La Trobe Business School Executive

Professor Aron O’Cass

Professor Aron O’Cass is the Dean of the La Trobe Business School. He is a world-renowned expert in marketing strategy, innovation and new product development, brand management and data analysis, and a champion of industry engagement in higher education. Aron brings together insights from strategy, firm resources and capabilities, and examines their effect on branding, value creation, innovation and firm performance in the context of goods and services. Aron has published many articles in leading international journals, receiving over 22,000 citations (H-index of 71 google). He is rated in the top 1% of research productive marketing scholars globally for both career and single year impact. Aron has been a Chief Investigator on Australian Research Council Discovery and Industrial Training Centre grants and served on the Australian Research Council College of Experts and on the Excellence in Research Australia Committee.

Associate Professor Michael Volkov

Associate Professor Michael Volkov is the Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching in the La Trobe Business School. With over 20 years’ experience in higher education and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, he places students and staff at the centre of his endeavours. Michael is regularly invited to present at other institutions and serve on expert and advisory panels in matters of learning and teaching, accreditation, curriculum design and strategy, and appointments. His research focuses on consumer behaviour and teaching and learning, with publications appearing in leading international journals including the European Journal of Marketing, British Journal of Educational Technology, Education &Training, Journal of Marketing Management, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, and International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning. He is co-author of the leading international textbook, Principles of Marketing, with Gary Armstrong, Sara Denize and Philip Kotler.

Associate Professor Geraldine Kennett is the Associate Dean Academic Partnerships in the La Trobe Business School responsible for leading the School’s domestic and international engagement with academic and industry partners. Associate Professor Kennett brings to the Business School more than 25 years’ experience in leadership positions in retail and association management. Before joining La Trobe University, she was the Institute for Public Administration Australia’s Victorian Chief Executive Officer responsible for leading the strategic direction, professional development programs, national and international partnerships, and services for members. Associate Professor Kennett was also Australian Industry Group’s Membership Strategy Manager and Australian Human Resource Institute’s, Professional Development and Membership Manager. She served for eight years as Deputy Chair of Multicultural Arts Victoria and four years a Board member of Connecting Home (formerly Stolen Generation Victoria). Associate Professor Kennett has specialist expertise in leading, managing and growing sustainable not-for-profit organisations, in particular organisations with complex stakeholders and education outcomes. As CEO of a peak professional association, she gained a reputation for excellent governance practices and relationship building capabilities.

Associate Professor Nicola McNeil

Associate Professor Nicola McNeil is Head of the Department of Management and Marketing in the La Trobe Business School. She is a leading educator in human resource management and research methods and received the Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Excellence in Teaching in 2018. Associate Professor McNeil’s research focuses on the impact of human resource management practices on employee performance, wellbeing and experience of work. She has published in leading journals including the Journal of International Business Studies, the Journal of Business Ethics and the International Journal of HRM. Associate Professor McNeil is a professional member of the Australian Institute of Human Resource Management. She is also an instructor for the Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Inc. and offers courses on the use of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis and mixed methods research.

Professor Darren Henry