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OES is an online education enabler with demonstrated success in providing end to end solutions for online learning. We design, promote and deliver high-quality programs online on behalf of our university partners, supporting their growth by reaching a new cohort of students who prefer the flexibility of online study.
OES has a proven reputation in the fast-growing online education space, managing the recruitment, enrolment, learning design, teaching and support of over 10,000 students on behalf of our university partners. OES provides a full suite of services from marketing and recruitment through to graduation, including student administration and support, course design, learning management system hosting and optimisation, assessment management and market insights. We can also tailor a bundle of services to meet a university’s specific needs.
Founded as a joint venture between leading, global digital employment platform SEEK (an ASX listed company) and an Australian university, OES is a unique combination of academic rigour and commercial expertise. Our university heritage ensures we place a particular emphasis on quality teaching and learning and our approach is informed by student behaviour insights and an evidence-based pedagogical model, ensuring the student is at the centre of all aspects of learning and teaching. We are experts in designing and delivering learning journeys that reflect the specific needs of online students and this combined with world leading expertise in technology and innovation, we can help our university partners develop and deliver online programs of the highest calibre.
OES offers multi-channel marketing capability and our co-founder, SEEK, has relationships with over 700,000 hirers and 150 million candidates globally, connecting millions of individuals with job opportunities and relevant educational pathways. Through SEEK and our in house marketing and recruitment expertise, we offer our partners global student recruitment capabilities and unique employment market insights to inform new and emerging education programs.
Leveraging our depth of experience, capability and scale, we transform the student experience to produce work-ready graduates through accessible, engaging and authentic online learning.
Chair (Non-Executive)
Chair since October 2016.
Wendy is an experienced senior executive and company director, and retired in December 2016 from the role of Group Executive, Operations and Director, Melbourne for AMP Ltd. Prior to this Wendy held a number of other senior roles including Chief Operations Officer and Chief Information Officer at AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd and General Manager, Institutional Technology at ANZ Bank Ltd.
Other current directorships include Epworth Healthcare, Tower Ltd, Tower Insurance Ltd and Very Special Kids where she chairs the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee and is a member of the Remuneration Committee.
Wendy was a member of the Swinburne University Council for 9 years, and retired in December 2015. During her service as a Council member, Wendy chaired the Finance Committee. Wendy is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of FINSIA and a member of Chief Executive Women.
Non-Executive Director
Director since August 2017.
Geoff currently holds the position of Group Chief Financial Officer at SEEK where he has overall responsibility for SEEK’s global finance and administration operations. Prior to SEEK, Geoff was Managing Partner of Deloitte Victoria and Group CFO of AXA Asia Pacific.
Geoff holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Melbourne University and an Executive Masters of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Geoff was appointed to the Board of AMP Limited in July 2016 and is Chair of the Audit Committee. Geoff is also on the Board of AMP Bank, AMP Life and NMLA Life and is on the Board of Zhaopin and Chair of their Audit & Risk Committee.
Non-Executive Educational Institution Director
Director since August 2017.
Professor (Emeritus) Sally Walker was appointed as Educational Institution Director, a non-executive role representing the interests of all Education Institution partners in August 2017. Sally trained as a lawyer; after several years practising law she joined the Law School at the University of Melbourne teaching constitutional and administrative law, trade practices law and security law and developing and teaching new curricula in media, communications and information technology law.
Sally was later appointed as Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Melbourne and then went on to become Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University. In 2011 Sally was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in recognition of her contribution to education, to the law as an academic and to the advancement of women. Sally also sits on the SBS Board and she is a member of the Felton Bequests Committee.
Non-Executive Director
Director since November 2016.
Isar is the Chief Operating Officer of SEEK Investments and a member of the SEEK Group Executive Committee.
Isar is responsible for overseeing the operational performance of businesses within the SEEK Investments portfolio, which includes Zhaopin, Online Education Services, and SEEK’s early stage ventures. He also plays a senior leadership role in the Group’s investment activities.
Before this role, Isar was MD of SEEK International. Prior to working at SEEK, Isar’s career spanned both strategy and operational leadership roles at The Boston Consulting Group, Telstra, Shell, and Positivo – one of Latin America’s largest technology and education groups.
Other current directorships include Zhaopin, GO1 and Workana.
