Our leadership team
- Director: Professor Ian O’Boyle
- Business Manager: Olly Townson
- Senior Lecturer, Sport and Leisure: Dr Duncan Murray
- Senior Lecturer and Bachelor of Business Program Director: Dr Sarah Chua
- Academic Lead: Students, School of Management: Associate Professor Sunny Son
Why partner with us?
- Independent and research-driven – underpinned by academic rigour, ethical protocols, and 30+ years of cultural benchmarking experience.
- No additional training required – our reports are designed to be clear, actionable, accessible and ready to use. No certification or proprietary frameworks are required to interpret your results.
- Continuously evolving – our approach is refined through ongoing research, client feedback, and the University's commitment to continuous improvement and lifelong learning.
- Customised and collaborative – every project is tailored around your organisation’s needs, values, strategy, and people.
- Benchmarking where available – see how you compare to similar organisations to uncover strengths and prioritise action.
- A practical alternative to commercial consultancy – our model delivers credible, cost-effective insights grounded in both academic and real-world application.
Our partners include:
- Botanic Gardens of Australia and New Zealand
- Belgravia Leisure
- YMCA
- Royal Life Saving Society Australia
- SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre
- Local Government Professionals SA
- Various local governments throughout Australia
Our history
Gary Howat and Gary Crilley founded CERM PI over 30 years ago and steadily grew the venture to what is now – a leading performance measurement and benchmarking entity servicing a variety of industries. The acronym was born out of the original Performance Indicators project at the Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management. We have changed the meaning of the acronym to represent Customer Experience Research Metrics and Performance Indicators. However, we are widely referred to in industry, and will continue to be known as simply CERM PI.