Board and Senior Management 

Ed St John is an experienced executive and company director who has been involved in the Australian music and media industries for 45 years. In the 70s and 80s, Ed was a music journalist, author and TV producer.  Between 1993 and 2010, Ed was one of the leading executives in the Australian entertainment business, holding senior roles at Sony Music Australia (Director of Marketing), BMG Australia (Managing Director) and Warner Music Australia (President and CEO). 

Ed was the decade-long Chairman of Australia’s leading music event, the ARIA Awards and a director and Chairman of peak industry association ARIA.  More recently Ed was Executive General Manager of The Ethics Centre. Ed is a director of the AIM Education Foundation and VA Media. 

Marie Carroll is a highly credentialed academic who obtained her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Otago University in New Zealand. She has held a succession of senior roles including Foundation Professor of Psychology and Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra. She held the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) and Acting DVC (Education) at the University of Sydney, with responsibilities for curriculum, graduate studies and higher degrees by research strategy, and teaching and learning. She is currently an Education Director at the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney. 

Oren Ronen graduated with a Bachelor of Music Technology from Northeastern University in Boston. In Australia, he gained experience in the TV production industry, having worked on shows such as The Chase, Gogglebox, and Masterchef. Now at McGill University in Montreal, Oren is working towards a Master’s in Music Technology. He is a member of the Input Devices and Music Interaction Laboratory (IDMIL) and The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT). With a sincere interest in the intersection of music, education, and technology, Oren continues to explore and contribute to the evolving landscape of music technology and pedagogy. 

Ben has 18 years’ experience in the creative industries and performing arts education sector including as Managing Director at Collarts (Australian College of the Arts) for five years, serving as Dean prior. Previously Ben was Head of Higher Education, Music Business, at Box Hill Institute. He has a strong background in academic leadership having taught and developed higher education and vocational programs across Australia. He holds a PhD in Music Industry Education from Monash and serves on the board of IHEA (Independent Higher Education Australia). Ben will simultaneously serve in the role of Chief Academic Officer.

John has 25 years of international media and marketing experience including at the University of Technology Sydney where he was Chief Marketing & Communications Officer. Before that, John was on the executive team at media intelligence company Isentia spanning 12 countries across Asia. He was previously a music magazine editor at Rip It Up, Onion and Attitude magazines and inducted into the South Australian Dance Music Industry Hall of Fame, before moving to New York as a journalist. He is a purpose driven leader, passionate about the power of music and education to transform lives, something he first witnessed at his grandmother’s piano school in Manly. He has played rock guitar since age 8 and attended Adelaide University where he completed a Bachelor of Arts.

David Grau is based at our Melbourne Campus. Joining AIM in 2024, he was formerly CFO at Collarts and has four decades of finance experience across industries including public and private higher education, entertainment, retail, property development and engineering. He is a Chartered Accountant who thrives on business challenges, interpreting financial metrics for non-finance staff and staff development.