It has been a remarkable month of achievement and recognition for Bond University and I am delighted to share with you our results in both the Good Universities Guide 2007 and the Rodski Survey for library customer satisfaction.

Bond University has cemented its place as a leading Australian university, starring in the 2007 Good Universities Guide Rankings.

Five years ago, an IT graduate was expected to be a technology whiz, skilled in systems design and programming. The next generation will need to offer so much more than just technical know-how, with industry now calling for business-savvy IT professionals who understand the application of technology in an organisational setting.

Australian Financial Review journalist Stephen Wisenthal writes of Bond University Chancellor Mr Trevor C Rowe's career journey from the son of a Perth bricklayer to one of our country’s most influential businessmen.

Published in the Australian Financial Review on 12/08/2006, page 13. Story by Stephen Wisenthal.

"Investment banking is a young person's game. But don't tell that to Trevor Rowe.

At 63, an age when he might be expected to start focusing on hobby farming and quiet weekends, Rowe finds himself back in an executive role at blue-blood banker Rothschild Australia, while maintaining a portfolio of other interests that would keep most people more than occupied.

These give the son of a Perth bricklayer an almost unrivalled level of influence in business.

Rowe is on the board of the Australian Stock Exchange, as well as serving as chairman of Queensland Investment Corp and chairman of one of Australia's fastest growing listed companies, rail and services company United Group.

With a career that has taken him to New York and Hong Kong advising on major deals, he comments with authority on everything from the Chinese economy to Australia's need for better broadband.

As a friend of Prime Minister John Howard and as an investment banker of global reputation, he has helped advise the government on selling everything, from Telstra and Commonwealth Bank of Australia to Sydney Airport.

He added yet another influential position when the government named the directors of its $18 billion Future Fund in March.

So how did a man who started as a trainee accountant at Peat Marwick soar so high?

It's a question of seizing opportunities, not hunting for them, says Rowe from the faculty club dining room at Bond University where he serves as chancellor.

"If that's what your intuition is telling you; follow your intuition."

That attitude took him from accounting to broking in Perth, and then to international opportunities when Salomon Bros called in 1983.

"I was curious," he recalls.

"I was approached and I thought instantly 'I'll do this'. "It was the sense of adventure and journey."

But the man who once planned to retire at 50 admits he hasn't succeeded at everything he's tried.

"I've failed miserably in the retirement stakes. I've evolved from being a full-time investment banker to being someone who manages a portfolio of interests.

"I like to balance between the public and private, and profit and not for profit."

The pressure on boards has placed some limits on how much he can manage, though.

"The demand on directors, their time and their attention, has increased exponentially," Rowe says.

"I've had to resist taking on more."

While the corporate governance debate has increased the focus on the functions of a board, "the fundamentals haven't changed," he says.

"Legislators see it as necessary to pass more laws.

"You can't legislate honesty."

The basics of choosing directors remain the same, he says.

"A functional board is crucial to a company."

And there is an important role for shareholder activism, in which Rowe is involved as chairman of QIC, the $51 billion fund which manages the superannuation assets of the state government and various, mostly public-sector bodies.

His intervention in the battle for control of the National Australia Bank board in 2004 was a rare public statement, but QIC is frequently vocal behind the scenes.

"We feel we have an obligation as QIC, because we are a quasi-public organisation, to be proactive in our proxy voting," Rowe says.

If the fund manager disagrees with a company's resolutions, he contacts the chairman to explain its position.

Bond University doesn't have the biggest balance sheet of the businesses Rowe is involved with, but he is proud of the accomplishments of the private sector institution.

Like many ventures that once involved Alan Bond, it is on a sound financial footing after debts run up by the entrepreneur were tidied up in the 1990s.

Now it is running profitably, and in line with Rowe's own values.

Jim Kennedy, who is a colleague on the ASX board, and was Rowe's predecessor as chairman of QIC, praises his work at the university.

"He's done a great job there.

"Trevor puts himself out to make a contribution to the community he lives in," Kennedy says.

And he sees Rowe as not only a good director, but good company.

"He is very well connected. He is very capable in his field. Whenever Trevor opens his mouth he talks sense," he says.

Investment banking is a business where some deals happen quickly, but often after years or even decades of relationship-building.

And one of Rowe's key relationships, with John Howard, dates back almost a quarter of a century, to the Prime Minister's wilderness years after he was ousted from the Liberal Party leadership in the 1980s.

"A number of us invited him regularly to discuss what was happening in the business community," Rowe says.

Most of Rowe's international experience was gained with the same investment bank, which during his tenure evolved from Salomon Bros, to Salomon Smith Barney and eventually to Citigroup.

But he left last year after 23 years, more recently in non-executive roles, to join Rothschild.

Soon after he became Rothschild chairman of investment banking, he was thrust back into day-to-day operations as acting head of the division.

"I didn't expect to be running the place," he says.

Still, he is happy with the move.

What appealed to him about Rothschild was its focus on providing services to clients, rather than driving sales of a big group's products.

"I found this a refreshing change," Rowe says.

"It's more like going back to where we [Salomon Bros] evolved from," he says."

Article by Stephen Wisenthal. Published in the Australian Financial Review on 12/08/2006, page 13.
© 2006 Copyright John Fairfax Holdings Limited.

Bond’s first open day in five years was held last Sunday August 20, and given it was such an outstanding success, you can be sure that it will remain a permanent fixture on the Bond University calendar from now on.

The Bond University Medical School is well known for its extensive clinical training and problem-based learning approach that will see its graduates enter the workforce as confident and work-ready practitioners. Students benefit from a range of practical, hands-on experiences, from participating in clinical placements to simulating medical scenarios with trained standardised patients.