, First Nation Health Workforce Taskforce with Queensland Health.
“One of the biggest achievements is the ability to actually survive, it has been an incredibly difficult program, which required the team to be agile and the ability to move and change within minutes at a time,” she said.
“It’s been the communication, the collaboration, the coordination, which have helped to make the COVID vaccine rollout across Queensland a success.”
Ms Nardi graduated from QUT with a Diploma of Applied Science (Nursing Management) 1989 and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Nursing) 1991.
Kevin Gosschalk, QUT 2022 Outstanding Young Alumnus
QUT has also recognised its Young Outstanding Alumni who included founders of businesses recognised internationally.
Arkose Labs was the brainchild of QUT Bachelor of Games and Interactive Entertainment student Kevin Gosschalk, who fights cybercrime with a security technology platform.
“We’re venture backed by PayPal, by Microsoft, by Softbank and these amazing investors,” he said.
“We’re really building this company up to be the biggest and most well-known solution in the space of protecting consumers on the internet from bad people.”
Mr Gosschalk graduated from QUT in 2010.
Abbey Cameron, QUT 2022 Outstanding Young Alumnus
Combining a love of healthy food and wanting to have a positive impact on people’s nutrition, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nourish’d Abbey Cameron used her Bachelor of Business (Marketing) degree to shape her career.
“QUT prepared me for not just a career journey but life by offering a moment to pause after school and figure out where I wanted to be, what I wanted to do, what I was passionate about,” she said.
“My advice for female founders would be to stop thinking about yourself as a female founder. Think about what a founder needs, what a human being needs to achieve success in this role. And you’ll uplift not only yourself, but the women around you.”
Ms Cameron graduated from QUT in 2010.
Jyi Lawton, QUT 2022 Outstanding Young Alumnus
By raising the profile Indigenous music through multi-media organisation Triple A, CEO and Bidjara man Jyi Lawton, is recognised for his outstanding achievements including co-designing Queensland Rugby League’s first Indigenous Maroons jersey.
“Every day is a highlight for me being able to elevate the voices of our community and tell our stories our way and provide a platform to do that is really rewarding,” the Bachelor of Justice (2014) alumnus said.
David Williams, QUT 2022 Outstanding Indigenous Alumnus
The Outstanding Indigenous Alumnus Award recipient is international didgeridoo performer David Williams, who is executive director of Gilimbaa, a creative agency specialising in strategic and connected communities.
“Gilimbaa in my language, Wakka Wakka, simply means today,” he said.
“The idea behind that is we have the stories of our old people from yesterday passed down through generations to today, because it’s what we do today that has impact on tomorrow. As a creative agency, one of the highlights of our portfolio was working on the NITV rebrand that launched at the end of 2021.”
Mr Williams graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Music in 2005.
Bede Jordan, QUT 2022 Outstanding Entrepreneurial Alumnus
Also recognised for outstanding achievement in entrepreneurship is Bede Jordan who studied Information Technology and Electrical Engineering and created a technology platform to reduce food waste and its impact on climate change.
“Shelf Engine stops food waste; we gather as much data as we can. And we use artificial intelligence to figure out how much food is going to sell at a given grocery store on a given day, and we make sure that food gets delivered right on time,” he said.
Mr Jordan graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics)/Bachelor of Information Technology in 2005.
Wesley Ng, QUT 2022 Oustanding Entrepreneurial Alumnus
Creating the first customised phone case marked the birth of global tech accessory brand CASETiFY for Communication Design graduate Wesley Ng, whose business is endorsed by celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Hilary Duff and Karen Mok.
“I did not start out as an entrepreneur, I was a designer,” Mr Ng said.
“I learnt that design is more than just designing pretty graphics but actually solving problems.
“Ultimately it is important to design great products that last, that are sustainable.”
Mr Ng graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Arts (Communication and Design) in 2003.
Aleem Ali, QUT 2022 Outstanding Community Service Alumnus
Social entrepreneur and community advocate Aleem Ali has been recognised for his outstanding leadership as CEO of Welcoming Australia.
“The work is so rich and so diverse, and it's truly a privilege to be involved. For me a culture of welcome involves things like belonging, and justice and equity. And it's important to understand that welcome is more than just being nice to people,” he said.
Mr Ali graduate from QUT with a Bachelor of Arts (Drama) in 2000.
Catherine Clark, QUT 2022 Outstanding Sports Alumnus
The Outstanding Sport Alumnus has been awarded to Catherine Clark, who studied criminology at QUT and who was appointed as the CEO of Paralympics Australia last year with a clear focus on plans for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane.
“Working in women's sport for the last 20 years, I'm forever grateful for those women who pushed the agenda and changed the game for all of us,” she said.
“My vision is that we host the most inclusive games the world has ever seen.
“The Paralympics shows us the power of sport to change perception, to change attitudes.
“If we've delivered an inclusive games, we will have changed Australia to be more equitable, to be more inclusive, and to give everyone an equal opportunity to realize their potential.”
Ms Clark graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Arts (Justice Studies) in 1999.
Media contact:
Rod Chester, QUT Media, 07 3138 9449, rod.chester@qut.edu.au
After hours: 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au
