Executive Stories

Marc Orchard, Director of Startups at BDO, is often referred to as the “Godfather of startups” in the Brisbane community, bringing his finance background to help entrepreneurs create the exceptional companies of tomorrow, from start up, to scale up, investment, exit and financial literacy thrown in between. Marc talks to me about some of the uncertainties, predictions and surprises he experienced personally and professionally during the pandemic in 2020.

As an executive in the health tech space, Chris shares the hard times, the good times and how doubling down on a freemium offering in the midst of a pandemic helped not only struggling GP clinics but bought it a tribe of passionate and vocal customers advocating the virtues of everything Cubiko.

Face to face business such as beauty clinics had a tough time in 2019. Forced shut-downs left them with no choice but to stand-down much loved staff. Undeterred Francesca Webster is brimming with enthusiasm about what the future has in store.

Dr Jane Thomason has vision and passion to improve the lives and prosperity of people in underdeveloped countries through the power of blockchain technology.  Forget about bitcoin, the real power of crypto is far more wide reaching.  I speak to Jane about how COVID-19 brought forward years of progress in this space but also brought other parts of her life to a sudden (and not so fun) halt. Jane Thomason is a visionary leader, social innovator and an advocate for digital transformation to reduce inequality and vulnerability with a focus on emerging economies. Jane shares some extraordinary experiences and observations, including insights on the impact of the pandemic on acceleration of technology happening around the world.

Lloyd Heinrich, CEO of The Wine Collective knows a thing or two about online market places but his vision to turn two bricks and mortar businesses into an online international market place driven by smart tech was going to be no mean feat.   As we all turned to online buying in 2020 COVID-19 catapulted many online businesses such as The Wine Collective into a new realm of sustainable growth and blue sky opportunity. Lloyd’s personal life took quite an unexpected twist as well.

Envest is a private, entrepreneurial, equity investment business that focuses on investing and supporting insurance and financial services businesses. In this episode of Executive Stories’ M&A and Deal Maker series, I speak with Partner and MD Greg Mullins, who shares some sage advice on the long game, knowing when to bow out of a deal and only focusing on the things you can control.

Ask any tax advisor about their role in M&A, and they’ll tell you they are fundamental to the process. Pilot Partners’ Murray Howlett is no exception—in this episode of Executive Stories, we find out why. It may not be the sexy side of M&A and deal making, but tax is something you can’t afford to overlook or get wrong.

From Sydney to New York and back to his home shore of Queensland, 10 years at Credit Suisse afforded Evan Kilpatrick some awesome buy and sell side experiences, working with big name clients on some incredibly complex deals. Tune in to this episode of Executive Stories to hear about the pure passion and adrenaline that comes from running some hugely complex deals with big name clients.

In episode three of the M&A Dealmaker Series, Brad chats to Deloitte Transaction Services Partner Rob McConnel. With a career like Rob’s, there’s hardly a stone unturned, but it’s the people side and why he enjoys working with Queensland businesses that will make you want to tune into this one.

In this episode of the M&A and Deal Makers Series we talk with Warwick Face, Corporate Finance Partner at Pitcher Partners about: Being a sell side M&A specialist Alignment of fees with client interests Importance for sellers to deliver on their ‘story’ The numbers don’t lie.

She’s back this season to talk to me about the highs and lows of the M&A world; from identifying the rush of deal fever, to fighting through deal fatigue; maintaining standards while getting deals over the line; the precarious nature of international transactions and much more. It won’t take you long to see why Sharon is so successful in her field.     It’s hard to believe how much you can cover in just 13 minutes. Thanks again to Sharon for giving up her time and sharing her infinite wisdom. It’s always a pleasure.

