Sliding doors and fast lanes: how Martin Pakula went from the school oval to boss of the Australian Grand Prix

Since graduating from Haileybury in 1986, Martin Pakula’s career path has been diverse, and it is still evolving.

Now in what he refers to as the ‘third stage’ of his professional life, and as Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Martin is currently focused on elevating the Australian Grand Prix to become the jewel in the global Formula 1 crown.

“The Australian Grand Prix Corporation is an exciting opportunity. We have a contract to run the race until 2037 and there are opportunities to make it the biggest Grand Prix in the world,” says Martin.

“The event has gone from being a little niche in terms of its support to one with broad public appeal. Stewarding the event through the next few years is a great privilege. Who knows? We may even have an Australian World Champion F1 driver in the next year or so!” adds Martin, referring to the track success of another Old Haileyburian, Oscar Piastri.

However, how Martin ended up at Haileybury’s Brighton campus features an interesting twist of fate, and a set of footy goalposts.

“I was in Grade 3 at the time and doing reasonably well at primary school, so Dad thought I might be able to get a scholarship. Like all eight-year-olds, I didn’t really want to leave my school; however, Dad suggested going for a drive to see a couple of private schools,” recalls Martin.

“I told Dad I didn’t like the look of the first school he showed me, and then we drove down South Road in Brighton. That’s when I spotted Haileybury. The front oval had footy goalposts up and I said to Dad ‘this is the one!’. I sat for an academic scholarship at Haileybury because of those footy goalposts!” he laughs.

It was a sliding doors moment that Martin now describes as pivotal.

“Haileybury taught me how to be robust, and it showed me a way of interacting and engaging with people that I continue to use today. My time at Haileybury served me very well,” he says.

Martin joined Haileybury in 1978 and graduated in 1986, in the final year of the HSC. He studied Economics and Law at Monash University before entering public life and taking on some of the most high-profile roles in the state: State Secretary of the National Union of Workers (NUW), Minister for Industry and Trade, Industrial Relations and Public Transport, and later, Attorney General and Minister for Racing.

He now leads two of Victoria’s most visible organisations as Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Chairman of Crown Melbourne.

He credits Haileybury with instilling in him independence, competitiveness, resilience and a belief in high standards.

“The advantage of going to a new school where you don’t know anyone is that you have to learn how to make friends, be independent and develop resilience,” he says.

“There were a lot of smart kids at Haileybury and it was competitive, and if you wanted to be top of the class, you had to find your way. I was at Haileybury from the ages of 9 to 17: a formative time, and I’ve still got great friends from my school days. My best man was a boy I met in Grade 4.”

It is also why he chose Haileybury for his own children.

“Haileybury had a huge influence on the person I am today and I sent my children to Haileybury because of my own educational experience there, and because I knew they’d benefit from being at the school, too,” he says.

Reflecting on his career highlights, Martin nominates the 13 years he spent with the National Union of Workers (NUW) as a steep and valuable learning curve.

“For a kid out of a private school and university education to go to a place where my teachers and workmates were storemen and packers, that taught me life skills. There was camaraderie and a sense of purpose. It was one of the best work experiences I could have asked for, and everything I’ve done in my life flows from that job,” says Martin.

“I had to learn how to engage and be straightforward with people. My mentor, Greg Sword, was General Secretary of the NUW and he always reminded me that if you are just tough, smart people beat you. If you are just smart, the tough people beat you. So, you have to be good at both. You have to be tough, smart and to care.”

Martin is looking forward to the career challenges and learnings ahead.

“I’ve taken on the Chairmanship of Crown Melbourne, and my focus is to reconnect Crown with Melbourne and to move the business into a growth phase. That’s a challenge I am relishing,” he says.