It’s no exaggeration to say that Christine Fellowes (BEc '84) exemplifies the female representation that she advocates. As Director of both National Australia Bank and GuocoLand Limited, and Co-Founder of NINEby9, her voice carries with it a wealth of diverse leadership and corporate expertise.
Since graduating from UWA, Christine has amassed more than three decades of experience leading prominent multinational organisations. From Asia-Pacific to North America, with executive roles at Comcast Media Group, NBCUniversal, Turner Entertainment, Omnicom Group and VIQ Solutions, she has driven growth across strategy, marketing, development, operations, global expansion, and digital transformation.
Last year, Christine added a role on the UWA Business School Board to her resume, bringing her expertise in scaling businesses and developing strategy, as well as a deep understanding of the importance of networks in our region.
“Meeting Chancellor Diane Smith-Gander, and Co-Chairs Mark Barnaba and Adrian Fini, was inspiring,” Christine said. “Their vision was incredibly compelling, and UWA has extraordinary potential as a regional business education hub.”
Christine is inspired to use her role on the Board to strengthen transnational bridges and is excited to unlock the significant potential she sees in our regional network, especially having lived – and raised her family – in Asia for the past 30 years.
“I understand how critical university networks are beyond graduation,” she said. “I bring an ‘outside-in’ Asia-Pacific perspective from spending decades building networks from Mumbai to Shanghai – connecting Perth-based alumni with Asian opportunities, while helping Asian alumni understand UWA’s unique value in Australia’s business landscape.”
Despite the breadth of her experiences, it hasn’t all been moments of triumph, with two pivotal setbacks changing her leadership philosophy and approach. The first being when the dot-com bubble collapsed while she was CEO of a US software start-up.
“It taught me that our greatest learning comes from calculated risks, even when they don’t work out,” she said. "Failure isn't the opposite of success – it's often a prerequisite."
The pandemic brought another turning point. Leading through Covid – with teams scattered across over 20 markets – required completely new leadership tools.
“I couldn’t rely on walking the floor or casual coffee check-ins,” Christine said. “It taught me to embrace vulnerability, admit uncertainty, and lead with empathy. The experience made me realise that authentic leadership with empathy isn’t soft – it’s business critical.”
Those key lessons now inform the way she mentors and guides teams, encouraging the next generation of leaders to value adaptability as much as ambition, to ask the right questions rather than have all the answers.
This human-centred approach led Christine to co-found NINEby9, a Singapore-based not-for-profit dedicated to research and advocacy in creating greater workforce opportunities for women.
“During Covid when I was leading large organisations of women in media, I saw women disproportionately impacted by workforce shifts – leaving jobs, taking on caregiving roles, facing remote work challenges – but we lacked regional data on these impacts.”
Christine needed research-driven insights that highlighted barriers and enablers to gender equity to drive systemic change. Five years later, she is partnering with Microsoft and LinkedIn on groundbreaking research about AI's impact on women in future workplaces.
Joining the UWA Business School Board brings her work full circle, to foster collaborations while being at the forefront of change. Her message to fellow alumni is clear.
“Cultivate a lifelong learning mindset to navigate changes; your career doesn’t need to be linear to be successful,” she says. “Those sideways moves often provide your competitive edge.”
For Asia-Pacific alumni particularly, she tells them to remember that they are UWA ambassadors – that network strengthens when we invest in and support each other. The opportunities in our region are extraordinary for those who can bridge cultures and navigate complexity.
Christine's journey of adaptability, resilience and advocacy is a reminder that leaders make space and pave the way for others to rise. Through her membership, the UWA Business School gains an experienced industry leader able to expand global alumni connections, while championing gender equity.