Ivan Deveson shares the highlights and lowlights of a colourful career, which combines the knowledge gained in a long international business career in six countries:
Ivan was one of the first Australians to be sent on an overseas assignment by GM Holden. He subsequently lived and worked in South Africa, Belgium, the US, Mexico and Denmark while working with the GM Corp specialising in production, quality control, purchasing and logistics. In 1978 was appointed General Director of Intl Purchasing, for the General Motors Corporation and spearheaded initiatives to co-ordinate purchasing between divisions. Following a review of worldwide counter trade, Ivan formed General Motors own trading subsidiary - Motors Trading.
On return to Australia, Ivan introduced the Just In Time (JIT) concept to GMH. He made over 100 visits to Japan in establishing business relationships with a great range of Japanese companies and developed an advocacy for the Japanese "Continuous Improvement Concept".
In 1987, Ivan was appointed CEO of Nissan. He improved brand awareness of Nissan products (formerly Datsun) and increased annual sales by more than 60% over four years. He resigned from the company in 1991, which subsequently ceased manufacturing in Australia as a direct result of the Button Car Plan.
A receiver appointed Ivan the Chairman of 7 Network in 1991. He presided over recovery of the financial health of the business, leading to a most successful public float, which featured in the 1992 ASX annual report. He increased the capitalisation of the network by nearly 100%, which led to the business becoming the target of major media players.
Ivan Devson was appointed Lord Mayor of Melbourne (1996-1999), and was the longest serving Lord Mayor in over 40 years. He presided over significant CAPEX spending while maintaining the debt-fee status in the city. His appointment was characterised by a range of initiatives that strengthened Melbourne as a city of the arts, business development, globalisation and social programs.
In 2005 Ivan Deveson was appointed Chairman and National President for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.
Ivan Deveson was Victorian of the Year and made a member of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1991. He has written a book "The Evolution of an Australian Management Style" and is a leading advocate of leadership development, training and education. He was Foundation Chancellor of RMIT and Chairman of the State Training Board.
Many believe that Ivan Deveson has proved that leadership is not a continuous success journey, but as with sport, a player must train continuously, set goals and take one game at a time. Along the journey, role models and mentors are critical, as is the maintenance of high standards of corporate governance and integrity.
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