THE University of Western Australia has appointed Tracey Horton as the dean of its business school, giving the Perth management consultant the job of implementing a significant new strategic direction she helped create.
The UWA business school is currently fund raising for the establishment of a new multi-million home on the south-east tip of the Nedlands campus, which will provide the physical centrepiece for a major thrust by the school to become a rankings leader in the Asian region.
Ms Horton has been working with the university since May regarding the school’s new direction, but her appointment as dean came after an extensive international search by UWA.
UWA vice-chancellor Alan Robson said while Ms Horton was not an academic she had an excellent study record and was well connected with the business community.
“We believe she is the best bet to advance the business school,” Pro-fessor Robson said.
The vice-chancellor said it was not unusual for a non-academic person to take up such a position, but it was a first for UWA.
Ms Horton was on leave and unavailable for comment.
Before working with UWA she was a director of Perth-based corporate advisory firm Poynton and Partners and its sister firm GEM Consulting.
Ms Horton is a UWA graduate with honours in economics. She worked at the Reserve Bank of Australia before going to Stanford Graduate School of Business in California where she was awarded an MBA.
For much of the 1990s she worked in the US for consulting firm Bain and Company, providing strategic advice to several major companies, including Nike and Microsoft.
Ms Horton is also on the board of the Water Corporation. Her term as a director is due to expire at the end of the year.
In other roles she is a governor of the WA Museum Foundation and is a non-executive director of Good Samaritan Industries.
