Philip Statham B.Bus.(Econ)

Philip worked in the industrial relations field in the Public Sector environment from 1983 to 1996 after which he returned to tertiary studies to undertake a Bachelor of Business at QUT.  The last semester of the degree was completed as part of an exchange program in France.  During his studies, Philip was appointed to the "Dean's List" for academic excellence and received a university prize.  Since returning from France, Philip has been engaged as a management consultant, working in a high-pressure environment, where his communication and negotiation skills have been able to be applied in the real-life world of business.

His role as an elected union official included being part of the management team, which gave him a deep understanding of the demands placed on line managers in their dealings with clients and staff.  His experience and tertiary studies have honed his abilities in the areas of negotiation and communication.  He enjoyed three years as the editor of the union's Queensland journal and also wrote many submissions to Government and senior management.  His ability in the management development area is evident through his construction and delivery of a large number of training courses to management and staff.  He has demonstrated a propensity to communicate well with groups through regularly addressing small and large meetings.

He also has extensive media experience through undertaking regular interviews on radio and television and in newspapers and also preparing press releases.  He has played a pivotal role in meetings with people from all levels in government and business, including Government Ministers, State Managers and CEOs.  His negotiation skills were well used in his regular appearances as an advocate before the Industrial Relations Commission and through serving on many disciplinary and administrative review boards.  He has the ability to professionally apply the principles of negotiation to achieve win/win outcomes resulting in his having being considered the most effective negotiator in the Queensland office of the organization.

Through his work as a line manager in private industry he has also experienced the challenge of managing change and dealing with workplace relations from a manager's perspective.  This has given him a valuable insight into the dynamics and synergies encompassed in workplace conflict from both the manager and employee's perspective.