SAE Magazine 12-2

Timeline: 1978 Started his career in Sydney setting up and operating a niche trading company importing and exporting a varied range of products to and from Australia whilst also undertaking part time studies at theAustralian Institute of Export. With growing experience and success, he expanded his trading activities globally. Mid 1980’s was also in demand as a consultant, negotiator and adviser with calls by a range of Private & Public sector companies as well asAus- tralian State and Federal Government agencies to engage on a range of international trade and ser- vice related projects. He likewise attended class- es as a Student at Law at the Legal Practitioners Admission Board in 1986 along with a series of courses and workshops in Film Production, Suc- cess Leadership and International Banking and Finance through to the late 1980’s. By 1990 and with training and experience expand- ing beyond international trade, he commenced providing consultancy and support services to an expanding group of clients in the areas of Man- agement, Administration and International Mar- ket Entry Planning. This portfolio of services lat- er expanded into Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Raising and the Development of StrategicAllianc- es. He also undertook EMBA studies at the Aus- tralian Graduate School of Management UNSW in 1996. In 1997, Hawatt began consulting to the SAE Ed- ucation Group and was initially engaged to assess and assist with the re-development of the Austra- lian financial, administrative and operating mod- el as this territory postured to move from it’s vo- cational education roots in the late 90’s into the higher education space. As the business became more effective, the scope of work quickly grew into supporting international management on mat- ters relating to staff and business rationalisations, market expansion, turnover and profitability. In 2003, the scope of work for SAE had further expanded and he began to take on a more senior role now acting for the groups various European, Asian and US interests. Projects included strategic acquisitions, the development of new markets and managing the evolution of SAE from it’s original organically grown corporate and operating model into a new, strategically focused, multi-national model. By 2005 and now with corporate, governance, fi- nancial management and operating systems posi- tioned for growth, Hawatt’s focus turned to accel- erating the foreign campus investment and busi- ness footprint whilst enhancing the group’s global education profile through strategic alliances with Government and industry. Byearly2006anewSAElicensingmodelwasalso designed and introduced and this added a further dimension and revenue source to the businesses growth prospects. SAE had broken all it’s previous revenue, profit- ability & expansion records and by 2009 had also completely reinvented itself with a proven and ro- bust business model that was now also well con- structed and positioned for the next level of stra- tegic development and growth. With the rapidly increasing demand for “for profit education” and against the backdrop of the then very established international footprint of SAE in the niche “creative media education” space, the business had also become a desirable acquisition target. As a result of market interest and commer- cial approaches, the SAE Group was formally up for sale in early 2010 and Hawatt headed up a large international team of advisors, financial analysts, lawyers and other experts, along side of the global SAE management team through a comprehensive bidding and due diligence process. Fourteen bidders and approximately 12 months of negotiations and varying levels of due diligence across four continents saw the successful conclu- sion of the process with the sale of the SAE Group to Navitas Limited in early 2011 for approximate- ly $300 million. n Infobox 25 SAE & SAE Alumni News // Featured Profile Index

SAE Magazine 12-2

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