Graeme Mason

Bachelor of Arts in Communications, 1987

Born in Sydney and raised in the Blue Mountains, Graeme Mason is the third child of two academics. His father was once the deputy registrar of the University of Sydney, while his mother was a lecturer at the University of Western Sydney. There was always expectation for him to go to university, but he kept his parents on tenterhooks.

My father begged me to come back and complete the degree, but I was young and having fun in London. He was right though. I'm glad I did come back. I got a lot out of those final semesters.

Mason was offered a place to study medicine at the University of Sydney, but instead waited a year before studying communications at UTS. During the course he took further time out in London before returning to complete the final year.

“My father begged me to come back and complete the degree, but I was young and having fun in London. He was right though. I’m glad I did come back. I got a lot out of those final semesters."

Mason took over from Ruth Harley as chief executive of Screen Australia in 2013 and reputedly beat 250 other candidates for the Screen Australia job. What distinguished him from the competition was his top level experience in all aspects of film and TV – not just the creative side, but the hard-nosed business end: pitching, buying, selling and distributing product that people want to watch.

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.