Postcards

Joshua Kovoor (OS 2014)

Doctor and Health Innovator,

Ballarat, Victoria

Since finishing school, I’ve been living interstate. I spent the first five years completing my medical degree at the University of Adelaide, where I developed a keen interest in research and innovation. I pursued this full-time through an Honours degree in 2020, where I worked with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons to develop guidelines to help the surgical services of Australia and New Zealand adapt to COVID. In 2021 I started a PhD in general surgery concurrent to my final year of medical school, and also founded my first research collaborative, the Information in Surgery Journal Club. The latter rapidly gained broad interest, so I expanded it to found Health and Information during my Intern year in 2022, which now fosters research across multiple states. In 2023 I completed the research for my PhD, which included creation of the Adelaide Score, an AI system that gained media attention and has now successfully improved efficiency across a large hospital in South Australia.

I’m now working as a surgical resident in Ballarat in regional Victoria, and next year will be moving to the Gold Coast with a high likelihood of also doing a postdoctoral research fellowship in AI and robotic surgery in Los Angeles.

As Old Sydneians, we’re fortunate to have a robust foundation of skills and values that makes us broadly adaptable. Although I am still early in my career, this foundation that Grammar gave me has already opened up countless opportunities that I previously didn’t know were possible.

Adrian Jack (OS 1980)

President of OSU London Branch, Barrister, Judge,

London, UK

After school I went to Oxford University to study law. Admission as a barrister in England followed. I started with a mixed practice of civil and crime, but developed a speciality, first in solicitor’s negligence, and then, after I was called to the German bar, in international commercial practice. As is common in England, I obtained part-time positions sitting about 30 days a year, first as a tribunal judge, then as a recorder (a judge of the Crown Court and County Court). In 2014 I took my first full-time judicial post as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar. Although Gibraltar is only a small territory on the southern tip of Spain (2½ square miles and 32,000 inhabitants) it is nonetheless a substantial offshore financial, insurance and internet gambling hub. As a British Overseas Territory, it is a common law jurisdiction.

After some time in the Turks and Caicos Islands, I became a Commercial Court judge in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. (Both TCI and BVI are also British Overseas Territories.) Apart from occasional hurricanes, the weather is delightful with the trade winds giving a steady 80˚F/27˚C. The BVI has over half a million companies, including some listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. Many Chinese enterprises have BVI holding companies, so questions of the PRC law of directors’ fiducial duties and the newly reformed PRC trust law had to be decided. With family commitments, I am now back sitting in England with a sadly much diminished tan.

Charles Edwards (OS 1984)

Film producer/director,

Hong Kong

With a science degree from the University of Sydney, a start in healthcare advertising and four years with one of the international agencies in Sydney, I was offered a move to that agency’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Bangkok. Later, there was a brief stint in Tokyo, and a role as part of the team establishing operations in Beijing and Shanghai as China was opening up in the early 1990s – both an exciting and challenging time.

Returning to Sydney in 1994, I put my agency experience to use, composing and producing music for advertising, TV and radio. Music has always been a big part of my life. I learned the trumpet during my years at Grammar, starting at St Ives Preparatory School and all through College Street, playing in the Big Band, one of the Sydney Youth Orchestras, various inter-school musicals and singing in the Choir. I also played guitar and bass in bands, learning production along the way.

A second tour of duty in China a few years later was followed by a move to Hong Kong with another agency network, overseeing the development and production of many commercials. Ultimately, I set up my own production company, The Media Village, producing and directing films for clients and agencies globally. Twenty years later, through economic crises, pandemics, civil unrest and a law degree, I’m still here.

Outside of this I’m either sailing around the South China Sea (or more likely fixing my boat …), playing in one of several bands around town, or experimenting with the wild world of generative AI.

Tom Allen (OS 2001)

Engineer, Roboticist and Game Designer,

Melbourne, Australia

I’m currently a semi-retired dad, published board game designer, owner of award-winning escape rooms (“The Curium Experience”), and occasional consulting robotics engineer. I’ve built self-driving cars, autonomous haul trucks, and high-tech medical devices. I’ve worked on optical radar to detect submersible drug smugglers, BitTorrent crawlers to catch you pirating Game of Thrones, and interactive gaming environments that teleport you to other worlds.

