Within weeks of finishing her Executive Master of
Business Administration (EMBA) with RMIT, through Open Universities Australia (OUA), Louise was offered
the role of her dreams: Acting Deputy
Executive Director of Safety and Security for Sydney Metro. She sat down with OUA
to tell us how she did it.
Ask any leader in business, and they’ll likely tell you that their road
to where they are today was hardly linear. For Louise, this couldn’t be more
true.
Sitting across the table in a well-fitted suit, the executive leader
tells us that, once-upon-a-time, she had studied (and was working in) occupational
therapy.
“I lasted about 18 months,” Louise laughs.
Within minutes of speaking to Louise, it’s clear that she’s a woman who
knows what she wants out of life. Unafraid of a challenge, she reassessed her
future.
Seeing her husband suffer a workplace injury confirmed what she had
suspected. She wanted to prevent injury occurring in the first place, instead
of focusing on the “fixing side of things”.
It was this that convinced Louise to study a Masters of Work Health – a
path that lead her to a successful career in health and safety for over 10
years. But for Louise, she hadn’t yet reached her dreams.
Her ultimate goal? To become an executive leader in work health and
safety. Through the Executive Master of
Business Administration, she achieved just that.
The need for an executive skillset
To get to the next level in an industry she had already spent a decade
in, Louise knew she needed to expand her skills.
“A really effective work health and safety professional, in my opinion,
is being able to tap into other parts of the business, having some financial
acumen, people management skills…” Louise explains.
“Leadership is a big one in work health and safety… the ability to
influence people… That’s what the Executive MBA at RMIT offered me,” she says.
With a history working for the government, Louise knew that financial
knowledge, in particular, would progress her career.
“We’re working with tax-payers money,” she explains.
Today, Louise oversees the health and safety of contracted employees
across road and rail projects worth approximately 80-100 billion dollars.
An exercise in research
With a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Masters of Work Health and
Safety under her belt, Louise was no stranger to study. So when she realised
she needed to return to the books one more time, she knew research was key.
“I wanted to make sure it was the right decision,” she says.
“You didn’t have to go to each university’s website. The curriculum, the
course content… it was all there,” Louise recalls of weighing up different
MBAs on the Open Universities
Australia website.
When she needed further guidance, she found herself supported over the
phone, too.
“The call centre was really helpful. Everybody was really knowledgeable.
I never really had a problem with accessing information.”
Choosing the Executive MBA
“The reason I chose OUA and RMIT was to have a certificate from a great university, Louise says.
By choosing the Executive Master of
Business in particular, as opposed to a more traditional Master of Business,
Louise ensured her degree was accredited by the prestigious European Foundation
for Management Development Program Accreditation System.
What sets her degree apart is the course’s focus on business design in
particular. The course has been applauded for its ability to help leaders
analyse the architecture of business problems, and take creative, innovative
approaches with their solutions.
Louise: The executive leader
Today, Louise lives the high-powered life she once dreamed of.
“The ability to work via correspondence via OUA… it wouldn’t have been possible otherwise to work full-time and also
study.”
And while she’s thrilled with her new role, Louise isn’t slowing down any
time soon.
“The end point? A Chief Executive Officer is not out of the realms of possibility, she grins.
Become the leader you want to be
Keen to follow in Louise’s footsteps and take on an executive role?
Anything is possible through Open Universities Australia.
To learn more about how to study through OUA – fill out the form on
this page, and a friendly student advisor will get in contact. You can also
chat to them on OUA’s website Messenger service,
Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or SMS. They’ll help you find
the right course for your future.
Otherwise, head over to the website to browse hundreds
of degrees and subjects from leading Australian
universities right now.
