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Senior Executive Team

The Senior Executive Team (SET) is responsible for establishing and overseeing matters relating to the University’s strategic positioning and strategy implementation.

The SET develops the University’s strategic plan, prepares the annual University budget, monitors performance against plans and budgets, and oversees the University’s strategic projects.

The team also provides advice on matters that impact on the long-term direction of the University. It has the capacity to establish sub-committees to provide more focused discussion around specific projects, process and governance issues.

The team usually meets each Thursday morning and relevant outcomes from the meetings are shared by SET members with their teams and by the Vice-Chancellor through the Note to Staff and other means of communication.

For any queries about the SET, please contact the Vice-Chancellor’s Chief of Staff on +61 8 9266 1867.

Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne

Vice-Chancellor

Professor Harlene Hayne

Provost

Provost

Professor Matthew Tonts

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic

Professor Paul Brunton

Professor Melinda Fitzgerald

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research

Professor Lindy Fitzgerald

Professor Xiaotian Zhang

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Global

Professor Xiaotian Zhang

David Menarry

Chief Operating Officer (Interim)

Mr David Menarry

Professor Vanessa Chang

Pro Vice-Chancellor Faculty of Business and Law

Professor Vanessa Chang

Pro Vice-Chancellor Health Sciences

Pro Vice-Chancellor Health Sciences

Professor Carlo Marra

Pro Vice-Chancellor Humanities

Pro Vice-Chancellor Humanities

Professor Richard Blythe

Pro Vice-Chancellor Science and Engineering

Pro Vice-Chancellor Science and Engineering

Professor Mark Ogden

Pro Vice-Chancellor & President Curtin Singapore

Pro Vice-Chancellor & President Curtin Singapore

Professor Alex Stojcevski

Pro Vice-Chancellor and President Curtin Dubai

Pro Vice-Chancellor and President Curtin Dubai

Professor Ammar Kaka
Simon Leunig

Pro-Vice Chancellor and President Curtin Malaysia

Professor Simon Leunig

Headshot of Professor Lina Pelliccione

Pro-Vice Chancellor and President Curtin Mauritius

Professor Lina Pelliccione

Marco Schultheis

Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer

Dr Marco Schultheis

Chief Legal Officer

Chief Legal Officer

Ms Beth Cubitt

Chief Financial Officer (Interim)

Chief Financial Officer (Interim)

Mrs Amanda Stammers

Ms Melisa Kaharevic

Chief People Officer

Ms Melisa Kaharevic

Professor Adrian North

Adrian moved to Curtin in 2012 as Head of the School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, before moving to the Dean of Learning and Teaching role in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2020 and then interim Deputy PVC in 2022. Prior to this he was the lead for psychology at Heriot Watt University in Scotland.  His research is centered around the social psychology of music on which he has published 120 research papers and three books.  In 2018 he was named by The Australian as Australia’s leading researcher in the arts and humanities, and in 2019 and 2020 he was named by The Australian as one of the top 40 researchers in the country across all fields.

More about Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic - Professor Paul Brunton

Professor Paul Brunton joined Curtin University as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic in 2022, having previously been the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Health Sciences at the University of Otago in New Zealand for four years. He is responsible for the learning and teaching portfolio, specifically achieving the University’s strategic goals in learning and teaching and ensuring an outstanding experience for our students.

After graduating from the University of Leeds, School of Dentistry in 1984, he obtained his Master of Science in Restorative Dentistry in 1992 and his PhD in 1996 from the University of Manchester. Professor Brunton graduated with a Doctor of Dental Science from the University of Otago in 2021. He was granted his Fellowship in Dental Surgery from The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1995 and in 2022 he was awarded a Fellowship by election from the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Professor Brunton is well published and his research interests include the development of new technologies to improve patient care, clinical and translational research, operative dentistry, specifically tooth preparation and the early diagnosis and treatment of tooth wear.

More about Vice-Chancellor - Professor Deborah Terry

Professor Deborah Terry was appointed Curtin University’s Vice-Chancellor in February 2014. She is a Fellow and the immediate past President of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) and Chair of the Board of Universities Australia, the representative body of Australia’s universities.

Professor Terry is also a member of the Australian Research Council Advisory Council, Committee for Perth Board, St Hilda’s Anglican School Council, Australia and New Zealand School of Government Board and Australia’s Academic and Research Network Board, and a past Chair of the Australian Council of Learned Academies and the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts in the Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences.

