Malcolm McCoy awarded Professional of the Year
at the 9th Victorian Spatial Excellence Awards

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12-13 September 2013

FIG President CheeHai Teo was honoured to present this award at the 9th Victorian Spatial Excellence Awards Gala Dinner held in conjunction with the 2013 SSSI Victoria Spatial Summit held on 12 and 13 September in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Guest-of-Honour at this gala event and dinner was the Hon. Gordon Rich-Phillips, the Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Technology and Minister for the Aviation Industry of the Victorian State Government, who in his speech, spoke on the State Government’s initiative and progress towards open data.

The Professional of the Year Award is conferred on a practitioner working in any of the disciplines of the surveying and spatial sciences whose professional achievements are acknowledged by peer citation as exemplifying the highest standards of excellence and ethical conduct.

Malcolm McCoy was cited as one with a profound understanding of surveying and spatial disciplines and has contributed to the profession at local, national and international levels. His areas of expertise are land and engineering surveying as well as strategic planning, project management, financial management, contracts administration and quality assurance. He has over 20 years experience as a Director of surveying and spatial companies in his 35 years in the industry. He has been instrumental in undertaking two mergers of surveying companies to form Vekta and prior to that to create Survey21. As part of this process he has been involved in lengthy due diligence procedures, and accordingly was appointed Managing Director of Vekta, one of a few truly national surveying and spatial consultancies. His role was to look at the strategic directions of the company and to implement the company Business Plan. Since then Malcolm McCoy, along with his other partners have sold Vekta to AAM and his role was to oversee the transition of Vekta into AAM.

Malcolm McCoy was part of the organizing team for the FIG Congresses in Melbourne in 1994 and Sydney in 2010 and is understood to remain active in FIG and in the in-coming term potentially as a Vice-Chair in FIG Commission 1 – Professional Practice. He was the President of the Institution of Surveyors Victoria (1992) and the Institution of Australia (ISA) for 2000 – 2001. ISA was a member association of FIG until its merger to become Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute of Australia.

FIG President CheeHai Teo has the honour to present the award to Mr Malcolm McCoy

The 2013 SSSI Victoria Spatial Summit had the theme “Catalyst for Innovation” and the FIG President addressed the theme in his keynote address, suggesting seven drivers and seven global developments that could provide the Profession catalyst for innovation.

FIG President Teo also participated in the FIG Commission 1 Workshop on 11 September 2013 with the theme “The Changing Role of Surveying Professional – Looking towards 2020 and beyond”. The Workshop considered and gathered views through moderated constructive discussion session from a wide cross-section of interested parties; debate the currency of the FIG Definition of Surveyor and to consider the longer term role and relevance of surveying professionals. While in Melbourne, the FIG President was also invited by his alma mater, RMIT University, and had the opportunity to interact with some of the staff of the School of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences and spoke at a seminar for surveying students at the School.

CheeHai TEO
September 2013

10 October 2013