ANZSOG welcomes Warren Kennard to drive innovation, impact and growth for governments 

ANZSOG is excited to welcome Warren Kennard to the executive team, spurring transformation of the way we deliver learning, and reach more public servants with our programs and events. 

Dean and CEO Professor Caron Beaton-Wells drew attention to the important contribution that Mr Kennard will make in delivering on ANZSOG’s 2030 strategy.  

“Warren is a visionary in the future of learning and is always ahead of the curve in his field. His career spans universities, vocational training, professional associations and corporate learning, where he has consistently driven transformative innovation and growth,” she said. 

“His leadership is distinguished by his collaborative approach, and his ability to design and launch transformative online programs, lead large-scale digital initiatives, and advise on the integration of AI and emerging technologies in education.” 

Mr Kennard has held senior roles at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne Business School, RMIT Online, and GetSmarter (2U Inc.), where he spearheaded commercial strategy, digital innovation, and executive learning solutions.   

He said that he was excited to join ANZSOG because he believed in the power of education to transform society for the better. 

“I’ve seen the power of education and what it can do to transform lives. If we transform many lives, they then have influence over others around them and we get better, healthier communities,” he said. 

“The opportunity at ANZSOG is to reach leaders in government who have a sphere of influence and an important role to play in creating the kind of future society we want.”  

“That’s why ANZSOG is such a compelling proposition to me – because we’re developing leaders who can make a real difference to the public good, especially at a time when we are grappling with multiple complex challenges.” 

“But leaders are also time pressured, needing to make room for engagement with peers to think about better ways of doing things – this is where ANZSOG adds tangible value.” 

Priorities for 2026: a compelling program portfolio

Mr Kennard said that his priority for 2026 was to align ANZSOG’s portfolio to the real-time needs of the public sector. 

“It’s an opportunity for us to collaborate with our stakeholders and to understand how to better serve them. What we’re aspiring towards is achieving bigger and bolder impact in the public sector, so they can succeed” he said. 

“That means growth of our program portfolio, convening meaningful conversations, nuanced thought leadership and playing a role leading public discourse around really important issues impacting the public sector. 

“We want to extend our work beyond the most senior echelons of the sector and bolster the critical ‘middle layer’, those coming up the ranks, those who will be SES in the next 2-5 years.” 

Mr Kennard said that ANZSOG’s capacity to deliver flexible, personalised online learning through Ed Tech and AI would be vital to providing greater value to governments and public servants. 

“Contemporary Online learning – learning designed specifically for an online audience – offers an opportunity for us to supplement our in-person teaching with really fantastic, interactive and personalised learning that is more accessible and much more satisfying than endless hours online. It’s an exciting way for us to reach and connect a lot of public servants, and support them to deliver benefits for the community.”