This is not a well-trodden career path. But it is most definitely a great way to have fun and get paid well in the process!

At Grammar I excelled at hiding in the middle of the bell curve, but I did enough to head to the University of Sydney to study Mechatronic Engineering and Physics. I enjoyed university a little too much and jumped on the offer to stay even longer via a PhD in Robotics, and then a postdoctoral fellowship. This was one of the most transformative and memorable periods of my life. If you’re presented opportunities like these, I wholeheartedly recommend you take them.

Despite staying at university for over a decade, in my work I was unashamedly a job-hopper. And while it’s certainly possible to jump too early, I am proof that it is not always the career-limiting decision some people make it out to be. When it comes to work experience, breadth can be greater than depth.

I am indebted to the teachers, lecturers, mentors, and colleagues who’ve influenced my meandering path through life. Many of these folks had greater depth in their respective fields than I will ever have, and they too found success and happiness. There’s no map to your career, and my example is just one of many routes. Maybe Yogi Berra said it best: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Richard Basil-Jones (OS 1978)

CEO,

London, UK

In early 2023, my wife and I made a bold move to London, one of the world’s most expensive cities, without a job lined up—a leap that paid off. After 40 years of working with global marketing data companies like Nielsen and Ebiquity, I am now the CEO of the Australia-UK Chamber of Commerce in London, a role that has become the most fulfilling of my career. This position leverages my extensive experience in corporate leadership and stakeholder management while allowing me to connect with a diverse and fascinating array of people.

Every day presents new challenges and opportunities, from engaging with business leaders across sectors like technology, banking, and green energy, to hosting Chamber events that bring together industry experts, government leaders, and Australian High Commission officials. One initiative I’m particularly proud of is a series of Young Professionals events aimed at Australians in their 20s and 30s living in London.

My office, located in Australia House on The Strand, offers a unique connection to London’s iconic landmarks like Somerset House and the Royal Courts of Justice. This role has also afforded me remarkable experiences, such as attending the return of the Gweagal Spears ceremony at Cambridge, the Anzac service at Westminster Abbey, and a performance by the Australian Ballet at the Royal Opera House.

Recently, I attended the Old Sydneians’ Union Centenary Dinner at the House of Commons, sharing the occasion with Headmasters Dr Ralph Townsend and Dr Richard Malpass, underscoring the importance of staying connected with the Grammar community.

Rohan Krishnan (OS 2005)

Dentist, service on various boards,

Sydney, Australia

My time at Sydney Grammar School shaped not only my education but also my career choices. After graduating from the University of Sydney with a degree in Dentistry, I began working in my local community.

However, life took an unexpected turn when I ventured into a parallel career as a non-executive board director. I have had the privilege of chairing the board of the Australian Dental Association (NSW) and the board of the charity “Filling the Gap”, which provides pro bono dental care to vulnerable members of the community. I am currently a board member of the Australian Dental Council and have been invited to serve on the NSW Government’s inaugural Voluntary Assisted Dying Board.

I can trace much of my desire to contribute to the community back to my school years – volunteering at Sir Eric Woodward School while at St. Ives, and volunteering to help homeless men at Matthew Talbot Hostel while at College Street.

Today, I run my own dental surgery in West Pymble and have since completed a Master of Science in Medicine (Pain Management) from the University of Sydney. This advanced study enabled me to establish a multidisciplinary healthcare clinic for managing jaw pain and dysfunction, in collaboration with an ENT surgeon and physiotherapists. This clinic is one of the first of its kind, breaking the silos that exist in healthcare to improve patient outcomes.

I also volunteer as a dentist at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and serve as a guest lecturer at both the University of Sydney and the University of Newcastle.

Reflecting on my time at Grammar, I see that the School’s emphasis on developing a broad range of interests prepared me to apply my skills in diverse ways.