Matthew Miles

Matthew William Miles (born 23 March 1968) is an Australian veterinarian, businessman, and executive in the Australian health industry. He has received national recognition for his role as the Chief Executive Officer of MS Research Australia, Australia’s largest not for profit organisation,^[1] which won the 2017 Telstra Business Awards Charity of the Year and 2017 NSW Business of the Year under his stewardship.

Early life

Matthew Miles was born on 23 March 1968 in Temora, New South Wales, to Jennifer Jessica Miles (née Cook) and Michael John Miles. The family settled in Sydney in 1970, when Miles was two, where they remained for the following nine years. Significant health issues due to heart disease plagued Michael Miles throughout his son’s childhood, and as a number of strokes and heart attacks progressively disabled his father, Miles became more intimately involved with his care. Miles credits this experience, in conjunction with his father’s premature death at the age of forty-four in 1979, for his interest in disability medical research.

Following his father’s death, the Miles family moved to the Gold Coast. Here, Miles attended Keebra Park State High School (which has also produced Rugby League stars such as Benji Marshall) until graduating in 1985.

Veterinary career

Miles studied Veterinary Science at The University of Queensland from 1986-1991 and upon graduating, spent two years in Mosman and Lane Cove working with Stephen Van Mil, an Australian veterinarian who later became a well-known television and film personality.^[2][3] Miles subsequently lived and worked across numerous veterinary placements in the UK before moving to Singapore in 2000 with his wife, Caroline. Upon returning to Sydney in 2003, Miles continued to practice as a veterinarian until 2007, at which time he decided to pursue his interest in community engagement, fundraising and disability medical research.

Medical research

From 2007 to 2012, Miles served as the Director of External Relations at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Medicine,^[4] during which time he concurrently completed a Masters of Business Administration through UNSW. In May 2012, Miles took over as CEO of MS Research Australia (MSRA), which was founded in 2004 by Simon McKeon.^[5] As McKeon remains MS Research Australia’s patron, Miles has had the opportunity to work in close concert with him over the past five years.^[6] During Miles’ tenure as CEO, MSRA has received a number of awards, which are summarised below.

In 2015 MS Research was awarded ‘Charity of the Year’ by the Australian Charity Awards,^[7] and in the same year was recognised with a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the Small Budget/Pro Bono category at the 39th Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) Golden Target Awards.^[8] The 2015 Fundraising Institute of Australia Awards also paid tribute to MS Research Australia’s fundraising initiative ‘Kiss Goodbye to MS’ with a Highly Commended Award.^[9]

The following year, in 2016, The Fundraising Institute of Australia again recognised the work of ‘Kiss Goodbye to MS’ with the award for ‘Most Effective Creative Campaign’, as well as the ‘Special Events Award’ for an organisation with under $5 million in revenue.^[10] MS Research Australia was also recognised again at The Australian Charity Awards with an ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award.^[11]

During this two year period (from 2015 to 2016), Miles was himself awarded the Harvard Club of Australia Not for Profit Fellowship (in 2015),^[12] and subsequently shortlisted for ‘Not for Profit Executive of the Year’ by CEO magazine in 2016.^[13]

In 2017, MS Research Australia was recognised at the Telstra Australian Business Awards with prizes for ‘Australian Charity of the Year’, ‘NSW Charity of the Year’, and ‘NSW Business of the Year’.^[14][15] In the same year, MSRA was again recognised by The Australian Charity Awards with an ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’ for the third year running.^[16]

In the time that Miles has been CEO of MS Research Australia, the organisation has also played a crucial role in funding efforts which have led to significant Australian scientific breakthroughs in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. 2017 saw the discovery of a blood biomarker for MS, a finding which will enable the development of a blood test to assist doctors in quickly determining what type of MS a patient has with a high degree of accuracy.^[17] In the same year, MS Research Australia co-funded a three-year, $750 000 multiple sclerosis research fellowship for the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research, with the aim of furthering research into developing treatments for MS.^[18]

Personal life

Matthew Miles is the great-nephew of Sydney legend, Bea Miles, who has been described as Sydney’s most renowned eccentric of the twentieth century. Bea Miles has been the subject of numerous books (including Lilian's Story, a bestseller by award-winning author Kate Grenville, loosely based on Bea's life,^[19] which was later adapted into a film starring Ruth Cracknell, Toni Collette, and Barry Otto) and short stories, as well as a play starring Toni Lamond.^[20] Miles’ grandfather, Arthur William Miles, and great-uncle, John (Jack) Miles, were part owners and managers of George Street’s Peapes Menswear, a landmark gentleman’s department store of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.^[21][22][23]

References