Alison Deans

Alison has played key roles in developing, managing and operating some of Australia's leading Internet businesses. For example, as the first managing director of eBay Australia and New Zealand (a joint venture between ecorp and eBay Inc), Alison was responsible for launching the business in Australia and building it to be the leading person-to-person trading site in this market within 12 months, and to achieve profitability within 18 months. As Chief Executive Officer of ecorp, a technology-focused investment company with interests in many of Australia's leading online businesses, Alison was responsible for supporting the operational teams within its portfolio of businesses. These businesses included ninemsn, eBay, Ticketek, Wizard, Monster, and Distra. Alison guided these businesses in developing their strategies, building their teams and executing their plans. Alison led the ecorp portfolio through its investment phase, from losses of $A30 million per annum to profitability. Alison also has eight years' experience with McKinsey & Company, where she worked with clients to develop their corporate strategies. While at McKinsey she specialised in high growth, consumer marketing and technology. She was also a founding member of the McKinsey Growth Practice, which developed the content for the business bestseller, The Alchemy of Growth. Alison has a Masters in Natural Sciences (Physics) from Cambridge University, and a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. She also serves on the boards of Social Ventures Australia.