Gavin Tye is the lead sales at RedEye Apps. We all know the acronyms B2B and B2C but how much do we know about B2E (business to enterprise).  We cover this plus: how to also adapt your sales approach when selling to a large a enterprise the importance of building long term sales relationships why culture is everything for the RedEye sales team how Gavin knows when he has nailed a sale; combining family life with a job that sees him often on the road to build important client relationships   As this is the last podcast for the year I just wanted to quickly thank both Gavin and all of my other guests in 2018 who have opened up and shared their life end Executive Story with us all.  Also I would like to give a little shout out to all of the listeners to all of my podcasts this year and cant wait to start all again next year.

In this episode we dive deep with Aleksandar Svetski, CEO of Amber, into: Making a fortune and losing it; Impact of family on goal setting; What really happened in the breakdown of iRecruit; What Aleks really thinks about ICOs notwithstanding Amber is playing squarely in the cryptocurrency evolution; Do people judge CEOs for startup failures The importance of morals and integrity in the nitty gritty world of startups

Tim Walmsley is the CEO and Founder of BenchOn. What I love about this conversation is how Tim lets us into not just the problem BenchOn is solving, but the personal side of it all.  Things like what it’s like working with his wife Katie in what is a small team and the impact of this on life at home.  If you work closely with a relative then my chat with Tim will surely resonate with you.  Tim and I also chat: Running a company while doing a round of fund raising  at the same time – how to juggle those balls; the struggles and the anxiety that come along with being a founder of a company; the difference is from a start up company to scale up company, which is what BenchOn is now; getting your customer message bang on.     

Sally is one of those people so passionate about what she does and understands her “why” so well that it pervades all that she does – you can hear it in her voice.  That may no co-incidence as Sally is a Voice and Presentation Coach to corporates and broadcast journalists alike. Many of the first and second impressions we create are a result of how we sound when we speak (the saying “… and then he opened his mouth comes to mind!). Sally turns to her 17 years in experience in this field to help people communicate better through their voice.  Communicate better in the boardroom, on TV, on stage and in your personal life.  Yes, it goes that deep and we chat about this in spades on the podcast.  For someone like me who is obsessed with great conversations knowing that our voice can be trained to adapt to situations (without necessarily trying to be all posh about it) was truly enlightening.  Find out what I am talking about and more in this episode with Sally Prosser.   

Like many of my guests, Ben tried to have a normal job but that wasn’t the life for him.  Ben is an entrepreneur, non-executive director, techo and deal maker all wrapped up into one package.  Ben speaks about the art and skill of raising money, knowing your numbers backwards and not being afraid to invest in creating a solution to a problem that is keeping his business from scaling – and then giving it away to others for free!  You can tell Ben is a deep thinker on a quest to always do better than his last.  But I think he also one of those guy who doesn’t take himself too seriously and just gives everything he does a bloody good crack.

Michael is the go to guy for infrastructure advisory work around rail, port, water and energy for bulk commodity producers.  That’s the power of being super niche.  As Director and part owner of Balance Advisory, Michael is grateful to see the recent doldrums of the resources sector behind him.  But being super niche does mean though you are tied to the economic cycles of your industry which is why it’s wise of Michael and his co-owners to be now investing in early stage companies in a variety of sectors – diversification!     Michael’s network is enviable and valuable, and is known for seeking to add value to his network more than seeing what he can take from it.  Many listeners have probably benefited from Michael’s willingness to help and leverage his network without putting his hand out for anything. When you work in an industry where economic cycles and infrastructure contracts are long it pays to play the long game … something we should all be thinking of.   If you want to learn the power of being super niche the person behind who is Michael Ryan, this one is for you.  

Brad is the Founder & CEO of the Citrus Ad Platform. He is startup founder, marketer, digital innovator and hands on leader who enjoys building great products, but most of all great teams. His career began in the arena of elite sport playing football for the Adelaide Crows before entering into the world of business. He started his first tech company in 2011, which he tells us ended in a lot of tears, heartache and mental health scars. Clearly oozing too much entrepreneur for a standard office job he figured he might as well have another crack at creating and growing another startup. Brad and Citrus have hit the jackpot with their scalable, personalised ad serving platform designed for retailers. Chances are it is the tech running in the background of your online grocery and other online retail shopping experiences. Citrus has serious unicorn potential! Brad on likening the role of CEO founder to Frodo with the Lord of the Rings, being bashed up in business and then bouncing back bigger and better than before.

