Griffith University is partnering with renowned Australian business leader Marcus Blackmore AM with his Blackmore Family Foundation providing a $6.3 million philanthropic gift to pave the way for world-class business leadership in Australia.
The university has embarked on its first ever comprehensive philanthropy campaign and is already halfway towards reaching its goal of raising $125 million.
The Blackmore Family Foundation’s investment will establish the Blackmore Chair within Griffith Business School, and create the first three Blackmore Leadership Summits, the first set to commence in 2025.
The Blackmore Chair will play a critical role in harnessing new knowledge and thinking about innovative business leadership in Australia and the Asia-Pacific, and in doing so, will transform Griffith’s engagement with the scholarship and practice of business leadership.
The Blackmore Leadership Summit will see participants be part of an exclusive community of leadership practice so they can be inspired by the learnings of Australia’s most successful business leaders.
Griffith’s Pro Vice Chancellor (Business), Professor Caitlin Byrne, said the partnership with the Blackmore Family Foundation represents a shared commitment to innovative business education and authentic, values-driven leadership.
“This partnership builds on our ambition to foster business leadership that enables a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable future,” Professor Byrne said.
“The summit will create a community of business executives, entrepreneurs and innovators with shared aspirations of leadership excellence for positive impact.”
Blackmore Family Foundation Co-Founder, Marcus Blackmore, said he was impressed with the work being achieved by Professor Byrne and Griffith’s MBA Director Professor Stephanie Schleimer.
“As someone who grew up and went to school in Brisbane, I was keen to invest in my local community, in particular, on building a successful business,” Mr Blackmore said.
“I can also pass on how to stuff it up, but the reality is that you learn from your mistakes in life more than your successes.
“Education is terribly important, and with the world moving on, business needs to move with it so this partnership with Griffith University will help steer our future business leaders in the right direction.”
Blackmore Family Foundation Co-Founder, Caroline Furlong, said the Blackmore Chair and Blackmore Leadership Summit encompassed shared values of business and helping to develop the skills of young people.
“We really want to train and educate the future leaders of Australia to have a more holistic approach to business management, which is how Blackmores thrived,” said Ms Furlong.
“It’s not just about profit but encompassing people and the right way to do things, to treat the community and people with respect and look at the business model from a different point of view.”
The Blackmore Chair is the first endowed chair to be funded by philanthropy and reinforces Griffith Business School’s credentials as one of Australia’s leading schools, ranked number one for the fourth year in a row by the Top 40 Corporate Knights’ 2023 Better World MBA ranking.