Professor Graeme Samuel AC (OW1963) bestowed a fellowship of Wesley College

On Wednesday 3 May, the College was pleased to bestow upon Professor Graeme Samuel AC LL.B (Melb.) LL.M (Monash) FAICD a fellowship of Wesley College.

Graeme Samuel (OW1963) was a member of the Wesley College Council from 1990 until 1995. He was President of the Wesley College Foundation from 1988 to 1995. Whilst on Council, he was a member of the Executive and Property Committees.

Graeme began as student at the College in The Hutch in 1950. He initially went to another local private school for kindergarten, but his parents were summoned and asked to remove him due to his learning difficulties. He then began at Wesley and, after one year, was promoted a year level as he was so advanced!

Whilst a student at Wesley College, Graeme performed in one school play before moving to the technical crew, and backstage. He was a talented swimmer and still holds a school record as part of the Under 16 4 x 50 yards relay team. This is a record unlikely to be broken, as the College received a donation from one Graeme Samuel to take the pool at the St Kilda Road Campus from 25 yards to 25 metres! Graeme attributes his lifelong love of classical music to the expert teaching of T. Elwyn Brown, universally known as “Breath”.

Graeme has a long association with the College. His father Ralph (OW1930) attended the College between 1927 and 1929, before the economic headwinds of the Great Depression forced his withdrawal. Graeme’s brothers Brian (OW1965), Ian (OW1967) and Neil (OW 1970) all attended the College. Graeme’s children Warren (OW1990), Grant (OW1995), Davina (OW1996), Georgia (OW1999) and Jack (OW2020) also attended the College.

Following his time at the College, Graeme completed a law degree from the University of Melbourne. This was followed by a Master of Laws from Monash University. Graeme joined the law firm Phillips Fox and Masel after graduation and assumed leadership of the commercial practice of the firm after only 2 years. He was awarded the Law Institute of Victoria’s Solicitor Prize in 1971 and became a partner of the firm in 1972.

He developed a reputation as a leading lawyer in takeover and tax law, and a lifelong passion for public policy. He then became Executive Director of Hill Samuel Australia, an investment bank which subsequently became Macquarie Bank, a post he remained in until 1986. He then started his own boutique investment bank Grant Samuel and Associates, but found his work moved much more into public policy.

Graeme was a member of the National Competition Council of Australia from 1995, and President from 1997 until 2003. He was then appointed as Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and subsequently as an Associate Member of the Australian Communications and Media Authority, both positions he relinquished in 2011. Graeme has also been Chair of the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust, a Commissioner of the Australian Football League, President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chair of Playbox Theatre Company and Opera Australia, Trustee of the Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust.

Graeme is a Professor in Monash University’s Business School. He is also President of Dementia Australia and Chair of Australian Dementia Network Ltd (ADNet), Chair of Dementia Australia Research Foundation. He recently conducted a review for the Commonwealth Government of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct and also undertook an Independent Review commissioned by the Commonwealth Government of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.  Graeme was a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council and Chair of the Health Innovation Advisory Committee from 2015 to 2018. He was also a Commissioner of the Australian Rugby League Commission and Chair of its Risk, Audit and Investment Committee from 2013 to 2017.

He served for eight years as a member of the Council of Australian National University and was chair of the ANU Finance committee for seven years. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1998. In 2010, he was elevated to Companion of the Order of Australia for “eminent service to public administration through contributions in the areas of economic reform and competition law, and to the community through leadership with sporting and cultural organisations.”

Graeme first became involved in the College through the Wesley College Foundation. He succeeded Geoff Wagstaff as President of the Foundation in 1988. He led the Foundation through the Appeal in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1988. He was an integral part of the raising of funds to rebuild the College. At the same time, the College was raising funds to build the new Senior College, as it was then called, at Glen Waverley.  He continued as President of the Foundation until 1995.

Graeme joined the Wesley College Council in 1990, with Doug Oldfield as President and John Hicks as Vice President.

In his time on the Wesley College Council, he was part of the decision-making process for an extraordinary range of decisions, including but not limited to:

• The development and building of the Senior School at Glen Waverley
• The integration of Cato College and the creation of the Elsternwick campus
• The progression of coeducation at the College
• The adoption of notebook computers as an integral part of a Wesley College education
• The adoption of the International Baccalaureate Diploma program

Graeme’s contribution is not limited to his work on Council. Graeme has been involved in the OWCA Business Breakfasts since the very beginning. He was the first speaker! Graeme has been integral in attracting speakers to all subsequent breakfasts. He also changed the format to encompass an engaging panel of speakers as opposed to just one.

Wesley College has gained an enormous amount from the service of Graeme Samuel and it is with great pleasure that we bestow upon him the highest honour in the gift of the College, that of Fellow of Wesley College.