Big Four leaders join RMIT school of management advisory board
Victoria’s RMIT University has appointed a fresh Industry Advisory Board to guide the strategic development of its School of Management, with two Big Four leaders among the fresh faces.
In an effort to ensure it remains responsive to current and emerging industry trends, RMIT University’s School of Management has expanded its Industry Advisory Board (IAB) – with Big Four pair Dorothy Hisgrove and Peter Williams among ten new appointments.
Both alumni, Hisgrove serves as KPMG’s national managing partner for people & inclusion, while Williams leads the Australian branch of Deloitte’s Centre of the Edge think-tank.
“With their cross-sector expertise, our IAB plays a critical role in helping guide the strategic development of courses and programs for our school,” stated Emma Sherry, School of Management dean. “Their deep, and contemporary industry knowledge and insights are invaluable and one of the key ways we can ensure we remain responsive to industry trends and equip our students with the knowledge and skills they need for their future careers.”
Previously chief people officer at PwC for more than four years, Dorothy Hisgrove crossed to KPMG in 2021 to take on the Big Four rival’s people & inclusion function, while also serving as a member of its thirteen-person national executive committee. Keeping a busy schedule, Hisgrove around the same time joined the board of the Essendon Football Club, since elected as vice president, with former director roles completed at Golf Victoria and Teach for Australia.
In addition to her board appointments, Hisgrove boasts an impressive in-house leadership resume spanning back more than two decades to BHP, where she served as the mining company’s executive manager for public relations. Since then she’s added human resources and diversity & inclusion lead roles at NAB and Australia Post, and prior to joining PwC in 2016 spent three years as general manager for people, customer & community at the AFL.
Peter Williams meanwhile has been with Deloitte for the best part of four decades, joining the firm in 1985 while completing his business degree at RMIT – before later becoming a self-described ‘web-junkie’. To this end, he established an eBusiness Consulting unit within Deloitte way back in 1996 with the aim of introducing digital delivery to professional services. This morphed into the behemoth that is Deloitte Digital, of which he was a founding partner.
Previously the chair of the Deloitte Innovation Council for more than a decade, over the past decade Williams has served as ‘Chief Edge Officer’ for the Australian chapter of Deloitte’s Centre of the Edge applied research offshoot , which explores the implication of future technologies and societal trends on business. In addition, Williams has mentored and founded a number of start-ups, including currently an online marketplace for the packing industry.
Other members
Another newly-appointed member of the IAB is JLL’s Southeast Asian head of people experience Meni Barrass, a one-time Accenture HR consultant who has also contracted to Ernst & Young, while Sally Smith, head of people analytics at NAB and a fellow Accenture alumnus continues in her IAB role.
Others to be called up include Ericsson’s A/NZ head of innovation Sarah Goss, and Victoria Police commander Debra Robertson as ongoing chair.
