London connections
Get connected with other UQ Business, Economics and Law Alumni living in London.
There is a vibrant community of UQ alumni living in London, including a team of dedicated volunteer ambassadors who are eager to build the community and remain connected to UQ. There are opportunities to connect with fellow alumni at events and through social media platforms, providing key industry contacts, mentors and employment opportunities from the wider business community.
London Alumni Ambassadors
David Young
Chair, London Alumni Ambassador Council
Associate Partner, EY
UQ qualifications: MBA 2017
David is an Associate Partner at EY. He holds an MBA from the UQ Business School and has 16 years of experience in search and leadership consulting in Australia and the UK.
David was previously a company Director at The River Partnership, working within the Professional Services, Financial Services and Energy Markets globally from a head office in London. David’s teams partnered with leading brands such as McKinsey, Blackrock and Rio Tinto primarily within the Risk, Strategy and Digital functions.
Being part of the UQ MBA Industry Consulting project for EY is one of David’s favourite memories from his time at UQ. He worked with John Steen, Tim Kastelle and Partners at EY in a Management Consulting collaboration which involved a Customer Experience Strategy Transformation for their $58+ billion client.
David encourages new graduates to always seek out new opportunities for learning and networking.
In his leisure time, he enjoys running, reading, soccer and swimming.
Paul Kelly
Deputy Chair, London Alumni Ambassador Council
Global Head of Strategy and Propositions for Next Generation, HSBC
UQ qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce (Hons)/ Bachelor of Business Management 2008
Professional memberships
Chartered Accountant (CA), Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
Freeman, The Worshipful Company of International Bankers, London
Paul is a senior investment professional, mentor and author, currently leading the Next Generation strategy at HSBC. Paul has been leading and curating fundamental research covering the next generation of consumers, sustainable investments, and Asia-wealth opportunities.
Paul has a background in management consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) having worked with senior management and finance teams to deliver multi-million dollar strategic productivity and financial initiatives across a diverse range of sectors including banking, investment management, healthcare, government and utilities.
He arrived in the UK in 2014 to undertake the Master of Finance at the University of Cambridge. During this time, he delivered investment management strategy projects for the UK Government Cabinet Office and BNY Mellon, including a globally published report on the millennial generation’s investment, financial education and social finance preferences.
Paul advises new graduates to choose a career path that they will find fulfilling and to network widely.
His fondest UQ memories include walks by the UQ Lakes and in the Great Court, his macroeconomics lectures and hot chocolates at the BEL Faculty Rooftop Café.
He enjoys reading, investing and travelling in his leisure time.
Sophie Morgan-Short
Senior Paid Social Manager, Jellyfish
UQ qualifications: Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Communication, Diploma in Languages 2015
After graduating with a dual degree in Communications and Arts from UQ, Sophie started working in marketing and communication at a charity in Brisbane. She then moved to London where she managed member acquisition/growth for a tech start-up. After two challenging and interesting years, Sophie moved on to KAU Media Group, one of the fastest-growing digital agencies in the UK, where she is now Head of Paid Social.
Sophie’s areas of speciality include digital marketing, social media and business growth. Her career highlight to date was substantially growing the member base of an App from 10k at the time Sophie joined the company to over 500k by the time she left – a feat Sophie described as “a steep learning curve, but a huge achievement”.
Her advice to new graduates is, “Focus on your short-term goals and work really hard at whatever’s in front of you. Don’t stress too much about achieving your dreams or following a career path. Life changes quickly—and your dreams do too. Be open to new opportunities, and follow your gut instinct!”
Some of Sophie’s favourite memories of her time at UQ include interesting, thoughtful professors such as Professor Eric Louw, who she says impressed students by delivering entire lectures from memory. She also fondly remembers lunch at Wordies – “best place on campus!” – and evening walks along the river with her friends.
In her free time, Sophie enjoys reading, travelling and snowboarding.
Michelle Morton
Vice President, BlackRock Alternatives, Product Strategy
UQ qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce 2009
Michelle is an intuitive and curious Chartered Financial Analyst with extensive experience within Institutional Investor Relations and Product Strategy for Real Estate, Infrastructure and Alternative Assets.
In her role at BlackRock Alternatives, Michelle is a Product Strategy and Investor Relations specialist for Real Estate and Infrastructure funds. She is experienced in the development, launch and fundraising of new vintage funds and new strategies in addition to managing the IR of existing funds and clients.
Michelle loves showing our students the enormous breadth of possibilities available to them for their futures.
David Sheldon
Executive Coach and Facilitator
UQ Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) 1988 / Bachelor of Laws 1993
Additional roles
Advisory Board Member, Practical Law Company
Council Member, Justice Legal Charity
Associate, Moller Institute, Cambridge
David is a passionate believer that people have phenomenal capacity, and that great coaching can help unlock this potential. He has spent more than 25 years as an international lawyer in which time he has lived and worked in New York, Hong Kong, London and Australia.
David specialises in investment banking and executive coaching.
His advice for new graduates is, "There are no shortcuts. Listen, learn, work hard."
In his free time, David enjoys one of his favourite places - Italy.
Catherine Storie
Director of Commercial Finance, Tesco Bank
UQ qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Science (2000), Bachelor of Laws (2001)
Catherine Storie is a commercially focused Senior Executive with extensive experience in finance, analytics, COO, strategy, business transformation, M&A, operations, risk and tax. She has a proven track record of developing, delivering an ongoing management of rigorous reporting frameworks and controls, and large scale strategic projects in complex, multi-geography and multi-functional financial services environments. She is experienced in leading large, geographically diverse teams through change.
Key achievements within her previous role at HSBC include development and delivery of the target operating model (TOM) for the Global Financial Planning and Analytics (FP&A) function, delivering significant, sustainable savings and supporting the Group CEO, CFO and Head of Investor Relations to develop and deliver external results presentations including representation on results daysm through preparation of external and internal business analytics and commentary.
Prior to that, key achievements in Barclays include establishment and ongoing financial oversight for the implementation of the new TOM for the Barclays UK Retail branch network, total cost £1bn and development, delivery and financial oversight of a business transformation strategy leading to a £325m sustainable cost reduction in Barclays European business over 3 years involving multiple business and headcount restructures and branch closures.
Catherine is a Qualified Accountant with a Finance Masters and undergraduate degrees in accounting, law and science.
Michelle loves showing our students the enormous breadth of possibilities available to them for their futures.
Contact
Contact a member of the BEL Faculty Advancement team to discuss your relationship with the Faculty, options for giving back to current and future students, partnership opportunities, upcoming events and more.