Nick Heaney is CEO of Skrilla, an e-fantasy gaming website that recently completed an initial coin offering (ICO).  Take any of those and consider “who wakes up one day thinking that’s what I want to do for my career”?! Probably no one is the answer.  And that is the prelude into what drove Nick to abandon his cushy life at PwC doing management consulting and choose the path of the entrepreneur. A path that is seldom predictable, can often require you to pivot your entire business in order to survive (which Nick had to do) and never cushy. We chat about Nick’s journey from consulting to Stepsie, then Puntaa to Skrilla and what he learnt along the way. I personally didn’t know much about the e-sports industry, but boy did Nick sell me on it. It’s a large, relatively untapped market which is why Skrilla has such potential and is a ‘watch this space’ sort of play. Nick also delves into Skrilla’s ICO and how the tokenised ecosystem can empower your platform’s users. He also tells us why raising capital through an ICO was the right move for them but also discusses the problems faced through token use, particularly in regard to exchanges. I have been doing a lot more legal work in the ICO and utility token space of late, so if you looking to know more then this is the interview for you.  What I love most about Nick is that he doesn’t profess to have all the answers.  He is humble and not afraid to stick up his hand for help in what is unchartered territory for even the most seasoned CEO. Enjoy.

Have you ever really wondered why and who decided gold would be a stable store of value?  And what about crypto currencies like Bitcoin – are they theoretically any different? And for all of you out there with diversified portfolios, do you hold any gold bullion – and if not should you? This week on Executive Stories, I chat with Paul Engeman, Director at Ainslie Bullion & Reserve Vault about all of this and arrive at some very interesting answers. Paul is not a gold bullion or crypto evangelists and prefers to go by his trade marked mantra “Balance your wealth in an unbalanced world”.    I have never held bullion other than the wedding ring on my finger, but after this conversation with Paul think that is something I will have to remedy.  

Richard Brimblecombe is the CEO of StockCo, the largest specialist livestock financier in Australia. When listen to Richard speak you can see there is a real urgency in what he is doing and that he has no intention or resting on laurels when he achieves his next lofty goal. There is always something more ambitious on the horizon which invariably involves biting off even more than before.  You get the feeling that to strive for anything less would be boring for Richard.  I think it all boils down to passion for the individuals and industry his work directly affects – and for the last 20 years that has been farmers.  Richard is super busy guy so I appreciate him taking the time to come and chat with me!

Alan Jones is the current QUT CEA entrepreneur in residence for the Collider Program 2018. What does that even mean?  And what is a well known VC from Sydney hanging out with #startups at QUT?  Alan and I grabbed a few rays of sun in a Brisbane city park for bit of a pop up podcast where he tells me all about it and his new VC fund M8 Ventures.  Nothing like being spontaneous!

For those that know me, they know I love wine. It is a passion of mine and it’s the reason I know my latest guest on #ExecutiveStories with Lloyd Heinrich, CEO of The Wine Society. We, of course, had to conduct the interview over a few glasses of wine (Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir and a Deep Woods Single Vineyard Cabernet – which was amazing so seek it out!). Lloyd has had a fascinating career journey. He is onto his 5th career now and is bringing a wealth of experience to it. In this episode we discuss: Lloyd’s journey which started out as him being an engineer His MBA and transition to Boston Consulting Group – ever wondered what it’s like to work in place like this?; His career with Coles and Red Bubble; and The Wine Society and how it has transformed from a not-for profit to a corporate entity that is allowing wine producers from all over Australia to be competitive in the market and allow us, as consumers, to try some of the very best wines. Oh he, also runs the market place fromtheproducer.com through the Wine Society which he co-founded and built from the ground up. There is vibrancy and colour to this conversation that I just didn’t want to call short. Listen to this over a glass of good wine if you are lucky enough. Regardless, listen because it’s a good one!

