Aaron Yeak loves motorsport so much he made it his career. With an MBA from Melbourne Business School he hopes to make it to the pinnacle of the industry.
And he is well on the way to being one of Australia’s next corporate leaders after being recognised as one of the country’s most outstanding young managers.
Aaron has just been inducted into the AIM30 – an annual list compiled by the Australian Institute of Management that is made up of the 30 most outstanding managers under 30 years of age.
As Project Manager for the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), Aaron is responsible for a number of initiatives including delivering road safety programs to children from 12-18 years of age.
The programs have been so successful that they have been introduced to Korea and Sri Lanka with plans for further expansion across the region through collaboration with the United Nations and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the world governing body of motoring.
“Our programs focus on getting the message to children before they are able to drive. In many countries, it’s the other way around – driver education happens after you get into the car. But a lot of what we know about how people learn is that it’s important to get the attitude right first.”
With a lifelong interest in sports, Aaron’s role at CAMS has included Operations Management for the FIA Korean Formula 1 Grand Prix and Logistics Management for this year’s Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. He hopes to be able to use his MBA in the field of sports management when he finishes the program.
“Right now, I’m loving the(MBA) journey,” he said. “I’m doing Brand Management and in the classroom there are students sitting next to me from Duke, Kellogg and Stern Business Schools in the US, and it’s been great hearing their perspective.”
Aaron, who already holds Mechanical Engineering degree has always liked the idea of combining business with sport.
“The business of sport is fascinating and I have always appreciated the value of combining my on-the-job experience with some theoretical learning,” he said.
What is the best thing about his MBA?
“Meeting different people and making great new friends. We have extremely diverse cohort with people from all over world… this diversity brings some unique and innovative experiences to the classroom and really enhances the learning environment.”
But the biggest surprise of his MBA has been what he has learned about himself.
“I have really enjoyed the fact that the course is not all about theory, there is a tremendous opportunity in the MBA to look inward and learn about yourself as well,” he said. “I have much greater appreciation now for what skills I do, and don’t, have and what I want to do with those skills in a work environment.”
Aaron commenced his part-time MBA at MBS in 2013 and hopes to have the course completed by the end of this year.
He believes doing the course part time has given him a unique edge over work colleagues and the full time MBA students.
“Being part-time means you get go out straight away and apply the knowledge in the real world,” he said. “What you learn in a lecture at night you can put into practice the next day.”
