Personalised Leadership for Evolution, Learning and Agility

Professor Mark Loon is the Dean of the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast, his leadership style is characterised by a commitment to strategic development and external engagement. He is currently an Executive member of the Australian Business Deans Council. He has held significant leadership roles, including Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at Bath Spa University and Co-Vice Chair of the British Academy of Management (BAM), demonstrating a focus on driving organisational excellence and fostering collaborative initiatives. His involvement with bodies like the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the British Standards Institute (chairing the Human Capital Standards Committee for ISO TC 260) highlights a practical, impact-oriented leadership that bridges academia and industry. Professor Loon's research strengths lie in his diverse and highly-ranked publications across leading management journals such, as Academy of Management Learning and Education and Journal of Management Studies. His expertise spans strategic management, organisational development, and human capital. He has been commissioned for practitioner reports by organisations like the World Economic Forum and is recognised with awards such as the BAM Medal for Knowledge Development. His role on the Editorial Review Board of the Academy of Management Learning and Education further underscores his influence in shaping global management education research.

Bill currently leads the team at Farmgate Backpackers, Australia’s largest community of horticultural seasonal workers. Most of Bill’s working life has been in partnerships, where leadership isn’t a right, it needs to be earned. Bill believes that earning the right to be leader, involves dedication, passion and effort, above anyone else! He believes that it’s both a privilege and a great responsibility to lead a team.

Bill received his MBA at UniSC in 2007 and in 2022 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for Service to the business community of the Sunshine Coast.

Kim McCosker is the founder of 4 Ingredients, now a formidable Australian publishing house. 4 Ingredients owns the rights to all 37 cookbooks, tens of thousands of recipes, images, videos, manuscripts and databases with the reach of millions. It is the publisher of cookbooks, eBooks, Apps and developer of a various range of kitchenware. It has grown to become one of the most recognised and trusted food brands in Australia; with more than 9 million copies sold worldwide and a reported 1 in seven homes owning a 4 Ingredients cookbook.

Committed to community, Kim sits on the Sunshine Coast Major Events Board, was part of the Sunshine Coast Council's Biosphere Nomination Community Reference Group, was awarded the Sunshine Coast's Most Outstanding Business Woman of the Year, 2011 and Griffith University's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017.

Dr. Melissa Innes is an academic in Management and Human Resource Management in the School of Business and Creative Industries at UniSC. Her award-winning PhD explored the lived experience of individual foresight in organizations, and her ongoing research delves into the role of knowledge management crucial to firms developing foresight capacity. Melissa actively works with industry to apply her Individual Foresight (IF) Framework, helping organizations incorporate foresight insights into leadership competencies to foster cultures that champion knowledge sharing and lead to innovation and enhanced competitiveness for firms. Melissa brings her passion for inspiring knowledge acquisition and sharing to her role as Course Coordinator for one of UniSC’s largest undergraduate management courses fostering a thirst for learning, knowledge sharing and a transformational leadership approach in UniSC's management graduates.