Isar has a Bachelor of Engineering from Brazil’s Federal University of Technology and an MBA from INSEAD in France where he graduated in the Dean’s List of Achievement.
Non-Executive Director
Director since August 2015.
Tennealle is Managing Director, Americas of SEEK with responsibility for Catho in Brazil and OCC in Mexico. Prior to this, Tennealle was Strategy Director – International, and responsible for leading the strategy function for all of SEEK’s international employment businesses outside of Australia and New Zealand. She was also heavily involved in the strategic thinking and initial establishment of the OES business, acting as a key SEEK representative.
Tennealle has over 15 years’ experience across corporate and growth strategy, business transformation, merger integration and operations improvement. Prior to joining SEEK, Tennealle spent five years working at A.T. Kearney, a global tier-one management consulting firm, focusing on strategic and operational CEO-agenda issues. She has also held strategic and operational roles at the Department of Infrastructure and Patrick (Toll) Group.
Tennealle was also previously a non-executive director on the board of the YWCA (Victoria).
Tennealle holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Business (Management) from Monash University and a Masters of Business Administration (Deans List), First Class Honours from the Melbourne Business School. She is also a graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course.
Non-Executive Director
Director since March 2015.
Josh is Director of Education for SEEK Ltd. Since 2004 Josh has been focused on expanding SEEK’s presence in education, and was one of the strategic architects behind SEEK Learning, a service connecting working adults with courses to develop their careers. Josh’s experience also includes his role as Strategy Director of THINK Education Group, which was part of the SEEK Group during this time.
Other current directorships include the Board of Universidad en Línea (UTEL) as part of SEEK’s investment in the Mexican Online University.
Prior to SEEK Josh worked as a strategy consultant with Accenture and holds a Bachelor Degree from the University of Tasmania with majors in International Business and Japanese.
Non-Executive Director
Director since August 2018.
Chris joined SEEK in 2016 and in a member of the SEEK Investments team. In his role he is responsible for Corporate Development including mergers and acquisitions and management of the investment portfolio. Chris brings to this role extensive experience in this area having worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Citi Group. Chris also previously worked at Accenture and ExxonMobil prior to his MBA.
Chris holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of Manchester and a Master of Business Administration from London Business School.
Other current directorships include GO1, FutureLearn and SideKicker.
Chief Executive Officer
Denice Pitt has been Chief Executive Officer of Online Education Services since the company was launched in July, 2011. As CEO Denice is committed to delivering high quality, innovative online education while at the same time ensuring the company’s continued financial viability and growth. Under her leadership, OES was named BRW Fastest Growing Company in 2015.
Denice brings to education a wealth of leadership experience, having previously served as President and Country Head of Aegis Australia. Her prior roles include Vice President of Operations, Chief Operating Officer and CEO of the UCMS Group Ltd, as well as National Customer Service Manager of Optus. These experiences inform not only the effective business functioning of OES, but also the outstanding customer service which is delivered to OES clients at every stage of the value chain.
Denice is equally committed to promoting a positive organisational culture for the OES team and supporting the balance of career and home for the staff. Staff engagement for both in-house and offsite workforces has regularly been measured at more than 80%, qualifying OES for best employer awards on multiple occasions.
Denice is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and Board Member for Firbank Grammar and previously for Good Shepherd Microfinance.
Chief Financial Officer
Mark Doughty has been Chief Financial Officer for Online Education Services since 2013 and is an experienced finance professional with a specialism in fast growth internet and technology businesses. Mark also has significant experience from the online learning environment having been Chief Financial Officer for several years at the UK based Interactive University.
Prior to OES, Mark spent three years as Chief Financial Officer of UK web business Cupid plc taking the business from its early stages through to London stock exchange listing and international growth.
Mark has further web environment experience from four years as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of ASX Listed mobile web content business Jumbuck Entertainment.
In 2012 Mark was shortlisted for UK Listed Company CFO of the Year.
Mark is also a PWC qualified Chartered Accountant.
Executive Director, Growth Initiatives
Kay Lipson brings to OES many years of experience in the delivery and management of online education. She has previously undertaken academic roles at the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and Swinburne University of Technology, with her most recent academic role in leadership as Dean of the Faculty of Higher Education, Lilydale, at Swinburne University of Technology.
Kay joined OES in July 2011, as the inaugural Academic Dean, responsible for the design and delivery of the online student experience. Her understanding of pedagogy, and in particular the challenges facing an online student inform much of the current OES learning and support model.
