Chairs to create business knowledge hubs

The Macquarie Group has donated $1 million to the Australian School of Business to establish a Chair in Financial Services - a position to be filled by international finance academic Professor Neal Stoughton.

The announcement was made at the School's latest "Meet the CEO" event, in which Macquarie Group's Nicholas Moore was interviewed by the Australian Financial Review's Boss editor Narelle Hooper.

"While I am a strong believer in the rigors of scientific theory, I also believe that the theory has to be grounded in real world practical applications," said Professor Neal Stoughton of the University of Calgary.

"I intend to bring my international contacts to good effect within the faculty in terms of helping to direct the research agenda of younger researchers, to bring recognised researchers to UNSW as visitors and colleagues and to make the academic environment as vibrant and interesting as possible."

Another donation by Macquarie, also announced this week, also seeks to bring opportunities to the business world.

The Macquarie Group Foundation has donated $2 million towards an endowed chair in the Centre for Social Impact. The position will be held by Professor Peter Shergold, the Centre's Chief Executive.

Dean of the Australian School of Business, Professor Alec Cameron, said both roles would have an enormous impact on business knowledge within the School and in the broader business community.

Opportunities within the current financial cycle were discussed in Nicholas Moore's "Meet the CEO" interview.

"Historically where there has been downturn to markets, it has been a good opportunity for us to grow market share," Mr Moore told a capacity crowd.

"Because our earnings have been stable, because our teams have been stable, we've been able to grow through difficult times," he said. "I have been at Macquarie a long time and the organisation has grown consistently year after year. We're always focused on the long run and how we financially grow the business throughout the business cycle."

Media Contact: Marie Kelly | mariek@unsw.edu.au | 02 9385 5895