Aaron Johansson

MBA worth its weight in gold

You never know where your career might take you and how your UNE qualification can equip you. Just ask alumnus and Charters Towers Regional Council (CTRC) Chief Executive Officer Aaron Johansson.

Seven years ago Aaron was transitioning from a chartered accountancy role in the mining sector into local government. He'd taken up the post of Director of Corporate, Governance and Financial Services at the Isaac Regional Council and was completing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at UNE that he'd began six years earlier.

"I wanted to broaden my horizons and thinking in commerce and had chosen the International Business option of the MBA because I was originally looking to work for that multinational mining company in China," Aaron says. "The vast majority of my MBA was centred on Asian cultural studies, particularly Chinese.

"But I'm a terrible studier and it took me a long time to complete my degree; I would pick up the study and then put it on hold, depending on what was happening in my career and family life. UNE gave me the flexibility to do that- to accommodate the study in my busy work schedule and still meet the demands of a young family. It was relatively easy to find the balance, because my lecturers were interested in my personal development."

Fast forward to 2021 and while Aaron never did get to work in China, he is perfectly content serving a vast Queensland local government area (LGA) that, at 68,000 square kilometres, is comparable in size to Tasmania. And that MBA is coming in more useful than he might have imagined.

"At the moment we are working on the Australia-Singapore Military Training Initiative, a project with Singapore's Department of Defence," Aaron says. "We are looking to host some 10,000-15,000 of the country's national service recruits each year for 14 weeks as they undergo training, along with all the companies needed to support the operation of the military base. That's a population greater than our entire region."

Skills Aaron learned during his MBA with UNE have been highly transferrable. "Many Singaporeans have Chinese heritage and China has a strong influence on Singapore's culture. My understanding of the politics and cultural aspects of doing business in Asia has proven very useful. While my pidgin Chinese is not great, there is also much greater respect if you can speak the same language or at least make an effort; that's what I've found in meetings."

The Charters Towers LGA is also hosting other important business partners from the east. In addition to several significant local operations (including Ravenswood Gold, with its parent companies listed in Singapore), the ASX-listed Citigold and Minjar Gold (with its parent company listed on the Shanghai Stock exchange) complete the international mining line-up.

Again, Aaron says his MBA has been worth its weight... in gold.

"It has helped me to develop a strategic view of the world; to appreciate different points of view and make better business decisions for our community," Aaron says. "It gave me the leadership confidence to step up to the next level in local government (as CEO of CTRC, starting in 2017) and has contributed to some of the success we are now having in this region. My MBA studies also taught me how to simplify really complex concepts so that the person on the ground fixing the road or mowing the lawns can understand."

In his current diverse and demanding role, Aaron's responsibilities extend far beyond "roads, rates and rubbish". He's led considerable organisational change and driven economic development associated with the goldmines as well as the region’s beef export saleyards, which are the second largest in Australia (behind Darwin) and the sixth largest in the state by volume.

But, most of all, Aaron enjoys serving his community. "The beauty of local government is that you don't know what you're going to be doing from one day to the next," he says. "I like working with others and developing our people to be the best they can be. Our shire might have mineral riches, but its real riches are its people."

And although travel restrictions and political tensions between the Australian and Chinese governments have stalled some economic activity of late, Aaron doesn't see that enduring. "I think China will have a long-term relationship with Australia and continue to influence our economy well into the future," he says.

I think China will have a long-term relationship with Australia and continue to influence our economy well into the future