Professor Terry completed her PhD in Social Psychology at the Australian National University in Canberra. She had a distinguished career at the University of Queensland, initially as an internationally recognised scholar in psychology, before filling a number of senior roles, including Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

More about Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic - Professor Jill Downie

Professor Jill Downie was appointed to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic in July 2012. In this role, she strategically leads teaching and learning and the student experience across the University. Equity and Diversity and the Centre for Aboriginal Studies are also important aspects of her portfolio.

Professor Downie holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and a PhD from Curtin University.  From 2007 to 2012 she was Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Health Sciences and also Professor of Nursing at Curtin University. She is the Education representative on the Australian National Commission of UNESCO and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Professor Downie is an established national and international researcher with numerous grants, publications and conference presentations, including keynote addresses.

More about Deputy Vice-Chancellor, International - Professor Seth Kunin

Professor Seth Kunin has been Deputy Vice-Chancellor, International at Curtin University since 2016. In this role, he leads the University’s international activities, including strategic policy, international marketing strategy, and international partnerships.

Prior to joining the University, he was Vice-Principal, Internationalisation at the University of Aberdeen and also held senior roles at Durham University.

A prominent anthropologist, Professor Kunin attained his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in New York and his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Cambridge in the UK. His research focused on the application of structuralist theory and methodology to Jewish texts and culture.

More about Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Business and Law - Professor Vanessa Chang

Professor Vanessa Chang commenced as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Business and Law in September 2022 following a nine month period in the role as Interim PVC. From May 2019 to December 2021, Vanessa was the Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor.

Professor Chang joined Curtin in 1989 as a Tutor in the School of Information Systems. Her previous leadership roles in the University include Director of Learning Innovations where she led innovation and project teams to develop Massive Open Online Courses as well as leading transformational IT projects at Curtin, Dean of Learning and Teaching, and Head of School of Information Systems.

Professor Chang is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society and an experienced leader in higher education. Her information systems research are focused in leadership, governance, and the use of data and systems in organisations. As an educator, she conducts research in learning pedagogies, in immersive and online learning.

More about Pro Vice-Chancellor, Health Sciences - Professor Archie Clements

Professor Archie Clements leads the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University. Prior to joining the University, Professor Clements was the Director of the Research School of Population Health and Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Australian National University in Canberra. The Research School of Population Health comprised of five academic units, including the flagship National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health.

Professor Clements has also worked at Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow. He has a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from the University of Sydney, a Master of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Glasgow and a PhD from the University of London. His research background is in the epidemiology, control and elimination of infectious diseases, focussing mainly on the Asia-Pacific region during the last decade. He has particular expertise in spatial epidemiology, operational research and community-based intervention studies and has been an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow.

More about Pro Vice-Chancellor, Humanities - Professor Alan Dench

Professor Alan Dench has been Pro Vice-Chancellor Humanities and Professor of Linguistics at Curtin University since 2016. He has ultimate responsibility for leading and managing the research and teaching programs across the three large schools that make up the Faculty of Humanities: the Schools of Design and the Built Environment, Education, and Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry.

Professor Dench has a Bachelor degree with Honours in Anthropology from UWA and Master and PhD degrees in Linguistics from the Australian National University. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, a Member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, and a Vincent Fairfax Fellow.

His research focuses on the documentation and grammatical description of Australian Aboriginal languages, especially those of Western Australia. He has served as a member of the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts, the Executive Committee of the Australian Council of Graduate Research, and chaired the Committee of Deans of Graduate Schools in the Australian Group of Eight Universities.

More about Provost - Matthew Tonts

Professor Matthew Tonts joined Curtin University as Provost in June 2024, having previously been Chair of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority.  He has extensive experience spanning academia, industry and government, particularly in the areas of regional development, urban policy and environmental protection.

Professor Tonts has held a number of senior leadership positions in higher education spanning more than 20 years, most recently as Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean at The University of Western Australia.

Matthew’s  academic career began with a Bachelor of Arts (Geography and Environmental Management) from Edith Cowan University, and he later went on to complete his Doctor of Philosophy (Geography) at Curtin University.  In 2020 he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

He is an internationally recognised scholar and has published widely in the areas of economic geography, regional development and environmental management. Matthew’s particular area of interest relates to the development of resource-dependent regions. He been an advisor to industry and government on environmental protection and planning, economic development strategy and urban development.

More about Pro Vice-Chancellor & President of Curtin Singapore - Alex Stojcevski

Professor Alex Stojcevski is an educational leader and executive with experience across three diverse continents, including Australia, Europe, and Asia.

Professor Alex Stojcevski is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor & President of Curtin Singapore.

Prior to Curtin Singapore, Professor Stojcevski was the Dean of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne Australia. In addition, Professor Stojcevski has held senior leadership positions at RMIT University based in Vietnam, and Deakin University in Australia. Professor Stojcevski also held an invited Professor role at Aalborg University Denmark, and currently holds a Distinguished Professor position with Sanjay Ghodawat University, India. He is also an invited Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia.