This week on Executive Stories we chat with Stuart Clout, the CEO of thedocyard, an online deal M&A management system. Stuart is a former lawyer turned tech entrepreneur who set about forming thedocyard when he couldn’t find a solution in the market place to run his M&A deals better.  M&A deals tend to be weighed down by Word checklists buried in reams of emails resulting in all the deal stakeholders (buyer, seller, investor, lawyers, bankers, accountants and bankers) having little visibility of who is up to where in the deal. His transition from law into business means that he has personally experienced the different mindset required to run a SaaS company compared to a traditional law firm where he cut his teeth and formed his bad habits (I can say this as it takes one to know one!).  Stuart has deferred the dream of sitting on the beach at Peregian and gone all in to turbo charge thedocyard by moving his family to Sydney (where we caught up). After all that’s the epicenter of where his target clients are. We chat about the problem, the tech solution, sales techniques and experimenting with different pricing models as Stuart finds thedocyard’s niche and fine tunes it into a future global company.    Being an M&A lawyer myself I have taken up thedocyard to run my deals and can personally recommend it!

Justin Fischer is the CEO and Founder of Brüllen Pty Ltd, a business that manufactures and exports soft service ice cream and frozen yogurt machines. You may recognize his name or his business from the Married at First Site TV show. Justin’s appearance on MAFS is certainly a talking point in our conversation but we also delve into how he started his first business, what life experiences lead him to where he is today and what drives him. Relationships are of course, an interesting topic for Justin, and he is extremely open with his separation with his de facto partner many moons ago and the effect that it had on his business.   If you ever wondered whether the guy portrayed on a reality TV show is the same or any different in real life – then you will have to listen in and make up your own mind!

We all know Dr Glen Richards as the founder of Greencross Vets, not to mention he is also one of the Sharks on the TV show “Shark Tank”. Glen’s entrepreneurial journey is inspiring and impressive and probably why we all know him so well. My conversation with Glen delves slightly from his conventional story. We start our chat taste testing a Monday Food Company pumpkin loaf, one of Glen’s portfolio companies, I had cooked the day before. This launches us into a conversation on where food is going, why we should be interested in our health and the price you pay for quality. Glen also delves into: what other investments he has that solve a problem surrounding food or nutrition; why he decided to join Shark Tank  - and Steve Baxter’s role in his decision; how he now uses his experience - successes and hard learnings – to benefit the next waive of CEOs and founders what life is like post Greencross. Thanks to Glen for giving up his time to come on the show and to Vmation for their fantastic filming as always.

Ben is the CEO of eagle.io, a cloud-based data acquisition and streaming analytics platform for environmental and industrial monitoring and control applications. Sounds complicated? I agree. Don’t worry Ben gives us the rundown of what eagle.io’s technology does and explains what the internet of things means in real terms and how software like eagle.io can improve environmental and industrial outcomes. Ben started out as a consultant and has a great journey of how he built O2 Group. He became involved with Eagle.io because he was one of their customers who was searching the world over for a solution his business needed. He loved the solution so much that after he left O2 Group and he became their CEO. Although a tech CEO now, Ben is still passionate about the environment and provides some thoughtful opinions about how it is being legislated and how this legislation is being enforced (or lack thereof!). He’s a smart startup founder and inspiring CEO. I hope you enjoy!

This week on Executive Stories, I chat with Joel Edmondson, CEO of Q Music. I loved my chat with Joel because it’s not often you get to delve into the creative side of life. We chat: music and the arts – should STEM by STEAM? politics (why not?!) economic impact music has on the economy; and the controversial lockout laws and the effect they have on the music industry. The main theme from our conversation is why music is so important to society and the economy in general. Joel provides some great insights and interesting opinions (without opinions life would be boring!). I hope you enjoy.

