Governence

Governing Council

The Governing Council is the Governing Body of Holmes Institute Pty Ltd under delegated authority from the Board of Directors and has ultimate responsibility for oversight the management of the Institute’s operations as a Higher Education Provider.

Professor Paul Ryder (Chair)

Professor Paul Ryder completed his PHD in Organisational Psychology at the University of Queensland in 1978. He worked as a researcher in advertising and the public sector in 1968, prior to commencing graduate studies. He remained active in applied action research as a consultant to industry, during his early career as a teaching academic in management and organisational studies at UQ, QUT and Griffith universities.

In 1986, he was appointed foundation Head of Overseas Programmes at Curtin University of Technology. This began his lifelong interest in international students and intrapreneurial ventures in tertiary institutions at a senior management level.

He was appointed to Bond University in 1992 where he developed a remote campus MBA and in 1994 to Griffith University, Gold Coast, as Professor and ultimately Dean of Business and Hotel Management. In 1996 he joined James Cook University as Executive Dean, Business , Law and the Creative Arts before joining Newcastle University as Dean of Business in 2002.In each of these positions new academic programmes were launched that generated substantial revenues and grew the institution’s profile.

At JCU and Newcastle, undergraduate and postgraduate joint ventures were created with Holmes Institute. In 2004 he became foundation Executive Dean at Holmes when Holmes was the first private institution approved to offer stand alone tertiary awards. He has been a part of the Holmes success story since, domestically and globally.

He remains very active in course delivery as well as his executive duties and is personally involved with the student body at Holmes on all campuses. He is an advocate of new blended learning technologies.His dual priorities remain the academic and personal development of Holmes students and building and retaining a profile of experienced, highly qualified staff.

He has 20 published refereed papers in academic journals and supervised 4 doctoral candidates to completion. He was President of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management for 3 terms and has served on several Editorial Boards.

Mr Stephen F. Nagle (CEO)

Stephen Nagle has been involved in the Australian Higher Education sector since 1988 as an Executive Director of the Holmes Education Group. Previous to that time he worked as an interpreter/translator in Hamburg, Germany.

Mr Alex Anderson (COO)

Alex Anderson has over 30 years’ experience in the Australian domestic and international education sectors since 1989. In various roles within the Holmes Education group, Mr Anderson has been pivotal in the groups strategic direction and expansion.

As Chief Operating Officer Mr Anderson now plays a senior role in the leadership and oversight of the group including operations, marketing, compliance, course development and strategy.

Mr Andrew Rimington

Andrew Rimington is a Certified Career Coach and Contract Service Provider Coach with extensive experience in the Employment Services and Vocational Education and Training sectors. Drawing from widely diverse experience, Andrew educates, mentors and energises job seekers across all sectors and levels, guides in career exploration and direction, Selection Criteria and resume development, working one on one and with small to medium groups.

Andrew is accredited in Behavioural Psycho-metric personality instruments, and he is an experienced, accredited rehabilitation counsellor for Workers Compensation and TAC – internationally recognised for his professionalism and expertise in the career development space. Andrew reactivated his consulting and private practice across career management, coaching and corporate workforce strategy after leaving the Victorian Chamber of Commerce in July 2015.

Andrew has over 25 years’ in senior management roles working for both Commonwealth and State governments in the employment, education and training (EET) program delivery and policy areas. Andrew also managed a University Careers Advisory service and held a senior management role with a private training provider, as well as a consulting and private practice working primarily in career transition and rehabilitation.

As the Senior Policy Manager with the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Andrew brought a focus across EET policy nationally through Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Committees and Working Groups. In addition, he has been involved in many committees, reference groups, University Course Advisory Committees, Skills Councils,and Industry Training Advisory Boards as well as Ministerial appointments to advisory boards in employment and education.

