Graham Stevens

ASSET MANAGER
Australian Technology Park

At work ... it’s my responsibility to protect the assets of the park: to make sure the rent is collected, the outgoings are paid on time and we comply with all our statutory obligations.

My first job was ... at the old Redfern Mail Exchange during uni holidays. As impoverished uni students, we enjoyed the overtime and subsidised cafeteria (the food was better than the university’s eateries).

My favourite part of the park ... is the newly painted water tank and newly laid grass around it. With the well-established gum trees, I find it quite a pretty area.

An influence that shaped my life ... was a conversation many years ago with a senior manager, who was my mentor. I listed some goals I had, but expressed misgivings about ever achieving them. His response was simple: “Of course you can achieve them. A person is only limited by their imagination.”

The place where I grew up ... was in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Life seemed uncomplicated in those days. There wasn't much emphasis on schooling: sport was the thing.

My best choice ... I guess I’ve made a few good choices, but the one that gives me the most satisfaction was to ensure my children got the best education I could provide. I can see it starting to pay off now.

My worst choice ... I can’t think of any really bad choices. Like most people, I’ve asked myself many times, “What if ...?”

If I could wave a magic wand ... I would order up some world peace. Current conflicts seem almost like violence for the sake of violence. A few years ago, I went on a tour of the Western Front battlefields. While I’m a firm believer in the idea that ‘the price of liberty is eternal vigilance’, after visiting the Ossuary at Verdun where the bones of 130,000 French and German soldiers are kept, I wondered, was the price too high?

The highlight of my week ... We have a few projects on the go at the moment. I quite enjoy planning their implementation.

My burning ambition ... is to walk the Kokoda Track. I’ve read Peter Brune’s A Bastard of a Place. The title is an apt description of what our soldiers went through during World War II.