Tim MacKinnon, an adviser to the Commonwealth Attorney General has won the inaugural $40,000 Oxford Business Alumni/Boston Consulting Group scholarship to study business at Oxford University.

The 31-year-old arts law graduate from the University of Western Australia will use the scholarship to study for one of the world’s most prestigious Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses.

Mr MacKinnon has a strong academic record, having won the Blackstone Society Anniversary prize for Constitutional Law and the Jean Rogerson Scholarship at the University of Western Australia and topped his class at the University of British Columbia during an exchange program to Canada.

He is a former lawyer with Blake Dawson Waldron and this year was selected for the AsiaLink Leaders program and the Australian Political Exchange Council delegation to China.

Mr MacKinnon completed the 2005 Melbourne marathon and is a member of the North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club.

The Oxford Business Alumni represents Australia’s 2,500 Oxford University graduates. It holds an annual thought leadership event to raise funds for a scholarship and to debate matters of national and international interest.

In only three years the OBA Forum has emerged as one of Australia’s leading venues for business dialogue. This year’s OBA Forum will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Melbourne on 15 November.

Five senior business, political and environmental leaders will debate “Climate change and the impact on business”. The speakers are Sir Rod Eddington, Richard Pratt AC, Ziggy Switkowski, Hon Malcolm Turnbull and Don Henry.

In welcoming the scholarship announcement, OBA Advisory Board Member and Boston Consulting Group Managing Partner, Patrick Forth, said that
Tim MacKinnon was chosen from a strong field because of his outstanding academic record, proven career achievement and obvious leadership potential.

“The OBA in Australia is delighted that such an outstanding candidate is the winner of the inaugural OBA/Boston Consulting Group scholarship, which will allow Tim to test and develop himself in a unique and demanding academic environment,” Mr Forth said.

“His strong professional experience in both government and business, along with his recent selection in the AsiaLink Leaders program, will help ensure he achieves the most from his Oxford experience.”

In accepting the scholarship, Mr MacKinnon said that Oxford University held incredible appeal for Australians.

“In a short space of time the Oxford MBA program has developed an enviable worldwide reputation. Oxford held a strong attraction for me because of the opportunity to live and learn from some of the best minds in the world.”

Saïd Business School Dean Colin Mayer said “Oxford University has long attracted the brightest and best candidates from Australia and NZ and we expect that, as the inaugural OBA/BCG scholarship winner, Tim will uphold that tradition”.

Mr MacKinnon’s scholarship is for the 2007-2008 northern academic year.

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