Long before becoming an internationally respected sports administrator and manager, Craig Phillips AM was a promising sportsman.
Southern Cross University's 2010 Graduate College of Management Alumnus of the Year represented Australia at the Modern Pentathlon Junior World Championships in 1979. And while a feted athletics career did not ensue, the multi-tasking inherent in pentathlon's five disciplines is an apt metaphor for the professional career that did.
"I started in sports administration back in the 1980s and back then it was very much a case of learning on the job," says Craig. "After eight years with the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, in 1990 I joined the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), which really was a former athlete's dream.
"Later, when I wanted to step up and really progress my career, Southern Cross University was the obvious choice for my MBA. As well as affirming my job experience to that point, sport-specific topics enhanced my practice and insight into areas like sports management, contract and corporate law, strategic management and tactical decision-making."
Speaking of decision-making, opting for career over competition was one of Craig's easier choices, and since then he has dedicated his professional life to sport.
He served as the AOC's Technical Director and Director of Sport until appointed Secretary General in 2005, launching almost 10 years at the forefront of AOC operations. Also, Craig's stewardship of 12 Australian Olympic Games teams – spanning the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics to the Sochi Winter Games in 2014 – saw him become the most capped Olympic Team official in Australian sporting history.
In 2015, Craig made the transition to CEO of Commonwealth Games Australia, and among his first roles was on the Board of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation, its Sport and Technical Committee and Joint Marketing Committee.
In 2021, Craig was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his "significant service to high profile sporting organisations through executive roles". In 2023, he was elevated to the Executive Board of the CGF.
All of which is a long way from the young pentathlete competing at his first junior world championships 45 years ago. More pertinently, or perhaps impertinently, it begs the question: why pentathlon?
"When I was a kid in Sydney, my dad ran Sydney University's swimming pool, which at the time was the only indoor 50m pool in the city. So, I always had somewhere to swim," he says.
"I also dabbled in running and horse riding and that took me into pentathlon. I loved it. It presented challenges, variety and competition that I enjoyed.
"Ultimately, I gave it away for a professional career, although I look back on those days with affection and gratitude. It was a good learning experience to switch from being a competitor to being a manager and administrator. The affinity with one informed the other."
For all of Craig's experience since receiving his MBA from Southern Cross University, he is adamant about its significance in his career.
"Absolutely," he says. "It met my objectives, added to my armoury of skills, and helped me to better understand what I did, what I wanted to be and where I wanted to go. It was important to me then and remains so now."
