USQ PhD alumnus wins AIM Queensland Young Manager of the Year

USQ PhD graduate Rick Coker was awarded the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) Queensland Young Manager of the Year at a recent ceremony in Brisbane.

Rick, who is the Engineering Manager at Russell Minerals Equipment Pty Ltd in Toowoomba, had already received the Young Manager of the Year Award for the Toowoomba Region.

'Winning has been awesome!' he said. 'I was surprised to win as I was up against some amazing young managers.

'The process of applying was good and gave me the opportunity to reflect on my journey as a manager.'

Without previous managerial experience, Rick has lead a team working on a world first design project. 

Now, Rick has made the transition from senior engineer to team leader, and has exceeded performance standards in his sphere of influence. Growing his team by over 50% in the last 18 months, Rick has a ‘We can do anything' philosophy. 

Rick completed both his undergraduate degree and PhD in mechanical engineering at USQ.