Kay has more recently moved into the role of Executive Director of Growth Initiatives. In this role she pursues a growth and innovation agenda, exploring both for new opportunities for the company as well as initiatives which optimise the learning experience for all students.
Kay’s academic discipline area is Statistics. She is a well-published author of secondary level mathematics text books, and has research interests in the areas of assessment and teaching with technology.
Executive Director, IT & Operations
Matt is the Executive Director of IT & Operations for OES. In this role he oversees the Information Technology, Student Services, Student Advisor and Student Placement teams. He was one of the original Executive Team members of OES.
Matt has extensive experience in the successful establishment and optimization of information technology and operational platforms through his various executive technology and operational roles at SEEK, Coles Myer and ABN AMRO Australia, and his time as a consultant for Price Waterhouse in the Financial Services sector in Australia and the United States. These roles involved broad strategic, delivery and operational responsibilities across Australia, the Asia Pacific and US regions.
Matt is particularly passionate about the role technology can play in online learning and support, and enjoys providing thought leadership and valued insights into the role evolving technologies can play to create a high quality student experience. He is also committed to championing the OES mantra of outstanding customer service throughout his teams in all their interactions with OES clients.
Executive Director, Strategy
Ivar Berget joined OES as Executive Director of Strategy in 2017, and is an experienced strategy professional with a corporate, consulting and military background. Ivar brings strong skills within strategy development, implementation planning and general leadership and management to the team.
Prior to joining OES, Ivar spent over three years in the Strategy and Delivery Team at Coles Supermarkets Australia and worked for several years in management consulting with leading global management consulting firm, A.T. Kearney. His focus on consumer industries has driven a passion for real and positive customer outcomes.
Originally from Norway, Ivar served in the Norwegian Army and Norwegian Ministry of Defence for close to 12 years, leaving at the rank of Major. These positions encompassed a great amount of leadership, policy, strategy, and tactical planning and execution.
Ivar holds a Bachelor of Military Studies from the Norwegian Military Academy, a Master of International Affairs from Australian National University, and an Executive MBA from ESCP Europe and Norwegian School of Management.
Executive Director, Academic
Sue Kokonis brings 25 years’ experience in tertiary education in face to face, blended and online environments. Sue has held academic leadership roles in Higher Education learning and teaching including Deputy Dean and Associate Dean.
Sue is highly experienced in transforming learning and teaching and working with key academic stakeholders to achieve this. Sue oversees the educational portfolio at Online Education Services, spanning the design, delivery and quality assurance of over 50 programs across 3 partners.
The quality of these programs have been endorsed by high student satisfaction ratings and external accrediting bodies such as TEQSA, APAC, ANMAC, CPA, FASEA, CAANZ, FPA, VIT, and NESA
Executive Director, Sales & Marketing
Michael Smolders is Executive Director Sales & Marketing having joined Online Education Services (OES) in June 2019. With a passion for consumer behaviour, Michael drives strong sales and customer satisfaction outcomes through his advocacy for business change grounded in consumer insight.
After spending more than 20 years in marketing and product management roles for leading brands across the education, financial services and retail sectors, Michael knows that successful business growth comes from genuinely putting the consumer at the heart of the decision making process, and by delivering seamless, memorable service experiences to consumers.
Michael’s achievements include launching new product suites generating up to $1b in revenue, and leading global marketing teams that delivered new digital education experiences to adult learners.
Prior to joining OES, Michael worked for leading brands including CPA Australia, ING Direct, Commonwealth Bank and David Jones.
Michael holds a B.Bus (Mkt) and MBA (Strat. Mgt), both with Charles Sturt University. Michael draws personal and professional inspiration from cultural travel, amazing food experiences, and the arts – as member of Melbourne’s major theatre, opera, symphony and art institutions.
Executive Director, Human Resources
Shanyn Payne has been a part of Online Education Services (OES) since its inception in 2011 and is the Executive Director of Human Resources. She is responsible for leading and advising on people-related strategies across the business and brings with her a broad range of experience, specialising in organisational development and employee engagement.
Shanyn was instrumental in creating and implementing OES people strategies involving recruitment, remuneration, leadership development and organisational change. Her drive and passion in these areas saw her lead OES to achieve an Aon Hewitt Best Employer accreditation for four consecutive years and receive the ‘Best of the Best’ award in 2017.
