External Advisory Group

Professor Alex Frino, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Strategy), UOW

Professor Alex Frino, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Strategy) at the University of Wollongong is a distinguished economist who fosters the interaction of business with academe. He is an alumnus of UOW and Cambridge University, and is also a former Fulbright Scholar. He is one of the best published finance academics in the world with over 100 papers in leading scholarly journals. He has won over $10 million in national competitive research funding and is frequently cited by the major mainstream global press.

Honorary Professor Mike Conway, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, XVenture

UOW Honorary Professor Mike Conway is the Technical Director of the Global Advisory Board.

Mike is the Founder and CEO of XVenture and was the Emotional Agility, Resilience and Mind Coach for the championship winning Sydney FC A-league team from 2017-2019. This work translated into working with many of Australia’s national team players individually including EPL goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Awer Mabil, Matt Jurman and Matilda, Amy Harrison. Since July 2018, Mike has been working with the Australian National Football team (the Socceroos) as the Emotional Agility and Mind Coach.

Outside of football, Mike is a highly regarded business adviser and coach in business, entertainment and education.

Prior to establishing his own company, XVenture, Mike’s global career has seen him work as a strategist, leader and consultant at executive level with Deloitte, EY, Standards Australia, The Wiggles Pty Ltd and holding Board positions Central Coast Mariners and Australian Children’s Music Foundation. 

Originally from the UK, Mike is clinically-trained in a number of disciplines including strategic psychotherapy and hypnotherapy and holds professional memberships in positive psychology, neuroscience and behavioural science.

Amy Duggan, News presenter and former Matildas player

Former Matilda Amy Duggan joined FOX SPORTS in 2015 to spearhead coverage of the 2015/16 W-League season.

Ms Duggan began playing football at 12 years of age and first represented Australia in Futsal when 13. She then made every state and national age teams until she made her debut for the Matildas at the age of 17. Amy played for the Matildas from 1997 to 2005. She was part of the team that won the Oceania World Cup Qualifiers in 1998, and was part of the 1999 World Cup team in the USA as well as the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic squads.

In 1999 Amy began her media career with various stints in regional television before entering the industry full time in 2005, upon her retirement for international sport. Throughout her career she hosted the reality series ‘Football Superstar’ on Foxtel and was host and commentator for women’s football on the ABC which included Australia’s AFC win in 2010.

Ms Duggan currently presents news and sport for a number of programs on the WIN Television Network. She holds a commerce degree, is an executive board member for the Academy of Sport in the Illawarra and is a media trainer.

Luke Wilkshire, Coach Wollongong Wolves and former Socceroos player

Former Australian international footballer who is currently coaching NPL NSW side Wollongong Wolves FC.

Born in Wollongong, Wilkshire played youth football for Albion Park, Wollongong Wolves and the Australian Institute of Sport before making his professional debut for English club Middlesbrough. In 2003, he moved to Bristol City, where he spent three seasons before moving to the Netherlands to play for Twente in 2006. Wilkshire next played in Russia for Dynamo Moscow, but later moved back to the Netherlands to play for Feyenoord in 2014. He was released from the club in August 2015 by mutual consent.

Wilkshire has played eighty times for the Australian national team. This includes matches at both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2007 and 2011 AFC Asian Cups. He was also a member of the squad at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup. Previously, with Australia's youth sides, Wilkshire took part in the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2004 Summer Olympics.

In 2019, Wilkshire also took on the role of Head Coach for the UOW Men's Football Team. He led the side to its second consecutive National title at the UniSport Nationals and the team went on to earn second place in the FISU University Football World Cup, which was held in Jinjiang, China.

Trevor Morgan, Head Coach, Australian U17 National Team

Trevor is currently the Head Coach for the Australian U17 National Team (the Joeys) who recently reached the Round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup held in Brazil.

Prior to his Joeys appointment, Trevor worked as an Assistant Coach and Analyst for the Olyroos at the U23 AFC Championships held in China in 2018. In addition to his experience in international football, Trevor gained experience coaching young footballers as Head Coach of the Western Sydney Wanderers Youth team for five years, where he was also Assistant Coach of the senior team for the 2013-2014 season as they competed in the Hyundai A-League, and went on to win the AFC Champions League. 

Trevor also has extensive experience in the schools system, holding the position of Director of Football at Westfield Sports High School since 1997.

Born and raised in the Blue Mountains region of NSW, Trevor was also the Head Coach of South Coast Wolves (now Wollongong Wolves) from August 2009 through to September 2012.

Trevor will contribute a wealth of knowledge on the local football landscape in the Illawarra as well as draw on his experiences from his time in the professional game to ensure the Global Football Program is successful.