Susanne was my first guest to join me for an Executive Stories Live Stream. For those that missed the live stream you can watch it here http://www.executivestories.com/live-stream but I am guessing the reason you are reading is because you want to listen to the podcast version. Back to Susanne, founder of Families in Transition, a management consulting company focusing on family and privately owned businesses. Susanne has a passion for working with families and privately owned business who want to make positive change to improve the way their business is run. What I wanted to explore with Susanne was how she has brought her life’s experiences to truly and empathetically advise her clients in what is not only a business matter but a deeply personal one too.  After all Susanne is from a family business so is well placed to tell us and her clients about the actual emotional and business pressure points of a family business. This personal overlay gives her a unique ability to advise her clients on creating more sustainable family businesses and how to focus on governance, leadership and all the other people aspects of a business. My chat with Susanne is a continuation of the Executive Stories mantra – real chats with executives and directors to find out what drives them and take a walk in their shoes. Enjoy!

This episode of Executive Stories delves deep into conversation with Ray Merlano,  the General Manager of Data#3. Ray still has his American accent but after 35 years here feels as Australian as Vegemite. He started off in science and math and it is this background in STEM which says has helped in thrive in the role of an executive at Data#3. Ray is big into sport and you can tell that there is a competitive drive to him, which is why you will see this GM at startup events and keeping his finger on the pulse for new business opportunities. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Ray and I hope you enjoy it too!

This week on Executive Stories, I chat with Remy Brassac, the tongue and cheek title of “Head Honcho” at Rumble Creative & Media. Remy’s: had to make big decisions as a business owner which saw his previous fly to new heights when facing a downward spiral during the GFC; decision to sell his previous business to multi-national mega firm Clemenger after becoming a dominant force in Brisbane; realisation after a few years that his passion lay in running his own business and not for someone else – from which grew Rumble; and Importantly, views on family and working with the right people.

Jason is a young entrepreneur who is using his passion and determination to continue to grow his successful businesses. Jason co-founded Just Digitial People 2013 as he saw a gap in the market with online recruitment. His role within JDP as Co founder, is to lead the business forward, keep the energy high, collaborate with recruiters, build meaningful relationships with clients, and have fun! Jason has a large social media following which he provides us with some valuable lessons about. Jason opens up about the important of people’s personal brands vs the business brand and that if you are influential in the social media space, you need to be aware of how your actions directly affect your business. Jason also speaks to us about how his managerial style has changed as he has learnt and grown with his business. It is an honest and passionate conversation – I hope you enjoy!

Cameron is an energetic leader who enjoys corporate strategy and finding ways to grow. He is passionate about people and thrives off what teams can achieve when they work and develop together. Cameron has been on an interesting journey to his role as COO of Trademark Vision. Setting out to be an engineer then moving into aviation, Cameron soon found that his strengths and passions lay elsewhere. In this episode we discuss: Resilience that was built in the military; Working in a law firm in London without a law degree; How keeping an open mind can turn a competitor into an ally; and The journey of Trademark Vision. Cameron values trust and places high importance on fun environments. His story is inspiring – I hope you enjoy it!

Chris Adams is the man that has done it all. From humble beginnings growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania, Chris has gone on to work with the likes of entertainment and media industry pioneers – Steven Spielberg, Al Gore and Jeff Scholl of Ebay to name a few. Listen to Chris as he recounts his experience at Facebook in its infancy – and what it’s like to work with Mark Zuckerberg (and stand next to him at a water bubbler). He also talks through working in industries that were completely new to him, and trusting your gut. We discuss: How to be both creative and commercially minded Learning to recognise burnout signs and juggling 4 balls instead of 15 Different ways of working – why office 9-to-5 isn’t for everyone How to identify a problem, and create an outcome that makes a difference.

