Dr Jared Greenville shines as one of ANZSOG’s King’s Birthday Honours winning alumni
Three ANZSOG alumni, and former Board member Dr Gordon de Brouwer, were recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours list. It’s gratifying to see the varied work of ANZSOG alumni valued in this way, at a time of growing demands on the public sector.
Dr de Brouwer was awarded with an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to public administration, policy and reform. Appointed Australian Public Service Commissioner in May 2023, Dr de Brouwer stepped down from the position in February this year and retired from the ANZSOG Board.
Christine Castley (China Reciprocal Program 2016) was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the multicultural community, and to public administration.
Ro Allen (Executive Fellows Program 2021) was made a Member of the Order of Australia for their significant service to the community through social reforms and human rights, in particular their role as Victorian Gender and Sexuality Commissioner. You can read about their ANZSOG experience here
The final alum recognised, was Dr Jared Greenville, who was a participant in the Executive Fellows Program (EFP) in 2021 and was awarded a Public Service Medal. Dr Greenville holds a PhD in agricultural economics, and chose a public service career because he wanted to help develop policies that improved the lives of Australians. He spoke to ANZSOG for the article below.
“My grandparents farmed sheep and later on beef cattle in north-west NSW, and went through the structural reforms in agriculture. For example, what governments were doing around the wool price reserve scheme - and then the collapse of that scheme,” Dr Greenville said.
“It really brought home to me that government policies have a real impact on people's lives, so how do we how do we get those policies to be better?
“What attracted me to the public service and shaped my career was the sense that this is where decisions are made. Where you have the opportunity to provide the evidence base so those decisions achieve some level of improvement for Australians and Australian society.”
“The quality of people you work with in the public sector, who share your values and are willing to put in extra effort, is something that has kept me motivated to stay there.”
Executive Fellows Program taught authentic leadership for organisational transformation
In 2020, Dr Greenville was appointed as Executive Director of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), an 80-year-old economic research institution which is currently within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), to lead change within the organisation.
Part of his leadership approach was undertaking the ANZSOG EFP program, which is designed to give leaders a chance to reflect and increase their ability to shape systems and deliver change.
“One of the things we were doing at ABARES was setting ourselves up to work differently, and I chose the EFP because I wanted to expand my library of leadership skills to be able to go through that process,” he said.
“The program brought home to me the idea of authentic leadership: being yourself, and being honest about who you are to your staff. You need that authentic leadership to build connection with people so they are willing to follow you where you are going.”
He said the EFP had brought him together with peers from different agencies and jurisdictions, all facing similar issues.
“It gave us that space to reflect and it's often really hard to pull yourself out of the day-to-day and spend that time ‘on the business’ not ‘in the business’,” he said.
“At a base level, everyone had similar issues: how do we get the best from our workforces and what are the leadership styles that that will help with that, and how do we be comfortable with our own limitations?”
He said he was proud of what ABARES had achieved, and his role in changing its culture.
“We transformed ourselves into a high-performing organisation but it was really about creating a culture which was constructive, cohesive and collaborative both internally and externally
“Seeing people really lean into that, and the results of our APS census. was really rewarding. So was seeing people turning up to work and being happy to be there being themselves,” he said.
“It caught me totally by surprise that I was even nominated for the PSM, and to win one was a little bit unbelievable. Having the privilege to run an 80-year-old organisation for a few years was incredibly humbling.”
Being an accountable and transparent public servant
Dr Greenville is about to start a new challenge within DAFF, as the First Assistant Secretary, Trade and International Division.
“It’s a tremendous time to be in trade at the moment. You have changes in geopolitics and trading dynamics which have increased friction, but at the same time Australia's exports are growing and the agriculture sector is heavily reliant on it,” he said.
“Finding a pathway through and getting success in this environment will be both interesting and challenging.”
Dr Greenville said that while public sector work had got somewhat more difficult, and more scrutinised, over the years – the value of an independent, transparent public sector had only grown.
“It has become more apparent to me as time goes on, that the need for a steady, accountable, transparent public service has grown even if the work hasn't changed.,” he said.
“The onus is on us as public servants to be open, to be questioned and be able to provide good answers for the way that we go about our work. The emphasis on that has stepped up and I think that is ultimately a good thing.”
He said that the public service was a great career to get into, where people could be intellectually challenged, expand their skills and make a difference to the community.
“One thing I always say to public servants is to take the opportunities. Opportunities come up and you often feel a bit nervous about taking them, but sometimes it's worth just saying ‘yes’ and seeing where the ride goes,” he said.