Chief Executive Officer

Australian Institute of Business and Management Pty Ltd, which trades as King’s Own Institute (KOI), is a well-regarded private higher education institution offering high quality accredited undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in Accounting, Business and Management, IT and IS, and TESOL. KOI has approximately 4,500 students across two NSW campuses, in Sydney and Newcastle.

KOI is 100% owned by its ultimate holding company, China Education Group Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

After a long and successful tenure, KOI’s current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Doug Hinchliffe, is retiring in 2027 and KOI’s Council of Directors is seeking to appoint a successor.

Building from a solid foundation the new CEO will lead the organisation through a strategic transformation. KOI has strong growth aspirations and is diversifying revenue streams through new academic offerings, considering potential acquisitions and the development of trans-national education capabilities. KOI is also looking to strengthen its research and scholarship capability and further developing its industry partnerships and community engagement activities. Having successfully achieved partial self-accrediting status this year, KOI is looking, longer term, to eventually achieving University College status.

Reporting to the Council of Directors, the CEO will be an outstanding leader, who will champion innovation, drive academic excellence and institutional growth, nurture stakeholder relationships and uphold the vision, mission and values of the organisation.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Strong commercial and strategic acumen with a proven track record of leading profitable business growth.
• A demonstrated ability to drive organisational innovation, to lead transformation at a whole of institution level, and to manage and address change, uncertainty and complexity.
• Financial astuteness, with the ability to understand the importance of strategic financial planning, managing risk and budgeting.
• A strong knowledge and understanding of the contemporary higher education and related public policy and regulatory environments, including an appreciation of the challenges and opportunities.
• An understanding of the importance of technology, including the application of artificial intelligence, in the development of student and staff knowledge and capabilities.
• A proven ability in people management and the promotion of a strong, inclusive, respectful and professional culture.
• A successful track record in building and sustaining successful partnerships with industry, government and other external stakeholders.
• A postgraduate higher education qualification, preferably a PhD.

KOI will be supported by the executive search firm Cordiner King for this appointment.