Alan has been with the MGSMAA board almost since the beginning. Over the past two years he has been a powerhouse in guiding and helping the alumni association establish its voice as an advocate for the 16,000+ graduates of MGSM.
'When we first set about designing and building the MGSMAA website the vision for it was it to be a highly-regarded and trustworthy source of information for our members,' says Alan. 'We added a number of features to enable visitors to interact which has driven the monthly page views along with fortnightly eDMs which are also popular'.
But as Alan tells it, it is not about what he has done for MGSMAA that’s important but about what it has done for him.
Four years ago, at the top of his career, when Alan was an owner of a successful large format printing business that included Nike, Google and Telstra among its clients, he was struck by a life-threatening illness. Weeks of hospitalisation and months of rehab followed. He was no longer able to continue with his business.
But he still had his MGSM MBA and that was as much an apprenticeship in resourcefulness as it was a university degree. On top of this, the MGSM alumni community has been an important part of his physical and emotional recovery and provided inspiration for the next stage of his life.
'I can’t think of another organisation that I’ve been involved with that has as many passionate supporters as this. I'm lucky to have been associated with many brands that have advocates, but the MGSM brand has zealots, and their passion is energising.'
The MGSM Alumni Association gave him the opportunity to reconnect with a community that inspired and challenged him to “get involved”. He says that the association has also provided many opportunities to build a new career in marketing communications and brand marketing. “I even found myself doing work for one of my favourite lecturers (a novel way of earning some of my MGSM fees back).”
Today, joining Alan in the MGSMAA marketing communications team are fellow alumni Jennifer Zang and Candy Wang.
Like Alan, most of us will, at some stage, face some form of serious setback that will require us to reset our plans and reconsider what is important. But you won’t get much sympathy from Alan, “for those suffering in misfortune, I have no time to commiserate with you. There are businesses to build, products to be sold, and then there’s always the next marketing campaign”.
If you need expert help in your marketing communications and brand development, Alan’s business, Duncrahill Marketing Communications, is open for business. You can contact Alan through his website: www.duncrahill.com/
If you have considered how you can get more from your MGSM alumni network, the MGSM Alumni association offers you that opportunity. You can simply become a member and participate, or you can get involved and join one of our committees or the board.
As Alan says: “It’s a joy to watch things grow, but it is even more satisfying if it grows from a seed planted by your own hand”
For information on joining a committee please email Rebecca on rebeccamurray@mgsmaa.com
