Professor Alex Frino

Dean, Macquarie Graduate School of Management

Bachelor of Commerce (Accountancy) 1989
Masters of Commerce (Hons) (Accountancy) 1991

Professor Alex Frino shares a special heritage with the University of Wollongong and this region. Wollongong-born and the son of proud Italian migrants, Alex, like his University, has sought “excellence through initiative, enterprise and achievements that take society forward”.

Professor Frino has been steadfast in his commitment to education, research and diversity throughout his career at local, national and international levels. His resolve to promote Australia as a centre of excellence in research and education, particularly in the field of security market microstructure, has been a driving force. He is regarded as one of the most prolific finance academics, both in Australia and internationally. According to the Securities Industry Research Centre of Asia-Pacific (SIRCA) FINRANK service, he is the second most active researcher in the Asia-Pacific region by publications in the top 20 finance journals in the last 5 years.

Professor Frino graduated from the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1988 and a Master of Commerce (Honours) in 1989. After winning a scholarship to study at Cambridge in the UK, he completed a Master of Philosophy in Finance, followed by a PhD in Accounting at the University of Sydney. His career has taken him from a lectureship at UOW to an appointment in the private financial sector here and in the US and to a professorship at the University of Sydney. He is currently Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Management at Macquarie University.

Professor Frino is a leading authority on the complex field of security market supervision and integrity. His views are valued by his academic colleagues as well as financial market managers and political leaders. He is consulted on many public policy issues related to the field of finance, including the proposed merger between the Australian Securities Exchange and the Singapore Stock Exchange. He has advised the Financial Management Association of Australia, the Securities Industry Research Centre of Asia Pacific, and the Sydney Futures Exchange. Importantly, his work has had a significant impact on the rules and mechanisms used by the Australian Securities Exchange.

An impressive research record testifies to Alex Frino’s pre-eminence in his field and his commitment to the advancement of knowledge. Leading scholarly journals have published over 100 of his articles and frequently cite his research. He has served as a reviewer and on the editorial team for many leading journals including The Financial Review. He has also supervised the successful completion of a considerable number of doctoral dissertations. One of his postgraduate students refers to him as one of the “most influential people in his career” and recognises his “ability to teach difficult concepts to a diverse range of students”. In 2007, Alex was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Higher Degree Research Supervision at the University of Sydney. He has held visiting scholar positions at international universities in Italy and in the UK at Cambridge and the University of Canterbury. He has been a Fulbright Visiting Fellow at Georgetown University and at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington DC.

Professor Frino is a formidable academic leader; he has opened new areas of knowledge through his research and an exceptional capacity for bridging the gap between academia and industry. As CEO of the Capital Markets Co-operative Research Centre (CMCRC) for 5 years, he managed a range of university and industry partners and a budget in excess of $20 million. In this role, Alex also showed a loyalty and affection for his home university. When UOW became one of the five university partners in the CMCRC, he remarked: “As a Wollongong graduate, it has meant a lot to bring my old university into the fold. … I got a lot out of my time at UOW, and it’s good to be able to give something back.”

Tonight, the University of Wollongong gives something back to Alex Frino. We recognise the advances he has made in a challenging area of knowledge, and we commend his contribution to his field of research.

Chancellor, it is a pleasure and a privilege to present Professor Alex Frino for the Alumni Award for Research and Innovation.

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