About
Markwell and Associates is a 100% Aboriginal owned, operated and accredited professional services business specialising in connecting people through Aboriginal cultural values and wisdom.
Unlocking culturally meaningful, mutually beneficial and sustainable impact for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, government, business and community.
Our Values
Our Core Cultural Values: Love; Humility; Respect; Sharing; Truth and Unity.
1. Leading with Love never fear or hate
2. Being Humble in everything we do but confident in who we are
3. Respect and care for our place and all things in our place
4. Always Sharing knowledge
5. Being a Truth teller and Truth seeker
6. Embracing and living Unity
Ken Markwell
Director
Ken is a cultural man. His mob are Mununijhali from the Yugambeh Language Group which is part of the Bundjalung Nation from the Logan River (Qld) to the Clarence River (NSW).
His core values of Love, Humility, Respect, Sharing, Truth and Unity reflect his commitment to cultural practice. Ken is a respected Aboriginal leader having held senior executive roles in Corporate, Community and Government organisations.
His cultural authenticity, professional experiences and exceptional business acumen are the cornerstone of his warm and engaging approach with community and clients.
Career highlights
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Executive General Manager Indigenous Services, Australia Unity
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Director: Indigenous Sector Practice, Ernst and Young (EY)
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Director, Indigenous Business Australia’s Traditional Owner and Sustainability Unit
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Director and leader of Ernst and Young’s Indigenous Sector Practice
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Led multi-disciplinary teams at Commonwealth and State Government levels
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Owner and operator of Markwell and Associates, delivering outcomes in Indigenous heritage, tourism, economic, environmental and business sectors.
Executive leadership experience
For the last 15 years, Ken has pursued roles focused on Indigenous-led socio-economic empowerment and independence.
He was Executive General Manager of Indigenous Services at Australian Unity, which was one the largest employers of First Nations people in the aged and disability sector in Australia. To support Indigenous wellbeing and cultural connection Ken’s team brought together the largest group of Aboriginal Elders in NSW since centenary for their annual Indigenous Services customer gathering.
He led the Indigenous Services team and customers through the COVID crisis, providing safe, high quality culturally appropriate care to some of Australia’s most vulnerable people. In 2019 he was privileged to be part of an Australian Unity Executive aged care study tour delegation to Canada, USA and France where he led First Nations cultural exchanges including with SE Health, Toronto.
Ken is a member of the Aged Care Workforce Remote Accord Leadership Group which was established to improve aged care workforce solutions in remote and very remote areas of Australia.
While at Ernst and Young, Ken led the establishment of their national Indigenous Sector Practice (ISP) delivering a wide range of Indigenous projects across Australia. The ISP worked closely with their EY Tahi (New Zealand) colleagues to align our First Nations principles and approaches.
What Ken brings to the table
As a respected Goorie leader, Ken has unique lived experiences that have shaped and deepened his cultural values and commercial acumen.
He has worked across the corporate, community and business sectors and at all levels of government. Ken understands how the system works, and how the system wants and needs to work with Indigenous Australians.
He is uniquely placed to guide and connect Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in ways that deliver culturally meaningful and mutually beneficial outcomes, and that create long-lasting relationships and deliver measurable and meaningful impact.
Ken’s mission: Empowering Indigenous prosperity
His passion is empowering Indigenous prosperity. For Ken, that means:
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connection to country and mob, particularly the unfettered right to drive social and economic and cultural prosperity from our traditional lands and waters
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access to the highest quality education
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job-relevant training that’s demand driven
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business ownership with sustainable growth
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home ownership, creation of wealth and intergenerational wealth transfer
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employment across all sectors, in all parts of the country, at all levels.
This inherent understanding comes from Ken’s own experiences, and that of his family. His grandmother, who had a profound impact on his life, lived at a time when it was legislated she only receive a Year 4 school level education. Thanks to her inspiration, Ken has gone on to become the first member of his generation to graduate with a university degree, run his own business and achieve home ownership. He knows how important these achievements are in Australia generally, and how they are even more critical for Indigenous Australians.
Formal qualifications and accreditation
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Bachelor of Arts (Archaeology and Paleoanthropology), University of New England
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Bachelor of Applied Science (Conservation and Park Management), University of South Australia
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Qualified Workplace Assessor and Trainer
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Australian Institute of Company Directors
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Adaptive Leadership Program, Melbourne Business School
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Diploma of Professional Coaching - Leadership, AIPC
Projects of influence
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Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation
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Ernst & Young – Indigenous Sector Practice
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Indigenous Business Australia – Indigenous Economic Reporting Tool
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Bonye Buru Booburrgan Ngmmunge: Bunay Mountains and Aboriginal Aspirations and Caring for Country Plan
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Queensland Government Reconciliation Action Plan 2009-2012
Associates
One of Ken’s unique approaches is to leverage trusted partnerships with associates to maximise value and best outcomes for clients, tapping into specialised skills, knowledge and wisdom.
Our clients
Markwell and Associates is proud to have delivered exceptional outcomes for the following clients.
Our logo
The Water hen
The water hen is one of Ken’s yurries (totems) from his country. It symbolises his connections to country and people.
The Two rivers
Ken designed the two rivers to have two meanings:
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The two rivers are the Logan and Albert Rivers from his traditional country, Yugambeh. They start at the McPhersons Range New South Wales/Queensland border (the boundary of our country), meet near Eagleby, and flow into Moreton Bay. They represent the connections his people have from freshwater to saltwater country since time immemorial.
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The rivers also symbolise Reconciliation. The dotted lines are non-Indigenous people and the unbroken lines Aboriginal people. The confluence of the rivers represents the shared journey we now take towards reconciliation.