Prior to working at OES, Shanyn held Human Resources roles at SEEK, Pulse Pharmacy, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API), Computershare and Woolworths Ltd.
Executive Director - Partnerships (APAC)
Gavin Fleer joined OES in 2015 and is an experienced commercial operator within the education industry, with demonstrated expertise in building long-term, successful and sustainable partnerships. At OES, Gavin is responsible for establishing new partnerships and for the health and growth of our existing university partnerships.
Prior to joining OES, Gavin worked for several years at SEEK, the world’s largest online employment marketplace. Gavin started in SEEK’s education division where he led the team responsible for developing and managing SEEK Learning’s education provider partnerships. Gavin then moved into the international team where he managed SEEK’s majority investment in Zhaopin, the leading online employment marketplace in China.
Before joining SEEK, Gavin was a lawyer at King & Wood Mallesons, specialising in commercial law.
Managing Director – UK
Andrea Burrows is Managing Director for OES’ UK operations. She is an experienced executive director with a track record in sales, growth and general management including strategy, operations, people and finance. In 2017, Andrea was named as a British Interactive Media Association Hot 100 in the CEO and Leaders category.
In her last role, Andrea worked as Managing Director of a UK top 20 design and build digital agency. The agency partnered with clients to define organisation-wide digital strategies, crafting mobile first digital experiences, building impactful brands and creating persuasive campaigns. Prior to this, Andrea has been instrumental in leading merger and acquisition processes for digital brands and management buy outs, where she was key in taking a company from a UK focussed agency to the headquarters of a global network and growing the business to a top three in the sector.
Born in the North East of England, Andrea studied at Cardiff University, Wales and after graduating with a first class honours, Andrea moved to London to work in media. In 2012 she completed a Global MBA at Durham University. Andrea is currently the Industry Advisory Board Member for Digital Leadership at the University of Aberdeen.
Program Director, Nursing and Health Science
Cathy is a pedagogy specialist in digital environments with a track record of leading evidence-based teaching and learning initiatives. A pioneer in online health professional education, she has published a number of papers on online instruction and nursing.
In 2016, Cathy was professionally recognised by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) due to her extensive experience and selected as a curriculum reviewer. Prior to joining OES, Cathy was Head of Program for a suite of post-graduate programs at Western Sydney University, leading a team to focus on student-centred learning outcomes.
She holds a BHlthSc Nsg, MCN, Grad. Cert in Higher Education (Teaching and Learning) and a Doctor of Nursing from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Program Director, Psychology and Social Science
Nikki is a registered psychologist, with a professional interest across the social sciences. She joined OES after a successful 20 year academic career at Monash University, during which she held several senior academic roles including Associate Professor of Psychology, Chair of the School Accreditation and Quality Committee, and President of the Australian Music and Psychology Society. Nikki has an established research program, with special interests in music psychology, positive psychology and e-mental health. She was awarded her PhD in Psychology in 1995, and has a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Honours) from La Trobe University.
Program Director, MBA, Management, Logistics and Sports Management
Heather’s successful career in business and education spans almost 30 years. She has published numerous papers on management strategies and currently runs a consultancy specialising in business and HR strategy, executive coaching, leadership and executive development. Heather joins OES after years of delivering post-graduate programs to executives at Swinburne University of Technology. As Program Director she is responsible for overseeing the successful delivery of a suite of business degrees.
Program Director, Education
Rhonni has more than 16 years’ experience in education roles, with a background in science, teaching and educational design. She joined OES in 2012, and has contributed across facilitation, learning design, and leadership. In the role of Program Director, Rhonni oversees the design and delivery of our Education courses. She holds a B.Sc., Grad. Dip. Ed., Grad. Cert in Educational Design, is an Organisational Coach, and is currently completing her Master of Learning Sciences and Technology.
Program Director, Accounting, Marketing and Public Relations
Andrew has worked in both senior administrative and academic roles at a number of universities. He joined OES from Melbourne Polytechnic where he was a Senior Lecturer in Flexible Learning. He has worked previously at Victoria University, where he taught in the innovative professional development stream of units in the Business faculty and was a research fellow in the Department of Accounting at The University of Melbourne. Andrew is completing a PhD in Information Systems at Victoria University.
