Business College students inspired by Motivational Seminar – Maria Atkinson

It’s not every day that students have the opportunity to fire questions at the Global Head of a multi-national corporation. But, the students from Passmores’ Business College were given the chance to do just that. Maria Atkinson, Global Head of Sustainability at Lend Lease, shared with students practical career advice as she described how her career progressed from a position in marketing to the position she has today.

Her position today takes her to thirty five different countries around the world as she steers Lend Lease’s work towards realising its aspiration to be a leading sustainable organisation. Among her list of achievements, Maria was a Co-founder of the Green Building Council of Australia where she was responsible for overseeing the building of ‘green’ accommodation for the 2000 Olympics.

In September 2007 former US President Bill Clinton invited Maria to join a high-profile panel to discuss ways to accelerate green buildings, as part of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York . Working in this high profile international arena has made Maria aware of the need to anticipate and empathize when it comes to interacting with a diverse range of clients. She was able to share the importance of this with the students at the seminar, as well as the need for good presentation, networking, planning and lifelong learning.

Her parting words of wisdom to students – “Acknowledge the past, plan for the future but most importantly engage in the present.”

Posted by Passmores on March 14th, 2010
Business College News, Passmores News, Staff, Students
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