Monday 20 January 2025: 2023 Ramsay Postgraduate Scholar Dalton Fogarty is a Sydney ex-banker turned business strategist with a passion for helping others. He has volunteered for the sick and poor in Timor Leste and Sydney, and prior to his scholarship founded his own company inspired by the ‘montes pietatis’ model, to help forgotten nations in Australia’s periphery.
Now studying an MBA at Harvard, Dalton enjoys regular exchanges with his fellow Ramsay Scholars and is honoured to be part of a community dedicated to leadership, intellectual inquiry and building upon our civilisational inheritance. Fully embracing the opportunity his scholarship provides, he has achieved academic honours and been elected as President of the Harvard Graduate Council. He has explored Silicon Valley’s venture capital firms, New York’s financial institutions, and emerging innovation hubs in Miami and Puerto Rico. Outside of his studies, Dalton has still found time to hit the tennis and squash courts and even get engaged!
In his own words:
The Ramsay Scholarship represents far more than just financial support – it embodies an invitation to join a community dedicated to understanding and advancing Western civilisation’s rich traditions of leadership and intellectual inquiry. When I discovered the remarkable achievements of previous Ramsay Scholars, I saw how they were not just excelling academically, but actively engaging with and contributing to the great conversations that have shaped our society. Their examples awakened in me a desire to be part of this legacy of thoughtful leadership. The scholarship has transformed my Harvard Business School (HBS) experience by connecting me to this broader mission of understanding and building upon our civilisational inheritance.
HBS transcends its prestigious reputation by creating an environment where intellectual rigour meets real-world impact. Picture walking onto a campus where 1,000 of the world’s brightest minds – each having not only excelled academically but actively shaped their communities and professions – come together daily to debate everything from market strategy to global governance.
HBS is also truly transformative due to its unique approach to learning. The case method isn’t just an academic exercise; it’s a daily practice of leadership development that changes how you think and process information. When we dive into a case, we’re not just analysing business scenarios – we’re developing judgment, learning to make decisions with incomplete information, and understanding how to navigate complex stakeholder dynamics. As my section chair frequently reminds us, ‘there’s a second hand on a clock for a reason’ – a principle that underscores the importance of making thoughtful decisions under real-world time constraints.
I have been fortunate to explore various parts of America through my course. Through visits to Silicon Valley’s venture capital firms, New York’s financial institutions, and emerging innovation hubs in Miami and Puerto Rico, I’ve gained firsthand exposure to how different regions approach innovation and economic development. These experiences have revealed how local contexts shape leadership approaches and institutional development, providing insights that will be valuable for fostering innovation exchange between Australia and the United States.
Overall, my degree is helping me understand how Western civilisation’s financial innovations have expanded human prosperity across centuries. My research focus has evolved as I’ve witnessed the sophisticated financial ecosystem of the United States – a system that builds upon traditions dating back to 14th-century Italy, where modern capitalism and double-entry bookkeeping were born in the merchant cities of Venice and Florence. Just as those Renaissance innovations enabled unprecedented commercial expansion and wealth creation, today’s financial structures continue this tradition of increasing prosperity through thoughtful design.
Through my coursework and two planned independent research projects on structured finance, I’m exploring how these Western financial traditions can be adapted to better serve our communities. My time at Harvard has helped me appreciate how the United States has masterfully built upon these historical foundations. For instance, Americans enjoy 30-year fixed mortgages with tax-deductible interest – an innovation from the 1970s that democratised home ownership. Similarly, the Small Business Association loan program, offering 6% fixed interest for up to 80% of a business’s value, represents how Western financial thinking can be harnessed for broad social benefit.
These might seem like technical details, but they reflect something profound about Western civilisation’s approach to progress: the constant refinement of financial tools to expand opportunity and stability. When we contrast this with Australia’s current situation, where many citizens find themselves vulnerable to bank policies and RBA decisions, we can see the practical value of studying and adapting these Western financial innovations. The American system has developed numerous socially-minded financial programs at the government level that have proven their worth over more than half a century – programs that emerged from the same tradition of financial innovation that gave us the accounting principles we still use today.
Outside of my course, my proudest achievement at Harvard has been my election as President of the Harvard Graduate Council. Leading this body of 15,000 students has allowed me to put into practice the Western democratic ideals that the Ramsay Centre champions. This role culminated in representing Harvard at the Ivy League schools’ conference at Dartmouth last December, where I engaged in precisely the kind of substantive dialogue about leadership and civic responsibility that Paul Ramsay envisioned. Whether studying abroad in Finland and Italy or observing American democracy during an election year, each experience has deepened my appreciation for how Western institutions and values shape our modern world.
I have also very much enjoyed developing relationships with fellow Ramsay Scholars while abroad. The Ramsay community has proven to be far more than just a familiar connection to home – it represents a unique vantage point for understanding the subtle but significant differences between Australian and American approaches to leadership, innovation, and institutional development. While on the surface these two nations share many cultural touchstones, living in the United States has revealed nuances that only become apparent through sustained immersion and thoughtful discussion with fellow Australian scholars.
Living in the United States has transformed my understanding of how innovations spread and take root. I’ve learned that America isn’t simply a collection of cities following New York or San Francisco’s lead, but rather a sophisticated ecosystem of fifty distinct markets, each with its own approach to enterprise and innovation. This insight has profound implications for how we should approach knowledge exchange between our nations. Just as we must recognise that business norms from Boston may need adaptation to succeed in Austin, we must be thoughtful about how to translate innovations between Australia and the United States.
Moving forward, I plan to focus on two specific areas where I believe immediate impact is possible. First, I want to help introduce proven American financial innovations to Australia, particularly programs that have democratised access to capital and created economic stability. The American system of 30-year fixed mortgages and Small Business Administration loans has created remarkable economic resilience – benefits that could be transformative if thoughtfully adapted to the Australian context.
Second, I aim to create stronger pathways for Australian innovations to gain recognition and traction in the United States. Too often, brilliant Australian innovations struggle to find their footing in America, not due to lack of merit, but because they lack champions who understand both contexts deeply enough to help them navigate the complexity of the American market. My experience has shown that what works in Sydney may need a different approach to succeed in Seattle or San Antonio.
Understanding the true complexity of the American market has been one of my most valuable insights from this experience. It’s taught me that successful innovation exchange isn’t just about identifying good ideas – it’s about understanding the subtle cultural, institutional, and market forces that determine whether those ideas will take root and flourish in new soil. This knowledge will be essential as I work to build stronger bridges of innovation between our nations, helping both societies benefit from each other’s strengths while respecting their distinct approaches to enterprise and progress.
Interested in a Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship? Our scholarships support outstanding, thoughtful and imaginative young Australian leaders to study at the world’s best overseas universities and are valued at up to AUD$90,000 p.a. Applications for 2025 open February 3. For more information go to: https://www.ramsaycentre.org/scholarships-courses/postgraduate-scholarships/
To read more about Dalton and his cohort of 2023 Ramsay Postgraduate Scholars go to: https://www.ramsaycentre.org/scholarships-courses/postgraduate-scholarships/2023-ramsay-postgraduate-scholars/
Media contact: Sarah Switzer 0407 816 098 / sarah.switzer@ramsaycentre.org
For more information on the Centre please visit our website: www.ramsaycentre.org