Ken Smith’s career spans more than four decades with extensive senior executive leadership positions across human services. Most recently, he was Chief Executive Officer and Dean of the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) and Enterprise Professor at The University of Melbourne.
Ken has previously held Adjunct Professorial positions at Universities of Queensland and Sydney, and is currently a Professor of Practice at Queensland University of Technology and a Distinguished Fellow of ANZSOG.
Previously, Mr Smith headed the Queensland Public Service as Director General of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet between 2007 and 2011, and held various department CEO positions in Queensland from the early ‘90s.
Mr Smith has served as Coordinator-General and Director-General of the Queensland Department of Infrastructure, and has been the Director-General of a range of large Queensland Government departments including Education and Arts, Employment and Training, Family Services, Disability and Housing Local Government and Planning.
Mr Smith also worked in London for six years as the Queensland Agent-General and Investment Commissioner for Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr Smith has worked on many national policy issues over the past three decades, including housing and urban affairs, social welfare and education.
With postgraduate qualifications in social work majoring in social policy, he has worked extensively within the school, vocational and higher education sectors and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators and Australian College of Educational Leadership. He has also held adjunct professorial positions at the University of Queensland and University of Sydney.
In 2021, he was recognised for his distinguished service to public administration and to public leadership and education with an AO (Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
BSW (Hons) Comm, MSocWk
Director since 16 October 2023