Meet TEC Chairs

Professor Robert Nordlinger

Name:

Professor Robert Nordlinger

Chair since:

1995

State:

VIC

TEC Group:

TEC 12

Biography:

A TEC Chair since 1995, Bob has twice been Australian Chair of the Year (2001 and 2003) and is the inaugural winner of the Phil Meddings Award as well as 5 International and 21 Australian Chair Excellence awards.  He has also received two Speaker of the Year awards for his resource sessions on Strategic Planning and Balanced Score Card.

Career & Achievements: Founder and Consulting Director of Superior Strategy Pty Ltd, Bob enjoys an international reputation as a lecturer, facilitator and consultant in strategic management. This follows a long and distinguished career in Australian management.  After coming to Melbourne with consultants, McKinsey and Co. in 1972, Bob spent the following 20 years as CEO of major Australian companies spanning a broad range of industries, including:

  • Chair and CEO - ICF Kaiser Engineers Australia
  • Managing Director - John Holland Group Limited
  • Chair - Associated International Finance
  • Chair and Managing Director - Professional and Corporate Equipment
  • Chair and Managing Director - Freighter Industries Limited
  • Chair - Sandridge City Development Company

Bob's career has included five successful turnarounds and two company start ups.  He has served on the boards of a broad range of public and private companies, across industries as diverse as computers, engineering, property development, financial services and insurance. Bob has also given service to the public sector of Victoria, as Chair of the Victorian TAB and Chair of the Victorian Tourism Commission.

In addition to his activities in the business community, Bob has served the medical, arts and general communities in numerous positions which have included Deputy Chair of Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, Deputy Chair of the Victorian Wine Industry Association, the boards of the major theatre companies, the Committee of the Castlemaine State Festival and Chair of the Aboriginal Art Committee of the National Gallery of Victoria.

In early 1994, Bob took two years away from his business career to accept an invitation as Visiting Professorial Fellow at Monash University in the David Syme School of Management. At Monash, he became subject leader in the areas of Strategic Planning and Management, International Business Operations and Systems Thinking.  Bob continues to be in demand in these fields and has since taught Masters and Doctoral students at Swinburne University in Melbourne, where he is Adjunct Professor in the Australian School of Graduate School of Entrepreneurship.