30 Australian Higher Education COOs and Leaders

Jonno White

Aug 10

8 min read

Introduction

The people who keep higher education moving are often less visible than the vice-chancellors, deans and public-facing academics. Yet Australian higher education COOs and operations leaders shape the services, systems, places and decisions that determine whether staff and students can do their best work.

This is a practical starting point for understanding that work. It brings together current operating leaders from universities, colleges, admissions services and higher education providers, with each role presented in the context of the organisation it serves.

Titles vary across the sector. Some leaders hold a formal COO title, while others lead corporate services, operations, administration or a major operating function. Together, they show the range of work that sits behind a healthy higher education institution.

30 Australian higher education COOs and leaders

1. Andrew Flannery

Chief Operating Officer, University of Queensland

Andrew Flannery is Chief Operating Officer at University of Queensland. His portfolio spans financial, physical, human, marketing and communications, legal, corporate, commercial, information technology and safety responsibilities. That broad remit makes him a useful example of how operating leadership can sit across the full university system. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

2. Bill Parasiris

Chief Operating Officer, Western Sydney University

Bill Parasiris is Chief Operating Officer at Western Sydney University. The university says he oversees finance, people, data, technology and cyber, and property. His remit shows how the modern university COO connects core services with technology and estate decisions. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

3. Chris Pemberton

Interim Chief Operating Officer, Swinburne University of Technology

Chris Pemberton is Interim Chief Operating Officer at Swinburne University of Technology. He joined Swinburne in June 2025 and oversees finance, commercial, campus planning, facilities, legal and risk, IT and digital, and people and culture. That combination is a clear illustration of the service and operations layer behind a technology-focused university. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

4. Cliff Kaye

Chief Operating and Financial Officer, University of Southern Queensland

Cliff Kaye is Chief Operating and Financial Officer at University of Southern Queensland. His portfolio covers corporate services, operations and infrastructure, enterprise transformation, finance, people, information technology and facilities. The combined operating and financial mandate is especially relevant for institutions balancing service quality with disciplined execution. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

5. David Menarry

Interim Chief Operating Officer, Curtin University

David Menarry is Interim Chief Operating Officer at Curtin University. Curtin identifies him as Interim Chief Operating Officer and notes his earlier leadership as Chief Financial Officer. That path reflects how financial stewardship can provide a practical foundation for wider operating accountability. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

6. Emma Bowen

Chief Operating Officer, Charles Sturt University

Emma Bowen is Chief Operating Officer at Charles Sturt University. Her office leads the university’s physical and technological development, organisational change and service support. It is a useful example of an operating role that connects the campus, the systems and the way work gets done. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

7. Fiona Notley

Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President, RMIT University

Fiona Notley is Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President at RMIT University. RMIT lists her as Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President, with responsibility for university operations and corporate services. Her role shows the breadth of operational leadership in a large, multi-campus higher education organisation. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

8. Glen Babington

Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President, University of Technology Sydney

Glen Babington is Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President at University of Technology Sydney. His portfolio includes finance, marketing and communications, property, information technology, human resources, legal, data and analytics. That cross-functional span makes his role a strong example of the COO as an integrator of university services. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

9. Hilary Kavanagh

Chief Operating Officer, Services Division, James Cook University

Hilary Kavanagh is Chief Operating Officer, Services Division at James Cook University. Her responsibilities include administration, estate, human resources, marketing and future students, service transformation and technology. The mix of student-facing and enabling functions highlights the operational complexity of a regional university. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

10. James Murray-Beckman

Interim Chief Operating Officer, OES

James Murray-Beckman is Interim Chief Operating Officer at OES. OES describes his background as spanning technology, SaaS, digital, operations, finance and product across more than 15 years. He brings a higher education technology perspective to the broader operations conversation. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

11. Jonathan Pheasant

Vice-President Corporate Services and Chief Operating Officer, Flinders University

Jonathan Pheasant is Vice-President Corporate Services and Chief Operating Officer at Flinders University. Flinders says his portfolio covers the university’s core business services. That positioning makes him a useful example of corporate services leadership at the centre of institutional delivery. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

12. Katerina Kapobassis

Vice-President Administration and Finance and Chief Operating Officer, University of Melbourne

Katerina Kapobassis is Vice-President Administration and Finance and Chief Operating Officer at University of Melbourne. Her portfolio includes finance, property, technology, legal and risk, people, business services, strategy, governance and sustainability. The range of functions shows why operating leadership in a major university is both strategic and deeply practical. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

13. Mark Smith

Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President Operations, La Trobe University

Mark Smith is Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President Operations at La Trobe University. La Trobe says he leads professional and administrative support and the Transformation Program. That combination captures the COO’s role in both keeping the institution running and changing how it works. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

14. Michelle Crosby

Chief Operating Officer, Bond University

Michelle Crosby is Chief Operating Officer at Bond University. Bond describes her remit as operational and enabling services, service excellence, governance, digital uplift and organisational performance. Her remit is a concise example of how service quality and operating improvement can sit together. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

15. Michael Schwager

Chief Operating Officer, Australian National University

Michael Schwager is Chief Operating Officer at Australian National University. ANU lists him as Chief Operating Officer and notes that he commenced in March 2026 on secondment from the Australian Public Service. The current appointment is a timely example of public sector operating experience moving into university leadership. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