Jock Fairweather is no run of the mill guy. Having grown up in PNG, excelling in his studies at the London College of Fashion, working as a shoe designer in Geneva and then founding Little Tokyo Two in Brisbane – it’s clear that whatever Jock puts his mind to, he will succeed at. That’s not to say it’s all been smooth sailing. Trying to forge his shoe designs as a luxury brand in Europe nearly mentally broke him, and now he wants to share his experiences to ensure startups at LT2 don’t have to go through the same thing. This episode is a must-listen for those who want to be inspired by Jock’s tenacity and ability when knocked down to stand back up taller than before. Jock is a self-confessed ‘take him or leave him’ type of guy so he doesn’t hold back on anything in the interview, which makes for a gripping Executive Story. We discuss: The importance of being a big thinker and a creative thinker; The belief that whatever you can envision, you can become; Working hard and fast at your passion; Picking yourself back up at your lowest point; and Being ruthless with your time and finding happiness in discipline.

Sharon is a lawyer turned deal maker and now MD of InterFinancial. Whereas some of my guests are only too willing to jump down the microphone with their story, Sharon was a reluctant guest at first.  As we discover, the reason for this is that Sharon is a very humble person looking to sing other’s praises before her own. Sharon has had a wonderful journey finding her niche in mid market M&A, private equity investment and funds management. Sharon provides us with a genuine insight into career paths and how learning your strengths and following a career that plays to those strengths can be extremely rewarding and beneficial. In this episode we discuss: Sharon’s life as a single mum and lawyer at the age of 24; Her career progression and transition; and Her thoughts on social enterprises and her experience wither Foresters Community Finance. InterFinancial has become a hugely successful company not just in its market and for its size, and seems very comfortable in its own skin with Sharon at the helm. Thank you Sharon for taking the plunge and coming on Executive Stories and giving us all a glimpse into the woman behind the MD of InterFinancial.

When I pitched Dominic for this interview he knew little about me or what I would publish from our interview.  Most guests are a little self conscious about how they may present when played back.  Not Dominic.  He is a savvy operator who believes that if you are open and honest and only talk to topics you know about there is nothing to fear!  Dominic seems to have it all, being a young dad and capable software engineer who possesses a rare technological aptitude for a highly commercial business executive.   Dominic launched Tow.com.au in 2014 in Eagle Farm, pitching it as "The Uber for Tow Trucks". In its first year of trading, the business finished with seven figure revenue with that continuing to grow. Tow.com.au is now operating nationally, having grown from four to 34 staff in less than 18 months. Setting this evident success aside, Dominic also embraces leadership with open arms and has openness with his employees which is indicative of his generation.   You’ll have to listen to learn how old Dominic is -  suffice to say he certainly has a “young guy charm”! Before starting Tow.com.au Dom knew nothing about towing. What he did know was that technology is shaking the foundations of every industry. In this episode we delve into: Growing a successful business from a young age; Managing people; and Tech and startup companies Dominic is passionate about technology, emerging markets, innovation, disruption, startups and entrepreneurship. This is evident not only in his success so far but that the passion he speaks with. I hope you can feel it too!

Anna is a vivacious, fun and the perfect guest to kick off Executive Stories for 2018. She has experience in events, finance, project management and startups and has completed her Masters in Entrepreneurship through the University of Otago where she wrote her thesis all about crowdfunding and her startup, PledgeMe Her official title is PledgeMe's 'chief bubble blower.' Anna is clever and energetic. She knows what’s going on in the world and business and keeps her finger on the pulse in the face of changing technology. In this interview we decided to have a little bit of fun chatting about Anna’s biggest f*ck ups. Yes, there’s some expletives that could be beeped out but I decided to run with it in its raw form – maybe skip this episode if this might not be your thing.  But do tune in if you want front row seats as we discuss some of Anna’s biggest mistakes, what she learnt from them and how we can learn from our mistakes as well. We also delve into the world of crowd-sourced fund raising and its benefits. There is certainly a little tongue and cheek to Anna’s personality but when we delve a little deeper into the conversation you see she is a super smart business woman who takes a very honest and open approach to life and business - and was willing to share her f*ck ups for us all to learn from. I hope you like it!

