Undeterred by discouraging advice as a young student, a former Logan schoolboy has become the first alumni chancellor of the nation’s oldest private university.
In the early 1990s, a careers advisor at John Paul College in Daisy Hill told David Baxby, a Year 11 student at the time, his marks weren’t good enough to attend university.
Mr Daxby, 50, is now the first graduate of Bond University to become its chancellor.
“It is an honour to be elected as the university’s ninth chancellor,” Mr Baxby said.
“I am in a unique position as Bond’s first alumnus chancellor, and I intend to enlist the support of the alumni community to continue to grow the university in all aspects.”
Despite his career advisor’s comments, Mr Baxby not only earned good enough marks to attend university but scored a scholarship to study commerce and law at Bond.
After graduating in 1994, Mr Baxby has lived all over the world, working on a range of company boards, including as a partner and executive director at Goldman Sachs Australia and as co-CEO of the Virgin Group.
He worked in corporate finance for Arthur Andersen and Rothschild Australia and then joined Goldman as its fourth Australian hire.
While living in London, he started working with the Virgin Group and held roles in Shanghai, Singapore and Geneva.
He returned to Australia in 2017 and was appointed managing director of industrials at Wesfarmers, and in 2021 co-founded a private equity company, Coogee Capital.
“I am fortunate to have worked across a range of industries around the world and this experience has provided me with insights as to the future of work,” Mr Baxby said.
“I trust that this experience will bring valuable insights to the university, and its strategy and planning for the future.”
The university’s vice chancellor and president, Tim Brailsford, said Mr Baxby’s appointment marked a “new era” for the 35-year-old university.
“David met his wife Selina here on campus and two of their children have also recently graduated from Bond, so Bond truly runs through his family’s blood,” Professor Brailsford said.
“Despite his relative youthfulness, at least by typical chancellor standards, David brings great experience across a range of industries having spent considerable time abroad in significant roles in both Europe and Asia.
“We are ready to embrace, trust and place faith in our very own graduates to determine the future of our proud institution.”
