Vedran Drakulic Oam

Vedran Drakulic is the CEO of Gandel Foundation, one of the largest private family foundations in Australia providing grants and funding in a wide range of areas of interest in the community, including in areas of public health, mental wellbeing and community resilience.

Previously Vedran was General Manager, Public Affairs with RACV Ltd, and he also worked in the humanitarian field for over 15 years, including with the Australian and International Red Cross and Oxfam Australia.

A respected community leader and advocate, Vedran is a senior executive with a diverse background, knowledge, skills and experience which include resource mobilization and fundraising, advocacy, public relations, marketing and communications, strategic planning, management and stakeholder relations across the corporate, not-for-profit, government and philanthropic sectors.

Vedran is currently a Board member with AMES Australia, GMCT and the Order of Australia Association Foundation, a trustee with the Betty Amsden Foundation and a member of the committee of management of the Hobsons Bay Community Fund. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT.

Having arrived in Australia as a refugee from the Bosnian war, Vedran worked hard to start a new life in his adopted homeland and in 2017 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for ‘service to the community through a range of charitable organisations’.

Vedran holds a Masters Degree in Public Advocacy and Action from Victoria University, and he is a member of the Fundraising Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.