Director

Patrick Langrell is Director of the Governance and Public Affairs Centre (GPAC) at the Australian Catholic University. He is also Convenor of the Executive Forum, a monthly discussion held under Chatham House Rule with senior business leaders across the political and ideological spectrum. He is also a Research Associate in the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America.

For the past three years, Patrick has been collaborating with global business leaders, heads of universities, politicians, and governance bodies in the US, UK, EU and Australia on the positive role corporations can play in addressing polarisation and social division around issues of public interest. His articles have been published in the Australian Financial Review, the Australian Institute of Company Directors Magazine, and the Australian Shareholder’s Association Equity Magazine.

Patrick has extensive experience in conceiving, directing and overseeing a wide range of organisation-wide strategies and projects, external partnerships, and public programming in ethics, politics and corporate affairs. Combined with his teaching experience in philosophy and close working relationships with institutional leaders in several sectors, he is regularly consulted on how to bring ethical and strategic thinking to bear on commercial imperatives in different business environments.

Email: patrick.langrell@acu.edu.au
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-langrell-51539225

• Financial Review: Balancing artistic expression in a polarised world
• Financial Review: How Should Companies Respond to Contested Issues?
• Company Directors Magazine: Navigating Social and Political Issues
• Australian Shareholder’s Association: Taking a Stand – Are Values Helpful?

Academic Lead

Alan Davison has been in senior leadership roles in the university sector for over 10 years, most recently as Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). He is a scholar of the long nineteenth century and has published widely on music history, visual culture and aesthetics, and – more recently – on critical theory in the academy and social cohesion in public discourse. He is a passionate advocate for open inquiry, respectful debate and building dialogues across ideological divides. He has spoken and written regularly on matters of academic culture, leadership, and the role of intellectuals in society.

He will be commencing in the role in mid-December 2024.

Email: alan.davison@acu.edu.au
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-davison-21a4a514/

• Challenges for Open Enquiry and Scholarship in a Divided Age
• Being passionate about a problem doesn't mean your solution is right
• How Bad Ideas Flourish At Universities
• Bursting the bubble: Why 'sensemaking" institutions must challenge dominant narratives