Gordon Tan

After leaving Saint Kentigern College in 1999 at the end of Form 6 (Year 12), Gordon travelled to Australia with his family where he completed his final year of school in Brisbane, graduating with an OP1.

After college, Gordon says he was lucky enough to be accepted into Queensland University of Technology to begin studying a Bachelor of IT / Bachelor of Law. While he was at University, Gordon started an IT services business that began to take off, so he decided to put his studies on hold to pursue the opportunity further.

Since starting his business, Gordon says he has been very fortunate to have met and been surrounded by great people who have helped the company grow. In 2008, he formed Valedus Group and invested in a recruitment business, and he now oversees operations across the two companies. He has a team of 31 staff with offices in Brisbane and Sydney, and his role is to lead the organisation strategically and to continue developing leaders within the business. Being still a small team, Gordon says they are hoping to make their first acquisition next year.

Gordon feels privileged to study at Stanford University in San Francisco and is completing his MBA via distance education from APESMA. He says he finds situations where he still uses principles and concepts taught to him in Computer Studies classes with Mr Chieng, Economics classes with Mr Whiteman and particularly Accounting classes with Mrs Little. ‘People often think I have a Degree in Accounting and I have to explain, no it was because I had a fantastic Accounting teacher in College, and heaven forbid if you didn’t do all your homework!’

Gordon says he has very fond memories of Saint Kentigern and he is very grateful for his education at the College.