Jade Collins is on a mission – to successfully run a profit making business that aligns with a social cause. Her website, Femeconomy, achieves this and more. As Co-Founder and Director Jade encourages women to use the power of their purse to support brands with women in leadership, in order to create gender equality. Jade recounts what it’s like to have informed consumers, re-establish your identity outside a corporate environment, and be deeply personally invested in your job. For Jade, this episode is all about that customer focused conversation and trying to understand what people’s stories are – something which closely aligns with Executive Stories at its core. We discuss: The criteria needed to be listed on Femeconomy and the types of businesses already on the site; The importance of consumer activism and where it fits in the startup space; Driving a small business – choosing between growth and profit; Changing Femeconomy’s business model; and What it’s like to align your brand with your identity and personal values.

For a lot of CEOs, the financials of their company is what drives them. For Ben Korst, CEO of Montserrat Day Hospitals, his approach is different. Ben recounts what it takes (with no prior experience) to step into an industry of highly skilled medical professionals, grow a relationship with them, and do so with his signature larrikin humour. Ben takes it all in his stride, providing insight to adapting to different management styles, limitations of the job, and ensuring decisions are right 100% of the time for the benefit of patients – without being serious 100% of the time! We discuss: The importance of listening to everyone’s point of view for the best possible outcome; Juggling responsibility of seven day hospitals across Australia and rapid expansion; Knowing when to take a break; and Not taking life too seriously.

Mitch Lally, Managing Director and creative genius at Mitch Lally films, is an award winning wedding cinematographer. He has a unique vision for crafting powerful wedding films which has given him opportunities to work with passionate clients and capture celebrations all over the world. Mitch provides youthful insight into his journey from freelance filmmaker to presiding over a multi million dollar film company – and what drove him to start in the first place. Don’t let Mitch’s age deceive you: his business acumen and wisdom are well beyond his years. We delve into: The influence Mitch’s dad had on his choice to start a business; The sacrifices Mitch has had to make; Making business smart promises; Recruiting the right people into a business where honed creative talent and attention to detail is everything.

Eddie is a BDO Tax Partner in Brisbane but he is also a non-executive director at numerous companies and not-for-profits.  Eddie’s role as a non-executive director sets him apart from all my others guest who are founders or executives.  The differences don’t just stop there.  Eddie isn’t your standard accountant or non-executive. He prides himself on being intuitive and has became an accredited Myers Brigger Type Indicator Certified Practitioner due to his passion of understanding different people’s personality types. In this episode we discuss: How to find board roles; What it’s like to be a non-executive director in a room full executives How understanding personality types can help bring cohesion to dysfunctional Boards Determining your career from your natural skills vs preferred career.

Dr. Jane Thomason is the CEO of Abt Associates-Australia but many listeners will know her better for her relentless pursuit Janes. Jane has ridden a wave of success establishing JTA International in 1999 and later merging into Abt Associates while never losing her passion for wanting to improve the lives in under developed nations including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Mongolia. It can be a case of ‘catch her while you can’ while Jane jet-sets around the world but the importance of family in her life is unmoving and a key reason why she can honestly say she has a fulfilling life. In this episode we delve into: Working out what’s important in life Balancing the duties of being a CEO and having passion projects Blockchain in developing countries Why Jane doesn't need any hobbies – her life is her hobby. Jane lives a life that is as colourful as her daily repertoire of delightful outfits and truly stands out as the flamingo in a flock of pigeons! 