Andrew has enjoyed a long-term commitment to the national Career Development Association of Australia, Australia’s leading cross-sectoral peak body for career development practitioners, being elected to the National Committee in 2011 and National President in 2013, and completed a four-year term in May 2017. Andrew has become internationally recognised for his professionalism and expertise in the career development space and has been both the Australian Country Director at the Asia Pacific Career Development Association and including a two-year appointment as Treasurer on the Executive Board. The APCDA Newsletter Contributor Award was presented in 2018. Andrew was appointed as a Board Director as the Australian representative of the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy in 2015 and led an Australian team to the bi-annual International Symposium held in Korea in June 2017. Also in 2017, the National Career Development Association of the USA awarded Andrew the NCDA International Practitioner of the Year Award.

Professor Peter Schmidt

Professor Peter Schmidt has a track record of contributions to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) deployment in Australia business enduring over five decades. Peter was one of the developers of the first higher education degree course in computing in Australia. Peter was himself an international student taking his Masters in Management Science (Operations Research) at the University of Waterloo (Canada). This university developed and owned the Blackberry mobile phone.

Peter worked at the heart of the computer industry at IBM and developed a consulting practice to the computerised glass industry (Glass Containers Pty Ltd); banking (NAB); pharma (Eli Lilly); Defence Science and Technology Organisation; Australian Government and Commonwealth Secretariat (London) and many others.

Peter was Director at the Australian Management College (Mt Eliza) – Australia’s premium school for practising managers.

Peter has devoted the last 25 years exclusively to developing, teaching and managing Australian university courses for international students as Dean of Studies for a consortium of 11 Australian universities in Malaysia, as Director of Business Courses for Monash University Malaysia, as Academic Head of James Cook University’s joint venture with Holmes Institute in Melbourne and Sydney and as various senior academic roles with Holmes Institute of MBA Convenor, Dean (Academic) and Chair of Academic Board.

Mr Donald Kauffman

Mr Donald Kauffman has over 30 year experiences working in the education industry. He has worked extensively in Australia as well a New Zealand, USA, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Mr Kauffman worked for Holmes Education Group for 16 years in Sydney and was instrumental in the success of our degree programmes in Australia.

For the past 5 years Mr Kauffman has been based in London and brings a unique international perspective to our group.

Ms Maree Brezzi

Maree held the position of  General Manager at the Holmes Education Group from 1993 to 2019.  She was responsible for the day to day operations across the different sectors in which Holmes delivers courses.  She currently consults to the group on administrative, audit and compliance matters.

Mr Michael Sangiorgio

Michael has over 30 years within the accounting profession and is a Certified Practising Accountant Member of CPA Australia, Chartered Taxation Advisor of the Taxation Institute of Australia, Registered Tax Agent and Director Principal of a boutique accounting firm, MJS Accountants Pty Ltd.

Michael has an extensive knowledge in Corporate Advisory and Chief Financial Officer roles and responsibilities, Financial, Management and Business Advisory services, Business Tax, International Tax and Structuring, Tax Management, Strategic Planning and Structuring to a diverse range of industries and High Net Wealth Individuals, Family Groups/Offices and Business Clients.

As Director Principal of MJS Accountants, Michael and his team are able to provide a comprehensive offering to Clients to attend to their Corporate, Business, Tax and all associated Advisory needs. Also, Michael is able to provide a Family Office offering which is boutique to Client’s family requirements. Michael is highly regarded by many Clients for his ability to attend to their needs and requirements in a professional manner. Michael is also well known for his advisory skills in the business sector.

For a number of years Michael has been a regular contributor on corporate, governance and taxation matters, particularly in relation to aspects of corporate and management governance, business and investment structuring, international structuring and estate and succession planning. In his capacity as a professional Accountant and as a personal interest, Michael undertakes various roles and responsibilities related to these areas.

When Michael is not attending to his Client’s needs, he enjoys travelling, tennis, AFL, the occasional property renovation project and spending time with his family.

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Academic Board

The Academic Board is delegated authority by the Institute’s Governing Council for academic governance of all academic activities including academic policies and implementations, the delivery of courses, student academic performance and conferral of higher education awards. The Academic Board also advises the Governing Council on matters relating to academic matters of teaching, learning, and scholarship.

Mr Stephen F. Nagle (CEO)

Stephen Nagle has been involved in the Australian Higher Education sector since 1988 as an Executive Director of the Holmes Education Group. Previous to that time he worked as an interpreter/translator in Hamburg, Germany.