Professor Stojcevski holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Engineering, Masters by research degree in Artificial Intelligence and Fuzzy Logic, and a Bachelor degree in Engineering. He also holds a Master degree in Educational Leadership and a Master degree in Project Based Learning (PBL) from Aalborg University in Denmark.

He holds an internationally recognised profile in Renewable Energy, Artificial Intelligence, Sustainability, and STEM Education. Professor Stojcevski is in the world’s 2% top-cited scientists in the categories of “Energy”, and “Electrical and Electronics Engineering”. He has published over 450 articles and has supervised more than 30 PhD student completions.

He has very strong collaboration with a number of industries and Universities worldwide, resulting in income-generating partnerships of over AUD$90m.

More about Pro Vice-Chancellor Curtin Dubai - Ammar Kaka

Professor Ammar Kaka has been the Pro Vice-Chancellor and President of Curtin University Dubai since January 2024. Before joining Curtin University, Professor Kaka spent one year as the president of Applied Science University in Kingdom of Bahrain.

After beginning his academic career at the University of Liverpool’s School of Architecture and Building Engineering, Professor Kaka spent nine years in senior positions at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland before going on to lead Heriot-Watt Dubai as Provost and Vice-Principal.

More about Pro-Vice Chancellor and President Curtin Malaysia -Simon Leunig

Professor Simon Leunig commenced as Pro Vice-Chancellor and President of Curtin Malaysia in January 2020. Prior to this role, he held the position of Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, International and ASEAN Dean at Curtin University.

He possesses more than 25 years experience in transnational and international education and has significant expertise in developing strategic alliances and education initiatives across Asia, Europe, Africa and the ASEAN region.

Professor Leunig holds a Bachelor of Physical Education and a Master of Education from The University of Western Australia and an MBA from Edith Cowan University. He also graduated from Harvard University’s MDP for Higher Education Managers.

More about Pro-Vice Chancellor and President Curtin Mauritius - Lina Pelliccione

Professor Lina Pelliccione commenced as the inaugural Pro-Vice Chancellor of Curtin Mauritius in January 2019. Prior to taking on this role, she was Head of the School of Education and Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Humanities at Curtin University.

Professor Pelliccione’s background is in education and innovation, in particular in the field of information and communication technology (ICT). Her research interests include the adoption and implementation of ICT in teaching and learning; enhancing learning through the use of ICT; teacher education; online learning; innovation and change.

She holds a Doctor of Philosophy, a Master of Education, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education Studies, a Bachelor of Education from Curtin University and a Diploma of Teaching from the Western Australian Institute of Technology.

More about Chief Operating Officer (interim) - David Menarry

Mr David Menarry was appointed Curtin University’s Interim Chief Operating Officer in September 2024, having previously held the role of Chief Financial Officer. David’s extensive experience includes strategic leadership, financial management, corporate finance, risk management and audit across a wide variety of industry sectors in Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Mr Menarry is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He also holds a number of board and community-based roles.

More about Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer - Marco Schultheis

Dr Marco Schultheis is the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Curtin University. His portfolio responsibilities include strategic planning, strategic projects portfolio management, market and institutional research and business intelligence and analysis.

Dr Schultheis has a Bachelor of Commerce, a Master of Strategic Marketing and a Doctorate of Business Administration.

He is a graduate of the Australian Company Directors Course and a graduate member of the AICD. In 2017 he completed a high potential leaders program at Harvard University. Dr Schultheis has also served on the University’s Council and as non-Executive Director on the YMCA, Perth Board.

More about Chief Legal Officer - Beth Cubitt

Ms Beth Cubitt is an experienced construction and commercial lawyer with cross-border and international experience and has been Chief Legal Officer of Curtin University commencing in January 2024.  She has overall responsibility for all legal aspects of the University’s operations, and also a broader role across a range of strategic issues and initiatives with a risk or governance dimension.

Ms Cubitt has more than 20 years’ experience in private practice and was previously a partner of two leading international firms.  She began her career as a lawyer and public notary in South Africa before moving to Australia in 2000.  She has lived and worked in Australia in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.  She is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland, the University of Southern Queensland, the University of South Africa and Stellenbosch University.

She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

More about Pro Vice-Chancellor, Science and Engineering - Professor Mark Ogden

Professor Mark Ogden commenced as Pro Vice-Chancellor, Science and Engineering in August 2021. Prior to this, he was Head of the School of Molecular and Life Sciences.

