Cameron (Cam) Mostyn (Fr 2005) is the Head of Financial Planning & Analysis at Frucor Suntory in Sydney. Cam completed undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney, whilst residing at St Andrew’s College, and later completed post-graduate studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. During this time, he also studied abroad at the University of Glasgow. Cam describes himself as an outdoorsy and adventurous person, with a combined passion for a corporate financial career. The Mostyn family are highly active in the philanthropic space and have recently established a scholarship at St Andrew’s College and Cam works closely with numerous charities in his capacity as a director of the family’s Foundation. A current example of his philanthropic work is his current pursuit of the ‘Talisker Atlantic Challenge’ (further details below).
Raised in Sydney, Cam studied a Bachelor of Commerce & Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Finance, Commercial Law and History). A few months into his undergraduate, Cam says “fate intervened” and his Dad was required to move to Perth for work, compelling him to find a new place of residence. Experiencing university life from both a non-collegiate and collegiate viewpoint offered him a fairly unique perspective, referring to the latter as a “much richer experience”.
Cam submerged himself in a broad spectrum of College life. From social activities (“over-indexing on the social side” he declares) such as writing for the College newsletter and running the ‘Buffet’ student shop to being an active member of the Rawson swimming and rugby teams, Cam was involved in as much as possible.
“I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in all aspects of College life…I was always either getting involved or cheering from the sidelines.”
His high level of engagement with residential life at College left Cam in good stead to pursue in his own words ‘a fulfilling life post-College’. Subsequent to finishing his studies, Cam was “fortunate to share experiences of work [and] travel” with Androvians, which included marrying his College sweetheart, Josie Gollan (Fr 2005), a feat which he describes as his biggest accomplishment in life. Cam continues to lead a dynamic lifestyle by developing and engaging in a variety of interesting projects, such as climbing volcanoes and trekking mountains, in addition to a full-time career.
I personally consider the adage of work-life balance to be a misnomer, in the sense that work, life, holidays, ocean-rowing expeditions and anything else are all parts of life which will inevitably ebb and flow at different stages.
Whilst working as the Head of Financial Planning & Analysis at Frucor Suntory, Cam is also attempting the ‘Talisker Atlantic Challenge’ in December 2019 with three other friends as the team ‘Rowed Less Travelled’. The Challenge is one of the world’s toughest races, with teams rowing 5,000km unaided across the Atlantic Ocean. The goal of the team’s expedition is to raise $400,000 for The Black Dog Institute and raise awareness for men’s mental health.
“After doing my homework and watching multiple documentaries and reading first-hand accounts I was increasingly drawn to the Challenge. The audaciousness of the task, the enormity of the planning and logistics and the end game of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for mental health all became an opportunity too unique to pass up.”
If Cam could give his Fresher-self advice, it would be to “have fun, invest in yourself and take the time out to think more consciously about the world around you and your role in it”.
To his fellow Androvians, he offers the following:
Barring the odd exception, you will never have even remotely close to the same amount of free time (prior to retirement) as you do right now. It’s an incredibly important resource, so make the most of it. Carve out time for expanding your horizons, travel, relaxing with friends and family, whatever makes you happy. Also the hangovers will get significantly worse by your late 20’s so make the most of your youthful resilience!
To find out more about Cam’s race, or to donate, please refer to their website: https://www.rowedlesstravelled.com/.