Following an extensive international recruitment process, Paul Dennett has been appointed to the role of Executive Director, Advancement, commencing late August 2015. From his home in London, Paul answered a number of questions about his professional background, aspirations for the role and the challenges that lie ahead.

What’s the elevator pitch/laymen’s version of your professional background and expertise?
I trace the origins of my career in fundraising to Sydney. I first came to Australia during my gap year before university, inspired by the stories of an uncle who had immigrated to Perth. After exhausting the traditional tourist destinations I wanted to get off the beaten track, so I took a job with an environmental charity. This saw me in a different suburb each day, tasked with raising funds ‘to help protect the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system’ – that phrase remains etched into my brain more than 20 years on.

Far from getting a hard time for being a ‘Pom’ as some had joked I could expect, I was instead given a really warm welcome and met a host of diverse and interesting characters. This experience encouraged me to get involved in fundraising for my university when I returned to the UK.

The other jobs I had during that year here were on a cattle ranch, as a chef and briefly as a nightclub bouncer – so my career could have taken a very different path had the people of Sydney not been so generous towards a young Brit who came knocking on their doors.

After eight years at University College London and finishing up there as Head of Fundraising and Deputy Director of Development, I moved a short way down the road to the British Library. There I was charged with building a professional advancement operation and raising funds to build a Centre for Conservation.

From there I moved into consultancy, with long-term assignments at Moorfields Eye Hospital, The Institute of Cancer Research and The Courtauld Institute of Art. I also had the opportunity to serve as interim Director of Development at The Open University for two years and at Goldsmiths, University of London for a year.

What attracted you to Macquarie?
The University exudes confidence and ambition, and I am sure advancement can play an increasingly important role in helping Macquarie achieve its goals. I have had the good fortune to help a number of world-class organisations scale up their fundraising, and am delighted to have the chance to draw on this experience to help Macquarie prepare and launch its first major campaign.

Macquarie is taking its commitment to advancement seriously. I was impressed by the team and their desire to enhance and scale up everything they do, and the university has done well to attract a number of very talented and experienced fundraisers who have joined in recent weeks.

What do you hope to achieve in the role?
I want to deliver a step-change in the impact that advancement delivers for Macquarie. I want to see it recognised as key to achieving the University’s strategic goals. I also want our peers at other institutions to hold up our professionalism and effectiveness as a model of excellence.

The benefits of an effective advancement operation go way beyond a simple tally of donations secured, but clearly this is our core objective. I am therefore looking forward to launching Macquarie’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign with a suitably eye-catching target attached.

What do you see as the opportunities and challenges for Macquarie in the next five to 10 years?
As universities have got better at articulating their cases for support and demonstrating the positive impacts they bring to the world, the size of gifts they are securing has rapidly risen. Here in the UK, approximately a hundred universities secure more £1million + donations every year than all our charities combined. Multi-billion dollar campaigns are no longer the preserve of the US and, in Australia, more and more gifts in the tens of millions of dollars are hitting the headlines.

These gifts rarely come by chance, however. They are usually the culmination of years of careful planning and preparation, and will involve very active involvement of many staff and volunteers – not just the fundraisers. Our challenge is to be ready to react fast when an opportunity arises, whilst also being prepared to be patient in building relationships to the point where they can deliver to their full potential.

And lastly, what does your family think about the move to Australia?
My wife and I love Sydney and have always said it is the only place in the world we would consider leaving London for. Our three young children are equally excited about the move and return from school every day armed with fresh facts about Australia to share with us.

Meet the newest members of the Office of Advancement team

Kylie Strudwick, Director of Development, Medicine
Kylie joined Macquarie in May, and came from the Queensland State Library where she worked as an Executive Director of the Queensland Library Foundation. Prior to this role she worked at the Westmead Medical Research Foundation, the most influential fundraising body in Sydney West Area Health Service.

Enid Charlton, Director of Development, Foundation and Corporate Relations
Enid was most recently with the National Art School where she was Head of Development and brings a wealth of experience in securing major grants and sponsorship. She has also previously worked at UTS and UNSW in fundraising roles. Enid joined Macquarie late April, and will be a dual member of the Corporate Engagement and Advancement teams.

Veronica Pardey, Director of Development, Planned Giving
Veronica joins Macquarie from the Australian Society of Anaesthetists where she was the National Membership Manager. Prior to this role she was Associate Director, Development for the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Sydney. As a graduate of MGSM, she has extensive experience in fundraising, implementing a philanthropy plan and identifying key prospects.  Veronica commenced her role in late May.