He worked at the University of Oxford, and the University of Western Australia, before joining Curtin in 1997 on a Curtin University Research Fellowship. His previous leadership roles at Curtin include Head of the Department of Chemistry, Director of the Nanochemistry Research Institute, and Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research Training.

Professor Ogden has a degree in Chemistry and a PhD from the University of Western Australia. He has educated Curtin students in inorganic and general chemistry from first year through to PhD, and has research interests in supramolecular chemistry, lanthanide coordination chemistry, hydrogel formation, and most recently metal-based light emitting materials.

More about Pro Vice-Chancellor, Humanities – Professor Richard Blythe

Professor Richard Blythe began as the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Humanities in June 2021. Prior to this, he was the Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech in the United States and Dean of the School of Architecture + Design at RMIT University, Melbourne Australia.

Professor Blythe’s achievements include taking a lead role in establishing a national research centre for smart design and construction in Washington DC, creating a campus-based Creativity and Innovation District and providing executive leadership on strategy and international networks and programs.

Professor Blythe has a PhD in Design/Practice-based Research from RMIT University. His research interests are founded in a passion for creative practice, developing approaches to creative practice research and in building communities of creative practitioner researchers.

More about Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic – Professor Jon Yorke

Professor Jon Yorke was appointed Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic at Curtin University in December 2021. In this role he strategically leads teaching and learning and the student experience across the University.

Jon has also worked as the Academic Registrar, providing overarching leadership on academic policy development and implementation. He has a particular interest in assessment and the promotion of academic integrity.

Jon joined Curtin in 2008 from the University of Plymouth (UK), where he was the Educational Development and Learning Technologies (EDaLT) Acting Head of Department and Program Director of academic development programs for new and experienced staff.

Professor Lindy Fitzgerald

Professor Fitzgerald is also the CEO of Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia and leads a team of researchers and postgraduate students in nationally coordinated research focused on understanding and preventing the loss of function that occurs following neurotrauma.

Prof. Dr. Xiaotian Zhang

Professor Xiaotian Zhang is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Global, a member of the senior leadership team at Curtin University in Australia. He is an expert in the internationalisation of higher education and has held several senior executive positions at the world’s leading universities in Asia, Europe, and Oceania, including Deputy Vice President (International) of Shanghai University among others. In the past decade, he has successfully chaired and led large-scale multinational education and research initiatives across the globe.

As an academic, Professor Zhang is the SHU Distinguished Professor of International Business and he held academic positions at the University of Southern Denmark, Stockholm University, University of Oulu, and the University of Tartu. He is also a former Rajawali Fellow of John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a Visiting Fellow of Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Professor Zhang is passionate about the strategic development of global entrepreneurial universities.

Professor Carlo Marra

Professor Carlo Marra joined Curtin as the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2024, having previously served as Dean of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Otago and Memorial University. Prior to that he was a Professor and the Director of CORE at the University of British Columbia.  He has extensive experience in academic leadership, research, health workforce development and health care and government – particularly in the areas of arthritis and health care resource allocation to achieve optimal health outcomes.

Professor Marra holds a Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy), a Doctor of Pharmacy and a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Care and Epidemiology from the University of British Columbia, and has completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada in Arthritis Epidemiology and Pharmacoepidemiology. He has previously held a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Pharmaceutical Outcomes and was a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar at the University of British Columbia. Professor Marra also worked as a pharmacy clinician in the hospital environment, in primary care and in a rheumatology clinic.

Professor Marra is an internationally recognised scholar and has published widely on health economics and outcomes, efficient use of the health work force and pharmacoepidemiology. He has been published in almost 300 peer-reviewed articles and has received more than $10 million in competitive research funding.

More about (Interim) Chief Financial Officer - Amanda Stammers

Amanda Stammers was appointed Curtin University’s Interim Chief Financial Officer in September 2024, having previously held the role of Director Financial Reporting since 2017.  Amanda joined Curtin in 2013 and has held various roles within the Financial Reporting team.  Prior to joining Curtin, Amanda has held senior management roles within the energy sector and in chartered accounting firms in Australia and the USA.

Amanda’s experience encompasses management and statutory reporting, financial analysis, forecasting and budgeting, treasury management and strategic plan implementation.

Amanda is a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and holds several community-based roles.

More about Chief People Officer - Melisa Kaharevic

Ms Melisa Kaharevic was appointed as Curtin University’s Chief People Officer in 2024, bringing broad industry experience in human resources, organisational transformation, change management, industrial relations, and people strategy.

Melisa’s industry experience spans public and private sectors, including health, human services, and higher education. Melisa is a former practising lawyer and brings a unique set of skills to the CPO role.

Melisa is passionate about creating and enriching employee experience and aligning the people strategy to organisational purpose.