School of Business and Law

Professor Maryam Omari

Executive Dean, School of Business and Law

Areas of expertise:

• Dignity and respect at work
• Workplace bullying
• Quality of work-life issues
• Cross cultural management

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Building positive workplace cultures.”

Professor Tim Bentley

MARS Centre Director and Professorial Chair

Areas of expertise:

• Psychosocial risk
• Workplace bullying and other interpersonal psychosocial hazards
• Older workers/aging workforce
• Flexibility and new ways of working

Speaker topic suggestions:

• "Workplace bullying and harassment: why traditional approaches to prevention don’t work."
• "The WA skills crisis: can we do more to attract, engage and retain our mature-aged workers."
• "Well, they’re technically brilliant, but can they manage people? The role of relational leadership in managing workplace psychosocial risk."

Professor Steve D'Alessandro

Professor of Marketing

Areas of expertise:

• Consumer behaviour
• Political Marketing
• Big Data and Marketing Analytics
• Human dimensions of cybersecurity

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Why customers don’t switch even if they are unhappy.”
• “How marketing can help create positive social change.”

Professor Ben Farr-Wharton

Professor of Workforce Strategy

Areas of expertise:

• Workforce Wellbeing and Productivity
• Psychosocial Safety & Mental Health Programs at Work
• Leadership and Management
• Public sector innovation
• Flexible and Hybrid Work

Speaker topic suggestions:

• Flexible Work, Divided Workplaces.”
• “Skill shortages reshape leadership trajectories.”
• “'Unlearning' Leadership: modern management lessons from our ancient past.”

Professor Peter Galvin

Professor of Strategic Management

Areas of expertise:

• Corporate & Business Strategy
• Competitive Dynamics & Innovation
• Dynamic Capabilities
• Organization Design
• Open Innovation and DIY Science

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Why collaboration may not actually be critical for innovating.”
• “Why the traditional strategy toolkit is more important than ever in the WA economy.”
• “The emerging importance of industry ecosystems as a basis for value creation.”

Professor Irene de Pater

Professor of Business Psychology

Areas of expertise:

• Incivility / rudeness at work
• Misbehaviour and Bullying
• Leadership and Leadership development
• Organisational justice

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Enough is enough.”
• “Stop bullying and harassment.”
• “Addressing workplace rudeness.”

Professor Mostafa Rasoolimanesh

Professor of Sustainable Tourism

Areas of expertise:

• Sustainable Tourism
• Heritage/Indigenous Tourism
• Community Tourism and Development
• Destination Management
• Tourists Behaviour / Consumer Behaviour

Speaker topic suggestions:

• Good destination governance and sustainable tourism
• Pro-environmental behaviour of tourists

Professor Sanjit Roy

Professor of Marketing and Service Science

Areas of expertise:

• Artificial Intelligence and Marketing
• Human-Robot Interactions
• Metaverse and Marketing
• Customer Experience Management

Speaker topic suggestions:

• "AI and customer experience management.”
• “Digital transformation as a strategy.”
• “AI and the future of work.”
• “AI's trust problem.”

Professor Edward Wray-Bliss

Professorial Chair of Business Ethics

Areas of expertise:

• Ethical leadership
• Emerging ethical issues in business
• AI and ethics
• Creating ethical cultures

Speaker topic suggestions:

• "The ethical risks of AI and how to govern them."
• "What are the most pressing ethical issues on the horizon for West Australian business?"

Associate Professor Joshua Aston

Associate Dean, Law

Areas of expertise:

• Modern Slavery
• Human Rights Law
• Humanitarian Law

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Defeating Modern Slavery”.

Associate Professor Kate Blackwood

Deputy Director of MARS Centre

Areas of expertise:

• Healthy work and employee wellbeing
• Managing psychosocial risks
• Workplace bullying

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Designing healthy work programs for the greatest impact.”
• “Success factors for workplace bullying prevention.”
• “Building a safety climate for psychosocial risk management in SME’s.”

