Professor Amir Mahmood, Dean

Professor Amir Mahmood joined Western Sydney University as Dean, School of Business in October 2018. He holds a Master and a PhD in Economics from the University of Manitoba, Canada. Before joining Western Sydney University, he was the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle (UON) in Singapore and the Chief Executive Officer of UON Singapore.  Professor Mahmood led UON Singapore to win the inaugural EducationInvestor Asia ‘Higher Education Institution of the Year” in 2018. Prior to his UON Singapore appointment, he held a number of senior academic leadership positions at UON, including the interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business & Law), Deputy Head of Faculty (Business & Law), Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (International & Advancement), Assistant Dean International, Director Executive and Corporate Programs, Deputy and interim Head of Newcastle Graduate School of Business.

With extensive experience in Australian and international higher education systems, Professor Mahmood is an established leader in the area of internationalisation of higher education. Over the years, he has successfully negotiated, implemented and managed international collaborative initiatives across a range of cultural, linguistic, political and economic contexts in the Asia Pacific region.

A recipient of the Australian Government Endeavour Malaysia Research Fellowship, Professor Mahmood has an active research track record in the field of economics, business and management.

His research excellence is reflected in his research leadership and outcomes, which include edited books and book chapters, refereed journal articles, conference papers, invited addresses to international forums, PhD research supervision, and collaborative research projects and grants. His recent engaged research with impact include work in areas such as SMEs in Malaysia and Indonesia, mental health and productivity in Singapore, microfinance and poverty alleviation in the Philippines, disaster management in South Asia, and international trade in services in the ASEAN region.

Professor Mahmood has also worked on projects funded by international and national organisations such as the World Bank, Agriculture Canada/Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Department for International Development (DFID, UK),  and the  Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Institute, Singapore.

Over the years Professor Mahmood has taught at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels across economics, international business and general management areas in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. He has also provided academic leadership in curriculum design, subject and program development, program reviews and international accreditations.

Associate Professor Meg Smith, Deputy Dean

Associate Professor Meg Smith is the Deputy Dean for the School of Business at Western Sydney University.

Meg has an extensive research record in the area of gender equity, a key prerequisite to sustainable employment outcomes. Her expertise in pay equity investigations and institutional explanations for the undervaluation of feminised work has been the basis of international and domestic journal articles, research consultancy, expert opinion and submissions to parliamentary inquiries.

Meg's scholarship has focused in contrasting and complementary approaches to gender equity evaluation and regulation. These include equal rights discourses in industrial and discrimination-based legislation, and also gender equity auditing and reporting. Meg’s recent work has included a major research report on equal remuneration claims for the Fair Work Commission, along with Andrew Stewart (University of Adelaide) and Robyn Layton QC (University of South Australia).