Jim Hayman is a passionate Grammarian. He was enrolled as a student at our School in 1957 and passed the matriculation examination (equivalent to today’s VCE) in 1966 with first-class honours in British History. In his final year at school, Jim was a Prefect and Captain of Buntine House. He was a member of the first eighteen football team (1965 and 1966), the first cricket team (1966) and the school athletics team (1965 and 1966). In his role as a School Officer in 1965, he was Secretary to the House Council (a body chaired by the Sportsmaster that helped organise house sporting contests and other house activities).
Jim enjoyed his years as a student at Caulfield. He says he spent most of his time “having fun playing more sport than I should and too little time dedicated to studies” and in retrospect would now advise his 17-year-old self to be “a little more balanced giving more time to study”. He particularly liked Yarra Junction: “I was a city boy and loved the opportunity to be on the land and look after the Wessex Saddleback pigs at the Royal Melbourne Show with Len McRae”.
Having gained a Commonwealth Tertiary Scholarship, Jim went to Monash University where he completed a Bachelor of Economics degree. He had wanted to be an engineer while growing up but soon realised this didn’t interest him, whereas business did. He started his career as a corporate planner with Philip Morris and then moved to GMH as an economist. In 1975 he completed a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Melbourne. He was Finance Director and Managing Director Elect at Tomasetti and Sons Pty Ltd from 1975 to 1981, and a manager/consultant with Sacs Consulting in Melbourne until 1985.
While all this was happening Jim did not sever his connections with Caulfield Grammar. He played 78 games for the Caulfield Grammarians’ Football Club from 1967 to 1971 and in 1975, being a member of the 1968 A Grade grand final side. He also joined the CGA Committee, serving in various executive committee roles, including honorary secretary, before being elected President in 1983.
Jim’s term as CGA President was interrupted by work commitments when he moved to the UK in 1985 as Managing Director UK for Groupe Egor. He returned to Australia in 1988 and served as CGA President again until 1989. Both of Jim’s sons, Nicholas (Class of 1994) and Lachlan (1996), were enrolled at Malvern Campus in 1988 and he is very proud of the fact that his three grandsons will commence at Caulfield in 2025 when they return from the UAE.
After stints as a consultant and partner at Fish & Nankivell and as Managing Director of Horton International, Jim joined executive search company Heidrick & Struggles in 1998 to help establish its Melbourne office. He established and led its Global Mining and Metals Practice, and in addition worked in the oil and gas sector and the engineering and consulting sectors, particularly as they relate to mining and oil and gas. He was also a key member of the firm’s Chief Executive Officer/Board of Directors Practice, conducting Chairman and Non-Executive Director searches in many industries across the globe. Having stepped back from a full-time role in mid-2016, Jim remains an Emeritus Partner and Advisor to the business. In 2021, he founded Jim Hayman & Associates, an executive search consultancy.
Jim was a member of the School Council from 1980 to 1985, while serving on the CGA Committee, and again from 1988 to 1998. He returned to Council in 2009 and was elected President in May 2016. Since stepping back a little from full-time work, he has devoted much of his time to Caulfield Grammar. He says even now he is always “up early and to bed late”. “I don’t do anything by half and I try to do most things about 150 percent. Matters CGS dominates what I do each day. I am not good to be around if I have nothing to do. My major passions are Caulfield Grammar, family, and golf.”
A strong advocate for a Caulfield education, Jim comments: “It provides a well-balanced program so that each student can maximise their potential at whatever they choose rather than being channeled into specific vocations, which many schools try to do.”
Inspired by General George Patton, who once said: “If everyone is thinking the same; someone isn’t thinking”, Jim advises young people “to be yourself and true to others”. Working hard, following his passions, and not being afraid to be bold and challenge himself have been constants in Jim’s life. He remembers leaving London in January 1972 and driving through Africa, across the Sahara Desert, on his way to Cape Town as a risky adventure but one that helped him learn a lot about himself.
He enjoys being able “to make a difference” through his work, whether it be for Caulfield Grammar or in business, and believes that everything can be improved by looking at the why, then the what and finally the how, before taking action. Not being able to get things done fast enough and people who stand in the way of progress are constant irritations.
While Jim’s time as School Council President will come to an end in the future, he says that he will continue his involvement with Caulfield in some capacity. When this happens he looks forward to spending more time with his grandsons and more time on the golf course.
Jim was President of the Caulfield Grammar School Foundation for two years up until 2019. He is a donor to the Foundation and a member of the 1881 Bequest Society.
For more information about Jim and his career go to his LinkedIn account – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-hayman-bb4a742/
