Meet Neil, David, Katrina and Welly. Though not all new to Macquarie, or even to the role of managing a faculty, they are all new to the role of Faculty Executive Director.

One of the objectives of the Professional Service Transformation (PST) is to create more standardised roles and structures across the University. With that in mind, from 1 January 2022 the position title of ‘Faculty General Manager’ (FGM) changed to ‘Faculty Executive Director’ (FED).

While Neil Durrant and Welly Firmanto have been the Faculty General Managers for Arts and for Medicine, Health and Human Sciences (respectively), David Sams (Macquarie Business School) and Katrina Sealey (Faculty of Science and Engineering) are recent recruits to the roles of Faculty Executive Director.

The new title is consistent with comparable titles and title changes across the University and business sectors. The change in title was proposed in the Faculty Professional Services Workplace Change paper and is the first visible change toward the implementation of the new Faculty professional services models.

This name change is accompanied by a change in position description and streamlines the roles across the University. Previously there were four different Faculty General Manager position descriptions. Now, there is one consistent position description with a shared understanding of the accountabilities of the role.

“The new FED role allows the opportunity to bring together professional services that previously happened in fragmented ways,” says Neil.

“This will see a consistent, coherent approach to delivering professional services, as well as sharing knowledge and information between different types of professional service delivery.”

These Faculty Executive Directors will provide strategic leadership in the development and execution of the Faculty’s strategy and goals. This includes providing expert advice to the Executive Dean and other key stakeholders on the Faculty’s enterprise, financial management, resource planning and management, risk management, infrastructure and facilities, policy development and higher education market trends.

David Sams believes our biggest challenges are also our greatest opportunities this year.

“These include ensuring a safe return to campus at scale for students, especially as international borders reopen; and the smooth transition to the new professional services model, to ensure continuity and improvement of experience for our students and staff.”

It’s exciting to know that the four Faculty Executive Directors are working collaboratively on these big projects and opportunities at Macquarie. We look forward to hearing more from this team in 2022.

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Katrina Sealey – Science and Engineering

Katrina joins the Faculty of Science and Engineering’s leadership team from Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO), where she was the Head of Research Data and Software, and the Chief Operations Officer for the Astralis Instrumentation Consortium, Australia’s leading astronomical instrumentation organisation. Over the past three years, Katrina has secured more than $8 million in funding for Macquarie University.

Katrina holds a PhD in Astrophysics from UNSW and prior to joining Macquarie University, was a Senior Leader within the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. She led the successful transition of the Australian Astronomical Observatory into the higher education sector, and Katrina successfully headed the first Australian departmental gender equity Athena Swan Award for Macquarie University.

“The Faculty of Science and Engineering worked tirelessly through 2021 to develop the FSE Strategic Plan 2022-2026, and I am thrilled to work with my FSE colleagues on this exciting journey.”

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Welly Firmanto – Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

After many years as an international student across three countries, Welly built a career in telecommunications systems engineering, healthcare, and higher education in the private and public sectors. Welly joined Macquarie University in 2013 and was appointed to the role of Faculty General Manager in 2015. In addition to his role as Faculty Executive Director, Welly is the Chief Operating Officer of MQ Health, a controlled entity of the University that delivers clinical services through the Macquarie University Hospital, MQ Health clinics and MindSpot.

“I feel privileged to work with teams that excel in the innovative, dynamic industries of higher education and healthcare. With my background in systems engineering, I see opportunities in the new ways of working in the structures created through PST, to help us interpret and navigate the complex adaptive systems of the University and MQ Health.”

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David Sams – Macquarie Business School

David was interim Faculty General Manager from early 2021, and is now formally appointed as Faculty Executive Director for Macquarie Business School. Having previously worked at Macquarie University and the University of Sydney, David returns to us from UNSW, where he held roles as Head of Student Experience and Support for UNSW, and Director of Student Experience for UNSW Business. David has a background in Marketing, Communications and brand management and has worked extensively in the university sector. He uses his commercial sensibilities and experience in service leadership – connecting people and processes; creating efficiency and recognising potential – to find a better way toward strategic and measurable solutions to customer needs and business objectives.

“Returning to Macquarie in this new role at such an exciting and pivotal time for the university and the sector is a great privilege. I’m excited about the great work of the staff I serve and the students they’re helping develop into future leaders.”

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Neil Durrant – Arts

Neil joined Macquarie University in 2015 as Faculty General Manager with the Faculty of Arts and his role was amended in 2017 to also encompass Director of Strategy. Neil has a diverse background in higher education strategic and operational management. He is a skilled leader with a vision for effective and efficient professional service delivery to support executive academic leadership in delivering an organisational vision for teaching and research. He is passionate about the role of the university in emerging political and economic landscapes. He holds degrees in economics, linguistics and philosophy and has a diverse professional background. He has worked in academic research, occupied not-for-profit leadership roles and has developed business intelligence and information management practices that focus on the use and presentation of data to support business strategy.

“This role will allow for opportunities to represent the Faculty and the University more broadly, and to engage with stakeholders outside the university, which is something I think is vitally important for our University’s success.”