As the CEO of Holmes Institute, he has been instrumental in establishing Holmes as a leading private higher education provider with campuses in Victoria, NSW and QLD. Over a 20 year period, Mr Nagle has supervised the accreditation of 4 Masters degrees and 4 Bachelor degrees across a diverse platform including Business Administration, Fashion and Information Systems.

Following extensive research in Israel and Australia, Mr Nagle established the Cyber Security Research and Innovation Centre with funding from Holmes Institute in 2018. The centre is designed to complement the Information Systems Faculty at Holmes. High level research in cryptography and security provides masters’ students with the opportunity to interact with research fellows whilst carrying out project work as part of their degrees. Mr Nagle is also actively involved in the IoTAA (Internet of Things Association of Australia).

Professor Peter Schmidt

Professor Peter Schmidt has a track record of contributions to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) deployment in Australia business enduring over five decades. Peter was one of the developers of the first higher education degree course in computing in Australia. Peter was himself an international student taking his Masters in Management Science (Operations Research) at the University of Waterloo (Canada). This university developed and owned the Blackberry mobile phone.

Peter worked at the heart of the computer industry at IBM and developed a consulting practice to the computerised glass industry (Glass Containers Pty Ltd); banking (NAB); pharma (Eli Lilly); Defence Science and Technology Organisation; Australian Government and Commonwealth Secretariat (London) and many others.

Peter was Director at the Australian Management College (Mt Eliza) – Australia’s premium school for practising managers.

Peter has devoted the last 25 years exclusively to developing, teaching and managing Australian university courses for international students as Dean of Studies for a consortium of 11 Australian universities in Malaysia, as Director of Business Courses for Monash University Malaysia, as Academic Head of James Cook University’s joint venture with Holmes Institute in Melbourne and Sydney and as various senior academic roles with Holmes Institute of MBA Convenor, Dean (Academic) and Chair of Academic Board.

Professor Hamish Coates

Hamish Coates is a Tenured Professor at Tsinghua University’s Institute of Education, Director of the Higher Education Research Division, and Deputy Director of the Tsinghua University Global Research Centre for the Assessment of College and Student Development.

He was Professor of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne, Founding Director of Higher Education Research at the Australian Council for Educational Research, and Program Director at the LH Martin Institute for Tertiary Leadership and Management. He concentrates on improving the quality and productivity of higher education.

Professor Elisabeth Wilson-Evered

Elisabeth has substantial careers in both academia and industry including military and other psychology service roles. Her higher education roles include Head of School, Director of Research and Research Training, and Director of the Victoria Graduate School of Business. She has been a member of three Academic Boards and engaged in quality and accreditation in both university and health contexts.

She has led a number of projects aimed at improving conditions and quality of services for student, clients and staff in higher education, community services and health. She has achieved numerous awards, publications and grants for her work in leadership, technology adoption and innovation and was awarded her PhD from Monash University in 2003.

Professor Terrence Hallahan

Terrence Hallahan has been an Honorary Professor at Victoria University since 2017, actively engaged in research projects and the supervision of PhD students. He joined Victoria University as Professor of Financial Services and Discipline Leader, Finance and Financial Services in 2012. From 2013-17 he was also Director of Learning and Teaching for the College of Business, during which time he reorganised course management and delivery and initiated the College-wide implementation of blended learning. Prior to joining Victoria University he was Head of the Finance Discipline at RMIT University and Deputy head of School, Industry Engagement.

Terrence has 32 years' experience in teaching and learning in finance and related disciplines and has a strong record of innovation in teaching practice and integrating research into teaching. He has extensive experience in teaching and course coordination, at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, in Australia Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, and is the recipient of a number of teaching awards.

Terrence's research focus has been the analysis of financial markets, in particular the performance of managed funds and the behaviour of investors.

Dr Eileen Buckley-Dhoot

Dr Eileen Buckley-Dhoot, Dean, Academic at Holmes Institute Dublin has over 30 years’ experience in Higher Education with a particular interest in collaborative and transnational education.  An experienced member and chair of various QA, validation and assessment panels, nationally and internationally; Eileen has also served on the Irish National Team of Bologna Experts.

