Centenary of Business and Economics faculty attracts Melbourne corporate royalty

This year was an extra special occasion for the University of Melbourne’s famed Faculty of Business and Economics’ fundraising dinner.

If there’s one event that proves the Melbourne business community will still turn out for a decent nosh, it’s the fundraising dinner for the University of Melbourne’s famed Faculty of Business and Econ­omics.

This year’s do was a special ­occasion, to be fair, marking the centenary of the institution’s founding. But didn’t they turn out!

Not only Melbourne’s traditional sources of money and power – bankers, merchant bankers, lawyers, insurers and property developers – but a smattering of digital upstarts such as Airwallex’s Lucy Liu as well. Liu, of course, is an alumni of the faculty. But she also managed to deliver the burn of the night to the old-school bankers on a panel with NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine, after asking how many staff he oversaw.

About 40,000, was the reply. We do the same thing with 1800, riposted Liu.

Not quite fair, we feel, given the fintech doesn’t have to deal with those pesky suburban branches that drag on profits at the big banks.

But a good line, and well delivered, Margin Call is told. And it got a chuckle out of all the old money in the room.

Attendees gather for the University of Melbourne’s Foundation for Business and Economics centenary dinner.

Though we suspect the ­chuckles on the five tables taken out by NAB – which brought along its entire board – might have happened more discretely than elsewhere.

NAB might have been the star performer on the night, but Westpac took out a table, as did ANZ, and Macquarie took two.

Who wasn’t there? CBA. How quickly they forget at the former people’s bank, famously called in to rescue the State Bank of Victoria from the Tricontinental debacle in 1990.

Elder statesmen of Melbourne business circles such as Hugh Morgan, Leigh Clifford and Charles Goode were there – but when are they not?

Energy Australia boss Mark Collette led the charge for the energy sector, and Flagstaff Partners CEO Paul Donnelly hosted not only Goode – the Flagstaff chairman emeritus, whatever that means – but BHP chief technical officer Johan van Jaarsveld. Good thing he’s no longer the BHP chief development officer, or tongues might start to wag about another tilt at Anglo American.

BHP took out a couple of tables of its own, headed by chief operating officer Edgar Basto. But no Mike Henry – it’s almost like the BHP CEO is winding down his time at the Big Australian.

Would-be CEOs were ably represented by Santos chief financial officer Sherry Duhe, however – unlucky at Woodside and Newcrest, and now possibly for a third time at Santos given Kevin Gallagher’s apparent determination to cling on.

The guest coup of the night probably belongs to veteran corporate affairs adviser John Connelly, who brought along former ANZ boss turned Westpac chair John McFarlane and director Peter Marriott to cast their gimlet eyes over the latest crop of Australian bankers.

Little evidence of politics on the night, despite Anthony Albanese’s sweeping victory in last week’s federal election.

But massive props to University of Melbourne Vice Chancellor Professor Emma Johnston, who told the assembled oligopolists that the economy might be a bit better off if Australia had slightly fewer oligopolies.