Associate Professor Shannon Bosch

Associate Professor of Law

Areas of expertise:

• International Humanitarian Law
• War crimes accountability and universal jurisdiction
• Regulation of private military contractors

Speaker Topic Suggestions:

• Foreign Military Assistance and Prosecution for Overseas Combatants
• State Responsibility for Private Security Contractors
• Universal Jurisdiction and War Crimes Accountability

Associate Professor Flavio Macau

Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management

Areas of expertise:

• Supply Chain Management and Global Logistics

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “How to prepare your business for Supply Chain Disruptions?”
• “Supply Chain Challenges: Climate Change, Digitisation, and Social Responsibility.”

Associate Professor Michelle Gander

Associate Professor, Gender, Work & Careers

Areas of expertise:

• Work and careers
• Gender equity
• Higher education

Speaker topic suggestions:

• Why employees still value secure organisational careers
• Equity in the workplace:  can we accelerate progress?

Associate Professor Mehran Nejati

Member of the ECU Centre for People, Place and Planet

Areas of expertise:

• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Business Sustainability and Responsible Management
• Ethical Leadership
• Green Human Resource Management

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Is your corporate social responsibility commitment authentic? If not, don’t bother!”
• “Sustainability transformation: Tapping into the power of leadership and green human resource management.”

Associate Professor Simone Domenico Scagnelli

Associate Dean Accounting and Finance

Areas of Expertise:

• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting
• Biodiversity and Corporate Sustainability
• Ethical and Impact-Driven Investing

Speaker Topic Suggestions:

• Biodiversity in Business: Why It Matters for Corporate Sustainability
• The Evolving Landscape of ESG Reporting: Challenges and Opportunities
• How Companies Can Balance Profitability and Environmental Responsibility

Associate Professor Suku Sukunesan

Associate Professor of Strategic Partnerships

Areas of expertise:

• Applied AI
• Social Media Applications
• Innovation Management
• Small Medium Enterprises
• Start-Ups / Accelerators

Speaker topic suggestions:

• How can SME’s best use AI
• The importance of Innovation Management
• Start-up programs:  Challenges, Opportunities, KPIs and ROIs.

Dr Naoise McDonagh

Master of Business Administration (MBA) Director

Areas of expertise:

• Geopolitics and international business
• International trade and global supply chain governance
• Economic Sanctions and Business Risk
• Foreign Direct Investment Screening and National Security

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Geopolitics in the boardroom: balancing risk and opportunity in a contested world.”
• “Global supply chains and diversification: implications for international business.”

Dr Deepa Bannigidadmath

Senior Lecturer

Areas of Expertise:

• Stock Market Analysis and Investment Strategies
• Financial Market Trends and Forecasting
• Corporate Finance and Risk Management

Speaker Topic Suggestions:

• Navigating Market Volatility: Strategies for Investors
• The Future of Stock Market Trends: What Investors Need to Know
• Risk vs Reward: Making Smarter Investment Decisions

Dr Ashlee Morgan

Senior Lecturer

Areas of expertise:

• Marketing
• Sponsorship
• Sport business
• Diversity and inclusion in sport
• Environmental and social impact in sport

Speaker topic suggestions:

• Changing the Game: ESG in the Sport Industry.”
• “Keeping it Real: The Power of Authentic Marketing.”

Dr Violetta Wilk

Senior Lecturer

Areas of expertise:

• Online Brand Advocacy
• User-generated content
• Big data analysis
• Social media data analysis
• Digital marketing
• Social media marketing

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “The importance of a strong personal brand in being a leader.”
• “Is generative AI going to replace me?”
• “Why paid influencer marketing is no longer the ‘in’ thing?”

Dr Judy Lundy

Lecturer

Areas of expertise:

• Inclusion and diversity
• Inclusive leadership
• Workplace wellbeing
• Workplace Learning

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Leadership and Management to Foster Inclusive and Innovative Workplaces.”
• “Towards an inclusive and sustainable future – building diverse, inclusive and equitable workplaces.”

Dr Fleur Sharafizad

Lecturer

Areas of expertise:

• Gender and Careers
• Small business
• Research Methodology

Speaker topic suggestions:

• “Gender diversity can be a competitive superpower.”

Dr Ross Yates

Lecturer

Areas of expertise:

• Project Management
• Generative AI
• Learning Technology

Speaker Topic Suggestions:

• Risk-Proofing Your Projects: Strategies for Managing Uncertainty
• Smart Decision-Making: AI-Powered Insights for Leaders