Emeritus Professor John Rickard has held chief executive posts at several of Australia’s most prestigious universities.

UK-born Rickard was awarded his PhD in Geophysical Fluid Mechanics at University College London before migrating to Australia to take up a lectureship in the Mathematics Department at the University of Melbourne. During the 1970s his research interests shifted to economics and finance, and much of his work in the field focused on developing empirical models of consumer behavior.

In 1984 he took up one of the Foundation Chairs at the newly established Graduate School of Management at the University of Melbourne, and in 1992 he moved to head the Graduate School of Management at Deakin University.

Subsequent appointments included Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University; Vice-Chancellor and President at Southern Cross University; and Pro Vice-Chancellor and President at Central Queensland University.

Rickard has held numerous visiting appointments, including Visiting Professor of Finance at the London Business School and Visiting Professor of Marketing at the Cranfield School of Management in Bedford, England.

As a consultant to public and private organisations, his areas of expertise include finance, taxation, executive remuneration and customer retention.

Rickard was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society through business and university administration.