From the CEO

From the CEO

7 Dec 2015

Dear members,

Further to the recent update from the National President, I can confirm that I am retiring as CEO of the Institute after 11 years in the role. It has been a long time at the helm and I have enjoyed the opportunity to lead the staff and work with so many talented members at all levels across the organisation. Clearly it is impossible to summarise 11 years of activity across the many fronts of the Institute, but there have been many highlights.  Some of these include:

  • The successful creation of the Corporate Partners program.
  • Delivering 11 successful National Conferences under the Creative Director model with approximately 1500 attendees this year.
  • Development of 14 National policies on various important topics to advocate to government at all levels.
  • Successfully advocating for state/territory Government Architects to help inform policy and progress within the governments around the nation
  • Improving our accommodation around the country culminating with the delivery of 41 Exhibition Street in Melbourne.
  • The successful delivery of five exhibitions at the Venice Architecture Biennale with a sixth in the final stage of planning and to have a fantastic permanent facility in Venice
  • Growth in membership from around 9000 now over 12,000 members thanks mainly to the A+ membership model.
  • The creation of a vehicle to represent our young and emerging graduates and architects across the country through the EmAGN groups.
  • The growth in our National Awards program as the flagship of recognising the work of our members though rigorous peer review at both state/territory and National level.
  • The successful collaboration with the Property Council, Green Building Council, Planning Institute and Consult Australia to deliver five summits under the Built Environment Meets Parliament (BEMP) brand in Canberra.
  • Ensuring the organisation is well supported by our subsidiary and associated companies Planned Cover, Archicentre and Architecture Media.

While there has been a lot of success at the Institute there are real and current challenges facing both the profession and the organisation. I support National Council in seeking to narrow our focus over the next three years. This will mean reducing energies in some areas to strengthen the core areas of activity: Member Services, Education and Advocacy.

The profession will continue to be challenged on many fronts through poor procurement practices, market competition, increased free trade in goods and services and the need to constantly innovate with technology and people, but I believe that the Institute’s future is very strong and that its existence is central to navigating the challenges we face in the profession.

I wish all of our members, talented staff, key stakeholders and collaborators all the best for the future. Thank you for the opportunity to work with you over the past 11 years.

 

Kind Regards,

David Parken
CEO