20 November, 2025
For many of the best in the business world, the defining moments of their working life have come from unexpected places. Often, it’s an attitude, a life lesson, a contact or an extracurricular opportunity that’s opened the door to bigger things.
Here, three impressive graduates of the QUT Business School share the secrets to their success.
Esther Au
Esther Au began her career as a journalist, then spent eight years in government communications before joining The Fred Hollows Foundation, “an incredibly rewarding place to work”. There’s been no magic bullet to her success, she asserts, “just a lot of small things over time”.
One was asking for what she wanted — telling her bosses where she wanted to go next so they could keep her in mind when the opportunity arose. Great role models, contacts and mentors have been invaluable, Au says, adding that she has found cultivating self-awareness to be critically important, which is why she always asks for feedback.
“No one likes to get negative feedback about themselves, but that’s really important because we all have blind spots and weaknesses,” she says. “In order to grow, you need to be stretched – often uncomfortably.”
Another big leg-up in her career, Au believes, was the Executive Master of Business Administration (Executive MBA) she undertook at QUT, graduating in 2023. It was essential in learning how to be a business leader and allowing her to step into an executive role as head of communications at The Fred Hollows Foundation.
The most valuable part of the degree, says Au, was the people: “You move through different subjects with the same group of people, which meant I could really get to know my peers and establish good support networks.”
Working intensely on her degree alongside students from a range of different industries and backgrounds gave her a greater sense of empathy and allowed her to skill swap with those from other professions. It’s all been part of a patchwork quilt of experience that’s helped Au build a career she loves.
“There are, of course, big decisions and fork-in-the-road moments that can change your career trajectory,” Au says. “But I wouldn’t underestimate the difference that small shifts done over time can make.”
Eddie Robinson
There’s one way Eddie Robinson describes his career: “Lots and lots of fun”.
In the 10 years since he graduated from QUT, Robinson has been a buyer for video games at Amazon, working with brands like Nintendo and PlayStation, has worked in corporate analysis at Woolworths and now works as a senior product manager at Kindle, a dream job for someone who loves reading and writing.
Robinson studied a Bachelor of Business (Finance)/Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at QUT. That degree opened the doors to a range of extracurricular activities that Robinson thinks put him on the path to his current career — including participating in a global business case competition, where he had to pitch business ideas against top universities from around the world.
“Going in front of a university lecturer to present an assignment gives you foundational skills in marketing and how you present. But the opportunity to stand in front of senior business leaders from across the world through these competitions, real titans of industry, made it so much more real,” he says.
“I had to convince them the same way as a senior manager in a corporate team would. It sets you up for that mindset so when you’re actually in that real-world situation in your career, it doesn’t feel intimidating. Rather, it feels exhilarating, because you’ve been through that before.”
Given Robinson is only 32, he’s still got many lives ahead of him in his career to come.
“Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world, which means there’s a lot of flexibility internally — just like there was at QUT — to move about, try different things and broaden your horizons.”
Jesse Lock
For Jesse Lock, the biggest career lesson has been the value of embracing change.
As a vice president on the fund finance team within Macquarie Group’s commodities and global markets business in New York, his team handles bespoke financing transactions for leading asset managers around the world. It’s a rewarding job, and he reached this point by consistently stepping up to new challenges and embracing opportunities for growth.
“A pivotal lesson that has helped me immensely throughout my career has been the importance of staying open-minded and embracing new opportunities, especially when they feel outside of my comfort zone,” Lock says.
“By taking on new and unfamiliar challenges, I have been able to discover different interests and career directions that I may have otherwise overlooked — such as moving to New York and progressing through different and more senior roles throughout my career.”
Lock has now spent nearly 10 years at Macquarie Group, working his way up from a senior analyst position in Sydney to a range of New York-based roles. He started at the banking group in early 2016, just a few months after graduating from QUT with a Bachelor of Business (Finance) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours).
Lock credits QUT as being the “perfect platform” for his career launch. He participated in a semester exchange program at Arizona State University and was active in various student groups, such as the QUT Economics and Finance Society, which helped his resume stand out.
“The extracurricular activities, getting involved with student-led organisations and undertaking real-world subjects gave me the opportunity to not only make lifelong connections with friends and mentors, but also broadened my outlook with respect to professional work experiences and potential career pathways,” Lock says.
Explore the courses mentioned in this article or discover the full range of QUT business courses here.
As seen on Brisbane Times. Read the original article here.