Katrina is a Co-founder of Civic Ledger, an Australian start-up that uses the best of emerging technologies such as block chain to transform a wide range of business process challenges faced by public sector markets.    What’s great about this episode of Executive Stories is Katrina’s ability to explain what a blockchain company does and what it’s like to be involved in a blockchain startup pioneer.   Katrina has extensive experience in public policy and early stage commercialisation having worked in both public and not for profit sectors for over 20 years with a specific focus on business development, project management and revenue diversification. Katrina talks to Executive Stories about: What the blockchain is in terms that we can all understand and relate to; Blockchain, tokens and coins as a means of raising capital; A day in the life of a co-founder of Civic Ledger; Growing up and finding yourself. Katrina’s energy and passion is obvious when you hear her speak, which is what makes this such a great Executive Story. 

Paul is the General Manager of Pacific Data Systems, a company that provides solutions in the areas of environmental monitoring, data acquisition, scientific and industrial instrumentation remote computing and systems integration. Paul’s general to the role of General Manager is an interesting one as he was more or less thrown into the position when the founder of Pacific Data Systems suddenly passed away. Paul highlights the importance of family to help you through the tough times and he is incredibly honest about the trials, tribulations and the joys of his journey.  Paul isn’t afraid to hold himself publically accountable to very high standards of leadership and excellence, which is why his Executive Story is so rich and engaging.

Phil Smart started his professional career in 1976 by completing a Carpentry Apprenticeship and then held a General Builders License in both Queensland and New South Wales. After starting off as a builder Phil's foray into the recruitment industry began in 1994 as the financial backer and strategic adviser to a recruitment organisation, which is still in existence today. In late 1996 Phil sold his shareholding in that company, however, he had developed an affinity for the industry and decided to establish WorkPac in February of 1997. Today Phil remains a driving force behind WorkPac’s success but in his wisdom sees the value in allowing others to drive the company’s direction and values which continue to be hallmarks of who WorkPac is as an organisation.  In this episode we delve into: Scaling by leveraging other people’s time and not just your own; Cultural fit and recognising when someone isn’t the right fit; Investing heavily in your people: it’s just good business; Taking a step back from the business; and A touch of philosophy and red wine! Phil is generous with his time and his conversation. I’m sure you will enjoy it.

If you’ve ever wondered what its like and how to do a corporate turn around then this interview with John Bourke, Managing Director of Kitchen Connection is for you.  John’s story is a very personal one that leads us down an emotional path that I think neither of us expected.  John reminds us that: Homing your skills at a big corporate can equip you well be life outside. There is a big difference between strategy and execution The importance of and to deliver an outstanding customer experience Life does throws set backs at you, but with willpower, determination and passion we can rise again. A special thanks to John for being so open and I am sure he will inspire many others as a result.

Matthew is not only cofounder of foundU, he is a really down to earth guy that is passionate about his industry and his clients.  His decision to pursue a goal of building from the ground up a world class end-to-end tech solution for labour force management has lead him on a wild journey.  Matthew’s journey began about three years ago when the founders of foundU saw a problem they all agreed needed to be  solved, and their journey since has been quite remarkable. This episode touches on: The importance of loyalty and trust Making money as a startup and staying sane at the same time Being grateful Taking time out with the family The benefits of having a development team in house Like me, Matthew is a firm believer in not compromising on the quality of client service while remembering not to take yourself too seriously.  Plenty of gems in this Executive Story for everyone.

Wayne is the cofounder and CEO of RedEye, a Brisbane software as a solution tech company with offices in Brisbane and Las Vegas. You are unlikely to meet another CEO with as much passion for startups, his people, his family and his home town Brisbane.   Wayne doesn’t pull any punches and calls it as it is, meaning we get right to the heart of topics such as: choosing the right people to do business with and having the right people on your team being authentic - online, offline, in social media and in business what keeps him awake at night how important it is to him to have the support of his wife to let him create something great from nothing why going on 7 day off road motor bike adventure was a form of meditation for Wayne. Wayne is authentic, influential and generous with his time.  Wayne is living proof that when you give before you take great things will come your way.  I am grateful to have him as my first guess on Executive Stories. Enjoy!