PwC boss Tom Seymour claims top alumni award

Deloshaan Subhaharan (Young Alumni Award), Tom Seymour (Robert Stable Medal) and Carly Fradgley (Community Achievement Award) at the Bond University Alumni Awards.  

PwC Australia CEO Tom Seymour has claimed the top prize at the 2022 Bond University Alumni Awards.

Mr Seymour was presented with the Robert Stable Medal at the university’s Alumni Awards Dinner on Thursday, May 19.

Carly Fradgley, the Founder and CEO of charity Baby Give Back, received the Community Achievement Award.

The Young Alumni Award went to Deloshaan Subhaharan who is a Medical Registrar at Gold Coast University Hospital, a researcher, and an Honorary Adjunct Teaching Fellow at Bond University.

Mr Seymour graduated from Bond University with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in 1994 after first attaining a Bachelor of Commerce from QUT.

He joined the Gold Coast office of PwC in 1994 and became a partner in 2002.

He has been the Managing Partner of the firm’s Financial Advisory business and also the Managing Partner for Tax and Legal.

Mr Seymour ascended to the top role of the ‘big four’ audit and advisory firm in March 2020, leading 700 partners and 8000 employees.

The Robert Stable Medal is named in honour of former Bond University vice chancellor Professor Robert Stable who was on hard to make the presentation.

Mr Seymour told the dinner guests higher education had transformed his life and was ‘an amazingly important piece of a society’.

“It drives equity, it drives the community into the future, it keeps you modern. And it really links to prosperity.”

With the federal election to be held 48 hours after his speech, Mr Seymour had words of encouragement for both side of politics.

“It's very easy to bag the politicians,” he said. “It's like a national pastime.

“But if you look at what's happening in Russia at the moment, democracies are a pretty critical asset, and democracy is only possible if people put their hand up to lead.

So I think you've got to support and help leaders of all persuasions make a difference.”

Community Achievement Award winner Ms Fradgley graduated from the university in 2006 with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and went on to forge a successful career as a lawyer.

While raising her young son she donated surplus baby equipment and discovered a pressing community need, quickly building the charity Baby Give Back to help vulnerable families.

Today the charity provides essential baby items such as cots, prams, car seats and nappies.

In five years, the charity has supported more than 14,000 children and recently went to the aid of flood-affected families across Southeast Queensland and Northern NSW.

“We were sending baby formula on helicopters to isolated communities because mothers’ breast milk had dried up in those first few days when they were not able to be rescued,” Ms Fradgley said.

More recently, Baby Give Back has been supporting refugees from Ukraine.

“We've been able to provide car seats to Ukrainian refugees who have come over, (also) to Afghan refugees, and knowing that we can make some sort of immediate impact is what fuels all of us.”

Young Alumni Award winner Deloshaan Subhaharan graduated with a Bachelor of Medical Studies in 2016 and a Doctor of Medicine in 2017.

During his time at Bond Dr Subhaharan was an active member of several associations including the Medical Students’ Society of Bond University as the Vice President (Clinical).

He has contributed to multiple research projects and has won two best young investigator research awards.

Dr Subhaharan recounted one of his most memorable moments while a student, during a clinical placement in the Solomon Islands.

“I got the opportunity to deliver a baby with only one light at 5am in the morning, and afterwards the father came up to me and asked my name. And I was a bit confused,” Dr Subhaharan said.

“And he's like, well, we want to name the baby after you.

“That was awesome.”