Academic Director
Erin is an experienced university manager and strategist. Following a degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD in aerodynamics, he pursued an academic career and became one of Australia’s youngest engineering professors. Erin moved into university leadership and served in a number of positions including Dean of Engineering at Central Queensland University and Head of the Melbourne School of Energy and Environment at Melbourne University Private. Erin then took his career in a different direction and over the next 15 years established and grew a highly successful management consulting business. He returned to the higher education sector in 2015 as Academic Partnerships Manager with Open Universities Australia, and joined OES in August 2017.
Director of Learning
Diane has held senior management positions in primary and higher education providing leadership in teaching, professional development and learning design. Diane commenced at OES in 2011 as Manager of the Learning Design team. Prior to OES, she worked as a lecturer in higher education at Swinburne University of Technology and various academic development and online learning project management roles at RMIT and Victoria University. She holds a Bachelor of Education from University of Melbourne and a Master of Education from RMIT University.
UK Academic Director
Professor Gilly Salmon has been a learning innovator for more than 30 years and is one of the world’s leading thinkers, researchers and practitioners in learning futures. She joined OES from the University of Liverpool where she was Professor of Innovation and Transformation. Previously she was at The University of Western Australia as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education Futures) and Pro Vice-Chancellor at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, where she set up the Learning Transformations Unit and was involved in the founding and development of OES.
Gilly publishes and blogs widely on the themes of innovation and change in higher education and the exploitation of new technologies in the service of learning. Her books ‘E-moderating’ and ‘E-tivities’ are considered seminal texts, and her ‘Carpe Diem’ learning design methodology is used internationally across many sectors.
jul
SEEK and Swinburne University of Technology launch joint venture Online Education Services (Trading as Swinburne Online), operating out of the SEEK offices
jul
Leadership Team and Board established
oct
Build of units commences
nov
Student enrolment commences
feb
First eLearning Advisor's hired for our remote workforce
mar
First Teaching Period commences with over 500 students enrolled in eight programs
sep
Direct sales channel launches for Teaching Period 3 recruitment
nov
Over 1,000 students enrolled at Swinburne Online
mar
Swinburne Online launches first postgraduate course: Master of Teaching
jun
60 employees hired leads to an expansion across the whole of Level 1 of the SEEK premises
jun
OES doubles it’s remote workforce to reach 120 eLAs
nov
Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) added to Swinburne Online suite of courses
nov
Over 4,000 students enrolled at Swinburne Online in 11 programs
mar
First six Swinburne Online students graduate
mar
Swinburne Online launches new Postgraduate courses: MBA and Master of Professional Accounting
mar
Bachelor of Design and Bachelor of Education (Primary) added to Swinburne Online suite of courses
may
AON Hewitt Best Employer Award - October – OES reaches #4 BRW Fast 100 2014
nov
Over 6,000 students enrolled at Swinburne Online in 15 higher education programs
dec
First TVC launched (we’ll see you through)
dec
82 Swinburne Online graduates for the year
mar
Moved locations out of SEEK office to OES-branded office space
may
AON Hewitt Best Employer 2nd year running
sep
TAFE courses launched with five business diplomas
sep
International courses launched
oct
OES reaches #1 on BRW Fast 100 2015
nov
Over 8,000 students enrolled at Swinburne Online in 20 higher education programs
dec
545 graduates for the year
mar
First three international students commence
may
AON Hewitt Best Employer for 3rd consecutive year
aug
1,100 graduates reached
aug
Over 9,500 students enrolled at Swinburne Online in 20 higher education programs
mar
SEEK increase ownership in OES from 50 percent to 80 percent
jun
2,190 graduates through Swinburne Online
jul
OES named ‘Best of the Best’ in Aon Hewitt Best Employer awards and accredited as a Best Employer for fourth consecutive year
aug
Over 10,000 students enrolled
sep
Western Sydney University becomes second university partner. Five new undergraduate degrees across Business and Social Science launched through Western Sydney University Online
apr
OES’s first international office opens in London, UK.
oct
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) becomes OES’s third university partner. QUT Online launches six weeks after the partnership is announced, offering postgraduate courses across health, communications, business and education.
nov
OES acquires UK online program management provider the Interactive Design Institute (IDI). IDI is an end-to-end online education provider, delivering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees through partnerships with the University of Hertfordshire and the University of Aberdeen.