Liz Morgan-Brett will be starting with AIG as the new CEO on Monday 16 August and we feel very lucky to have her on board.
Coming from Sydney, Liz was the CEO of Activate UTS for 10 years and under her direction, redeveloped their assets to $150 million. “Interestingly there is a lot of synergy between my previous company and AIG. Activate UTS is a not-for-profit with a strong commercial presence for the University of Technology in Sydney and businesses around the university in a wealth generation capacity. All of the revenue that we generated from two bars, two cafés, a retail store, a function centre, two fitness centres and licenced clubs which generated about $22 million per annum, we put into leadership programs, 34 sports clubs that serviced about 5000 members and 165 social clubs that serviced 18,000 members”.
The idea of wealth creation through commercial enterprise to be used for social development sits at the core of what AIG does, and to have Liz’s experience in growth and management is a real coup for AIG.
40 years in the making
When asked what attracted Liz to AIG enough to uproot her and her family and move to Darwin, she explained working with Indigenous Australians has been 40 years in the making. “I grew up in North Queensland in the 70’s when care for, dignity and respect for our Indigenous Australians wasn’t there, in fact it was the antithesis of that, and I found it disgraceful. I have carried that with me for 40 years and it is time for me to do something about it.
People in positions of privilege, like I have been my entire life, have to do something, and it was time. I saw an opportunity and I saw a company that is amazing with driven people and I want to harness that. I see so much opportunity for growth and diversity and I want to make a difference, not just to our community but for the team and for the Northern Territory”.
Teamwork and continuous improvement are the recipe for growth
A decade as CEO for Activate UTS was divided into two phases for Liz. Initially it was about rapid growth and then progressed onto building better teams through continuous improvement.
“The first five years was about fast growth through new revenue streams, removing non-performing revenue streams and cementing our revenue streams strategy going forward.
Once I got the company to a level of delivery that I was happy with, I could take my eyes off being involved in the business and sit up on top and ensure we were looking at the horizon appropriately to develop the team.
The second five years was building better teams through continuous improvement and improving the skill sets of the teams for efficiencies. My philosophy is continuous improvement. We don’t have to be there now, but every day we have to take a step towards getting towards that end goal”.
Developing board capacity was a large part of the Liz’s approach to management. “Activate UTS is a not-for-profit corporation so as the CEO I reported to 13 board of directors, seven of which were students at the university. That means we had 17-25 year old’s on the board of a multi-million dollar company which was a wonderful growth opportunity for those individuals.
We spent a great deal of time mentoring our directors and developing them so they could execute their duties. We transferred those skills down to the next level of staff as well”.
AIG has opportunity to grow
Liz wants to build on what has already been created under Steve and Alexa’s management and deliver more to people living in communities in the NT. “I am so impressed by the work that has been done so far and programs and services that AIG has been able to deliver.
What excites me is the opportunity to expand the services and programs by delivering new revenue streams and continuing to have a strong and positive relationship with government agencies. This will allow us to grow and deliver more for the people”.
I have a lot to learn. This is not an area that I know and I’m going to need everyone’s help to fast track my understanding of Aboriginal communities, and I promise that I will do everything I can to deliver what people need as quickly as I can”.
Welcome aboard Liz!!
