Meet George Savvides AM, our 2020 UTS Business School Alumni Award winner.
George Savvides AM - the legendary leader
George Savvides AM has over 30 years of management and board experience in the health care sector, government enterprises and not-for-profits. From 2002 to 2016, he was CEO of Australia’s largest health fund, Medibank Private. He also served as Chair of World Vision Australia for 18 years and is a former Chair of Macquarie University Hospital.
George is currently Chair of SBS Australia and Next Science, and a board member of Insurance Australia Group and Ryman Healthcare. In early 2020, George was made a member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the community, charitable groups and business. He has a Master of Business Administration from UTS.
George, why did you choose to study at UTS, and what is one key lesson you learned that is still relevant to you today?
I enrolled in the first UTS MBA program in 1981. It operated out of the old Brickfield Hill building in the city – a new course in an old facility, designed for postgrads who had corporate day jobs.
My industrial engineering job had me involved in overseeing several manufacturing sites. My boss was a qualified engineer with an MBA, and he encouraged me to commit to further education. It was rare for a university to offer an MBA with flexible access, and that’s why I chose UTS.
There was nothing theoretical about the UTS MBA. We worked on real-world business cases with teachers who shared their career experiences, and students who brought their own workplace insights to our class groups. We took many of our case study solutions back to our individual organisations, often impressing our employers and picking up the odd promotion on the way.
The key lesson was that practical, real-world learning greatly enhances the training of future leaders. UTS provided that throughout their MBA course.
What was one turning point that changed your career, your life, or both?
Just prior to completing my MBA, I was asked to lead a new manufacturing plant in Western Sydney. I was 27. Through that assignment I discovered my confidence to lead an organisation. As I invested in people and purpose, I experienced the powerful energy of a highly motivated workforce that seemed to effortlessly deploy their collaborative creativity to solve what use to be considered ‘unsolvable’ business problems. This led to four CEO assignments over the balance of my executive career.
What motivates you to achieve your goals?
The formation of high-performing teams is what motivates my investment in leadership.
Leadership is about leading people. High performance flows from high-performing teams. Leaders who invest in their teams, connect employees and their organisation to a meaningful purpose, and inspire people by engaging the heart and not just the head, can create the platform for high performance.
Have you had to adapt and upskill throughout your career? How?
An adaptive mindset is a critical success factor for a leader. Few leadership assignments run smoothly, and few new appointments start with a clean slate.
Leaders by definition have to deal with unsolved legacy issues, or unplanned competitive threats. No amount of education alone will deal with this volatility. Leaders have to be adaptive in their mindset in order to apply their strategy principles and people leadership in adverse situations. This requires leadership that engages employees, effectively communicating purpose and inspiring powerful teamwork, which is the only effective way to solve historical issues or pivot strategy to adapt to a competitive or changing landscape.
What has been the proudest moment of your career?
My 14 years leading Medibank had many significant challenges, from a distressed financial state when I started as CEO in 2002 to its transformation from insurance to a healthcare company, then through its strategic acquisitions and finally the ASX IPO in 2014, which saw its enterprise value lift eightfold through my leadership term. Better still is to see the organisation continue to flourish, four years after my departure. That’s a very satisfying outcome for me personally.
What do you think are the most valuable skills for new graduates entering the workforce?
The ability to lead and inspire people.
What change – in your industry, community, or society at large – would you like to help create in the next ten years?
I want to help redefine leadership from a power, status and individual ambition stereotype, to leadership that is about serving the mission and the organisation, its people and customers. That is how you unleash an organisation’s full potential.
