Jean is currently a Professor (Corporate Law) and Director of the Centre for Comparative Corporate Governance (CCC-G), Deakin Law School, Deakin University, Australia. He studied in South Africa and obtained his Doctorate in Law (LLD) in 1991. He served a 3-year term as Head of the Deakin Law School from 2000-2002 and was the President of the Corporate Law Teachers Association (CLTA) in 2007 and 2008. In December 2014 Jean was appointed to the Deakin University Council for a 3-year period until 31 December 2017. Jean became a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) in November 2011. He is currently teaching the units Corporate Governance, Corporate Law and Corporations Law at Deakin University.
Jean has spent extensive time doing research in the UK and in Germany (as Alexander von Humboldt Scholar) in the areas of corporate law and corporate governance. He is the recipient of the Anneliese Maier Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, an award of EUR250,000 over five years (2013-2018) to enable him to conduct research regarding the further internationalisation of the German corporate law and corporate governance models. He has published extensively in international refereed law journals in the areas of corporate law and corporate governance. He published several books as co-author in Australia, Germany and South Africa.
From 2004-2008 Jean has been involved in the South African Corporate Law Reform Program as part of a small international reference group that assisted the South African Department of Trade and Industry with the new South African Companies Act 71 of 2008, which commenced on 1 May 2011.