On completion of her PhD at DCU in Electroanalytical Chemistry in 1989, Eileen joined the Faculty of Science at Kingston University London where she was responsible for the faculty postgraduate programmes.  An active researcher she supervised PhD theses working on a diverse range of analytical problems.  International collaborations included the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences funded by the Royal Society, a visiting professorship at the University of Chulalongkorn and research sabbatical at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

Returning to Ireland in 2008 coincided with a move into senior management and academic leadership. Eileen has held positions of Academic Director at Dublin Business School and IBAT, in both cases undertaking a wholescale review of the QA infrastructure resulting in a series of successful institutional and collaborative reviews with both QQI and the QAA.

The role of Director of Operations at Penang Medical College in Malaysia provided her an opportunity to oversee the corporate aspects of a College.  Eileen looks forward to bringing her expertise to Holmes Institute Dublin.

Professor Paul Ryder (Chair)

Professor Paul Ryder completed his PHD in Organisational Psychology at the University of Queensland in 1978. He worked as a researcher in advertising and the public sector in 1968, prior to commencing graduate studies. He remained active in applied action research as a consultant to industry, during his early career as a teaching academic in management and organisational studies at UQ, QUT and Griffith universities.

In 1986, he was appointed foundation Head of Overseas Programmes at Curtin University of Technology. This began his lifelong interest in international students and intrapreneurial ventures in tertiary institutions at a senior management level.

He was appointed to Bond University in 1992 where he developed a remote campus MBA and in 1994 to Griffith University, Gold Coast, as Professor and ultimately Dean of Business and Hotel Management. In 1996 he joined James Cook University as Executive Dean, Business , Law and the Creative Arts before joining Newcastle University as Dean of Business in 2002.In each of these positions new academic programmes were launched that generated substantial revenues and grew the institution’s profile.

At JCU and Newcastle, undergraduate and postgraduate joint ventures were created with Holmes Institute. In 2004 he became foundation Executive Dean at Holmes when Holmes was the first private institution approved to offer stand alone tertiary awards. He has been a part of the Holmes success story since, domestically and globally.

He remains very active in course delivery as well as his executive duties and is personally involved with the student body at Holmes on all campuses. He is an advocate of new blended learning technologies.His dual priorities remain the academic and personal development of Holmes students and building and retaining a profile of experienced, highly qualified staff.

He has 20 published refereed papers in academic journals and supervised 4 doctoral candidates to completion. He was President of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management for 3 terms and has served on several Editorial Boards.

Professor Paul Hawking

Paul is Dean (Academic) at Holmes Institute. He has an extensive career both in academia and industry. He is globally recognised for his knowledge and skills in ERP systems and Business Intelligence and more specifically SAP solutions. Accordingly, he has been a keynote speaker at leading industry and academic conferences around the world.

He has also been called upon as an expert witness in an ERP vendor litigation.Paul is one of Australia's best-selling IT authors having written 11 books in addition to his more than 120 research publications. The curriculum Paul has developed is used by universities around the world and associated with this he has been invited to train academics at universities in numerous countries. Paul has gained many awards and was the first academic to achieve the prestigious status of SAP Mentor.

Dr Anja Fadrich

Anja’s educational and research background/interest relate to International Business and Management, with a particular focus on China and Chinese Migration. Anja has worked and studied in Australia, China and Germany in the Insurance/Finance and Education sector.

She completed her Bachelor degrees, MBA and PhD at German and Australian universities. Anja joined Holmes Institute in 2006, where she is the Dean, Operations.

Mr Lincoln Holland

Lincoln has been engaged in academic leadership, management and practice with a range of Australian higher education institutions. Experienced Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Skilled in Business Planning, Analytical Skills, Research Design, Lecturing, and Asset Management. Strong business development professional with a Grad Cert focused in Fin Serv from University of New England (AU).

Ms Anuki Nisaka Abeyasekara (Student Representative)

Currently studying MBA at Holmes Institute. Graduated with Honours in a Bachelor of Law, Monash University and currently working as a solicitor for a private law firm.