Meet the Committee - Mark Jones

 Current Employer
Australian Water Association 

Current Position  
Member Engagement Manager 

Describe a typical workday    
Sort out emails. Then a standard workday at the moment is in the home office or coffee meetings anywhere, along with plenty of zoom meetings, organising and assisting with AWA events and learning the job as have only been in the role for a month. 

Do you have children?    
A girl and a boy 

How do you maintain balance between your work and personal life?    
Working only 3 days a week helps as does working from home and having lots of interests. 

What did you want to be when you grew up? 
Fighter Pilot  

What is your dream job?    
Supreme Commander of anything at all 

Career path   
Started at Young & Rubicam Advertising in 1980 went to New York in 1984/5. And was with them until1993. 1994 -2000 Finsia Regional Manager SA/NT, 2000-2017 Regional Manager SA/NT at Chartered Accountants ANZ, additional role of National Director for Indigenous Accountants Australia 2010-2019. Semi-retired 2019-2022. Joined AWA September 2022 

Career highlight(s)    
Working in New York with Y&R, Receiving the SA Governor’s Ambassadors Award for services to Indigenous employment in finance and accounting. Achieving the highest member turnout and Yes vote for the merger of ICAA and ICANZ across the world. 

What's the most unusual thing that's happened to you at work?    
Being two feet away from a full-size male lion as it jumped through a Mitsubishi van as part of a shoot for a new advertising campaign.  

What is the most important factor for success?  
Love what you do, do the best you can, never give up, be passionate and resilient, have and open and creative mind. 

What are the important qualities required to be a good manager?    
Play to the strengths of those around you, care about and understand them as individuals, encourage them to get the most out of themselves. 

What changes or trends are happening in the water industry?     
It is phenomenal how much innovation is happening across the water industry 

Dogs or cats?   
Had both and Dogs for sure are the best addition to the family. 

What can’t you do without?    
All my tools, boats, family, dog, horse,  

Rugby, AFL or soccer?    
AFL 

Hobbies past or present?  
Fishing, designing/planning/building things, Military History, cooking, gardening, drawing & painting, helping my wife and daughter with the horses, tennis, golf 

What’s in your music player currently?    
Blues (any era), rock, 60’s/70’s/80’s mainly 

Do you have any other Volunteer roles?   
Vice-President of the Lockleys Riding Club
Committee member of the Ingniting Indigenous Success Work Group at the Flinders University Business School 

What is your favorite film?     
Not a film but West Wing TV series 

Who do you admire?     
My mother 

What would your dream holiday be?    
Sailing around Australia, then driving around Australia then fishing all around the world. It would be a long holiday!! 

What was your first job?  
Paper round for Messenger Press. First paid professional work role was Account Executive at Young and Rubicam Adelaide 

If you could invite four people to dinner who would they be?     
Leonardo Da Vinci, Professor Brian Cox, Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

What was a defining moment in your life?    
Becoming Australian Vice-President of an International Student Exchange Organisation (AIESEC) whilst at university and as they say the rest is history. 

What advice would you give to a young person just starting out in our industry?    
Believe in yourself, take risks, don’t stand still, constantly improve, learn from others and your mistakes and don’t worry as it all turns out fabulously in the end even if it was not what you first imagined.