“Australia’s Indiana Jones” Speaks at ICMS Professional Lecture Series

Overcoming threats – from climate change to religious extremists, information warfare and terrorism – through courageous leadership and intelligent risk management was the focus of renowned speaker and author Dr Adrian d’Hage when he addressed International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) staff and students recently.

ICMS hosted Dr d’Hage AM MC MAICD, Dip MilStud, B App Sc (Oen), B Th (Hons), PhD, as part of the college’s Professional Lecture Series, where students and faculty have the opportunity to learn about industry-oriented research, meet with colleagues, network and exchange ideas.

Known as “Australia’s Indiana Jones”, Dr d’Hage’s lecture was as entertaining as it was informative as he drew on his incredible depth of life experience to relay his message to a packed audience.

The title of the lecture, delivered at the ICMS main campus located in Northern Beaches, NSW, Sydney, was “Leadership, Security and Threats in an Increasingly Divided World”, and was of special interest and relevance to students, lecturers and administrative staff interested in the topics of Leadership, Risk Management, Strategic Intelligence, Analytics, International Events and Media Management.

Dr d’Hage spoke of how an increasingly divided world faces threats that have appeared from multiple directions. He said that while terrorism – including nuclear, chemical and biological threats, often fuelled by religious extremists – gained significant media attention, it was not the only threat, nor was it arguably the most important.

Alongside terrorism, Dr d’Hage pointed to climate change and extreme weather events; water shortages; cyber-attacks, including an increased use of information warfare to undermine democracy; and population growth as among a myriad of other threats demanding courageous leadership.

Courageous leadership is something Dr d’Hage has been recognised for, most notably as a recipient of the Military Cross for service in the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. In 1993, Dr d’Hage was made a Member of the Order of Australia, and his last appointment as a Brigadier was as Head of Defence Planning for the security of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“Here at ICMS we equip students to think critically and intelligently about current issues faced across the globe, and to develop leadership and management skills that will address real-world problems, as highlighted so eloquently by Dr d’Hage,” ICMS CEO and President, Professor Dominic Szambowski said.

“The ICMS Professional Lecture Series is an opportunity to expose our staff and students to next-level thinking, and to open conversation around not only conflict, but also resolutions. Dr d’Hage’s Doctorate in International Relations on US Foreign Policy in the Middle East, among his many other achievements, made his take on the divided world in which we live both interesting and informative.”

For more information on Dr d’Hage, click here: www.adrianhage.com

For more information on ICMS, click here: https://www.icms.edu.au

Photo: Left to right – Dr Adrian d’Hage and Professor Dominic Szambowski