16. Morven Cameron

Interim Chief Operating Officer, University of Newcastle

Morven Cameron is Interim Chief Operating Officer at University of Newcastle. The university’s executive leadership page identifies her as Interim Chief Operating Officer. An interim operating appointment still carries the practical responsibility of keeping a complex institution moving. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

17. Narelle Pearse

Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, CQUniversity

Narelle Pearse is Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer at CQUniversity. Her portfolio includes facilities and projects, digital, legal and commercial, finance, strategy, risk, planning, governance and analytics. The scope is a strong example of operating leadership across a geographically distributed university. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

18. Nicole Gower

Vice-President Operations, University of Sydney

Nicole Gower is Vice-President Operations at University of Sydney. She has direct responsibility for university infrastructure, campus operations, finance, human resources, ICT, risk, safety and wellbeing. Her remit shows how university operations link physical places, people systems and risk decisions. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

19. Patrick Woods

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Corporate, Australian Catholic University

Patrick Woods is Deputy Vice-Chancellor Corporate at Australian Catholic University. ACU says his office oversees the corporate services portfolio, including the Office of the Chief Operating Officer. He belongs in this wider operations group because corporate leadership sets the conditions for reliable institutional service. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

20. Scott Henderson

Vice-President Corporate Services, Edith Cowan University

Scott Henderson is Vice-President Corporate Services at Edith Cowan University. ECU lists him as Vice-President Corporate Services on its executive team page. Corporate services leadership is an important adjacent seat in any conversation about university operations. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

21. Stephen Phillips

Vice-President Operations, University of Wollongong

Stephen Phillips is Vice-President Operations at University of Wollongong. His portfolio covers operational performance, finance, people and culture, infrastructure, digital transformation, sustainability and corporate services. That remit makes the role a clear example of operations as a whole-of-university discipline. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

22. Tobi Wilson

Vice-President Operations and Chief Operating Officer, UNSW Sydney

Tobi Wilson is Vice-President Operations and Chief Operating Officer at UNSW Sydney. UNSW says he commenced in August 2025 and leads finance, IT, estate management, people and culture, enterprise data and portfolio management. His current remit shows how the university operating model joins services, data, technology and place. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

23. Simon Kupec

Interim Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice-President, Monash University

Simon Kupec is Interim Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice-President at Monash University. Monash’s current council committee document lists him as Interim Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice-President as at 1 January 2026. The interim appointment is a current example of senior operating responsibility during institutional change. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

24. Anna Krajewska

Executive Director Operations, UTS College

Anna Krajewska is Executive Director Operations at UTS College. UTS College says she coordinates administration, IT and digital services, facilities and other operations, with more than 20 years in education operations management. Her role shows what operations leadership looks like inside a specialist higher education pathway provider. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

25. Anthony Elliott

Chief Operating Officer, Open Universities Australia

Anthony Elliott is Chief Operating Officer at Open Universities Australia. His remit includes business transformation, continuous improvement, operating model, strategy, analytics and change. That focus is especially relevant to online higher education, where the operating model is part of the student experience. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

26. Nerida Bewick

Chief Operations and Products Officer, UAC

Nerida Bewick is Chief Operations and Products Officer at UAC. UAC says she leads policies and procedures for operations and products, admissions applications, applicant queries and data for business planning. Her role makes the admissions system itself a useful lens on higher education operations. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

27. Peter McCrindle

Chief Operating Officer, Morling College

Peter McCrindle is Chief Operating Officer at Morling College. Morling lists him as Chief Operating Officer in its current executive leadership team. He represents the operating leadership required in a specialist higher education institution. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

28. Mai-Lynda Allen

Chief Operating Officer, UNSW College

Mai-Lynda Allen is Chief Operating Officer at UNSW College. UNSW College says her remit includes human resources, legal and compliance, and information technology, backed by more than 15 years in higher education. That combination shows how college operations depend on disciplined enabling functions as well as student delivery. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

29. Vicki Golsby

Director of Academic Operations, Australian Institute of Business

Vicki Golsby is Director of Academic Operations at Australian Institute of Business. Her responsibilities include governance and reporting, admissions, transcripts, workforce and grades, curriculum and sector reporting. Academic operations is a direct and important part of the wider higher education operations picture. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

30. Carlos Munoz

Chief Operating Officer, Group Colleges Australia

Carlos Munoz is Chief Operating Officer at Group Colleges Australia. The group’s March 2025 executive leadership document lists him as Chief Operating Officer across higher education administration, operations, admissions and student services. His role brings a private college group perspective to the list’s broader higher education scope. Read the official leadership profile for the current role description.

Conclusion

The best operations leaders make complexity easier to carry. They connect the daily details of finance, people, technology, property, governance and service delivery to the bigger purpose of the institution.

The roles in this list are different, but the shared challenge is familiar: make it easier for people to do meaningful work, and make the organisation more dependable as it grows and changes.

A practical next step

If your executive team needs a clearer operating rhythm, a stronger shared language or a practical reset, that is the kind of work I love doing. The goal is simple: something leaders can use on Monday morning, not a feeling that fades by Friday.

Jonno White helps leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at. He writes about practical leadership and the systems that help good teams do their best work.

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