Graeme Kent - SIM International Staff

Graeme Kent was born and raised in Australia. He came to the Lord when he was 10 years old and later committed himself to missions at the age of 17.  From high school until he took early retirement in 1996, Graeme worked for Unilever (the Anglo / Dutch multinational consumer goods company). After studying applied chemistry (as a company trainee), he held various management and executive positions in technical and manufacturing areas, including several years as a member of the Board of Directors of a Unilever operating Division in Australia. He spent eight years working in Unilever’s international headquarters in The Netherlands.

He has served in a wide range of leadership responsibilities in local churches, para-church groups and mission organizations.

He obtained valuable exposure to cross-cultural missions through his involvement as a Board member of Africa Evangelical Fellowship (AEF) in Australia and at international level. He made several field visits to AEF ministries in southern Africa. In 1997-78 he was the leader of the small group that investigated the potential merger of AEF with SIM (Serving in Mission). After the two missions merged, he led the SIM / AEF Transition Office in South Africa (1999-2000). He was appointed Director of Administration for SIM International in 2001 and served as a member of the SIM International Leadership Team in the USA until 2006. He was project manager for SIM’s Seize the Day strategic review in 2004. He and Carol returned in mid-2006 to live in Sydney, Australia, but he continues to travel widely.

Today, he helps lead SIM management training seminars, is Secretary for Corporate Affairs to the International Board of Governors and a Trustee of SIM Charitable Trust. He is a member of the SIM International Council, the SIM International Board of Governor’s Finance Committee and the SIM Australia National Council.

As a member of SIM International staff, his two main SIM responsibilities are:

a)      Providing consultancy advice to SIM Offices on corporate affairs and governance matters. He is currently deeply involved in the revision of the SIM International Constitution

b)      Assisting SIM leadership and staff as the SIM Advocate for Business Ministries. He is excited about using his varied experiences to identify, enhance, develop and support appropriate ways for SIM to use business activities as a door to effective ministry in a wide range of settings, including situations where traditional missionary activity is not possible or not relevant in the local context. He sees great potential in this type of ministry as a way of sharing the Gospel with business people and professionals. He also wants to recruit people with relevant business expertise to act as consultants and mentors to those running SIM’s institutional ministries as well as assisting our church partners as they seek to provide suitable employment opportunities for their members. Building a network of people involved in business-related ministries, both within SIM and in other organizations, is a clear priority for the years ahead.

Graeme loves to make a quick quip or tell a joke or funny story; sadly, he does not always remember just which stories he has told to which people!!

He and Carol are members of St Paul’s Anglican Church, Carlingford in Sydney. They have three adult children and five grand-children.