Arete Podcast With Richard Triggs

206 - Matthew Dowd - Co-Founder - Keystone Training Group by Richard Triggs

205 - Darren Godwell - Chief Executive Officer - i2i Global by Richard Triggs

204 - David Smith - Chair & CEO - Ceres Tag Ltd by Richard Triggs

The sky's the limit when it comes to aerospace, and ASX-listed Quickstep taking that literally. I spoke with Mark Burgess, MD and CEO, about the stellar growth the company has had in recent years, growing from a staff of 12 to 265 just on one manufacturing site alone. The company has diversified from being primarily focused on the international military market and now includes commercial transport, including sophisticated commercial drones. We discussed the hard recruitment and employment decisions Mark had to make to turn the company around when he took the helm some six years ago. It was a fascinating interview that will leave you in no doubt that Australia is at the leading edge of this important industry. Useful Links Mark Burgess on LInkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mark-burgess-43238b49/ Quickstep Website: www.quickstep.com.au/ Richard Triggs LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs Arete Executive website: www.areteexecutive.com.au Richard's book on Amazon: areteexecutive.com.au/free-book/

When you can contribute to improving the education and prospects of young people, you can sleep at night knowing that your work is worthwhile. This interview gives us a brief, behind-the-scenes look at the work of an organisation that’s doing fantastic work and changing lives at the point where it’s most critical. It’s a testament to what can happen when a husband and wife start off with a simple, yet powerful idea. Useful Links Australian Indigenous Education Foundation website: aief.com.au/ Andrew Penfold AM on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andrewpenfoldam/ Richard Triggs LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs Arete Executive website: www.areteexecutive.com.au Richard's book on Amazon: areteexecutive.com.au/free-book/

Useful Links Omnii website: omnii.com.au/ Peter Glodic on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/peter-glodic-3625101/ Richard Triggs LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs Arete Executive website: www.areteexecutive.com.au Richard's book on Amazon: areteexecutive.com.au/free-book/

Engineering workshops have come a long way in the past 30 years. With the advent of computer-aided design (CAD), laser cutting and CNC folding, much of what used to be noisy and dirty work is now done by machines that wouldn’t look out of place in a hospital. My guest on the podcast this week is Douglas Dart, Director of GCI Group, a fabrication business started by his father 18 years ago. What started as a retirement project for his father is now a thriving enterprise, employing over 120 staff. Douglas says it’s the type of business that normally wouldn’t have made it past the business planning stage but, because there was no business plan it’s been able to succeed on its own terms. Useful Links GCI Group Australia website: gcigroup.com.au/ Douglas Dart on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/douglas-dart-3a207814/ Richard Triggs LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs Arete Executive website: www.areteexecutive.com.au Richard's book on Amazon: areteexecutive.com.au/free-book/

While most industries have embraced digital innovations over the past 30 years or so, few people probably appreciate the enthusiasm with which the energy and resources sector have done so in that time. With infrastructure downtime costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour, and optimisations returning millions of dollars in bottom-line profit, ignoring digital trends is not an option for any serious players in the sector. But in order for organisations to be ‘on-trend’ they have to work with other organisations that are already ahead of the curve. I interviewed the Managing Director of one such firm on the podcast this week; Nick Bamford, from SRO Technology. Nick described how the business takes customers from a breakdown support situation, through to ongoing preventive maintenance programs, then to optimisation programs by making use of the vast amounts of data collected on sites. It’s a formula that’s proving successful, and has seen the business grow from five million dollars revenue to $20 mil

Kookaburra Kids website: https://kookaburrakids.org.au/ Lee Knight: kookaburrakids.org.au/about/governance-board-of-directors/ Patricia Reid on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patricia-reid-par88/ Richard Triggs LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs Arete Executive website: www.areteexecutive.com.au Richard's book on Amazon: areteexecutive.com.au/free-book/

Opera Queensland website: www.oq.com.au/ Patrick Nolan on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patrickjgnolan/ Richard Triggs LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs Arete Executive website: www.areteexecutive.com.au Richard's book on Amazon: areteexecutive.com.au/free-book/

Compliant ERP website: complianterp.com/ Phil Shipley on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philshipleycomplianterp/ Richard Triggs LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs Arete Executive website: www.areteexecutive.com.au Richard's book on Amazon: areteexecutive.com.au/free-book/

Few executives get through their career without having to tackle change management on multiple occasions, but few people thrive at it quite like my guest on the podcast this week, Barton Green. Barton is the current CEO of The Committee for Brisbane, a not-for-profit established in 1958 as the Brisbane Development Association, with a mandate to represent business in all matters relating to make Brisbane and Southeast Queensland a vibrant place to live and do business. Brought in to restructure the association three years ago, Green has done just that, growing the membership base from 95 to 230, and expanding the base to include other stakeholder organisations as affiliate members. Though the restructure was completed within 18 months, as a proud Brisbane boy, Barton has elected to stay on to continue his work to make Brisbane the world’s most livable city. With the population in the region expected to double in size in the next twenty years, that will be no mean feat. Our chat covers so much more of Bar

What do you do when a promising professional sporting career with the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League is cut short by injury? For Thursday Island born, Jack Reis, it meant an unexpected diversion to studying business and finance, a diversion that ultimately led to him co-founding Baidam, a Cyber Security Consultancy in Brisbane, four years ago. Pivotal in Jack’s decision to start the business, was his experience as a branch manager for Commonwealth Bank and a seven-year stint at Indigenous Business Australia, a Federal Government body tasked with helping indigenous citizens with business startups, home loans and investment support. Jack explains in our podcast interview that he and his business partner bootstrapped the business, working out of the coffee shop at the Hilton for 18 months, before they could afford a dedicated office in the Brisbane CBD. He also explains the strategic yet mission-based choice of cyber security for the business, and the unique opportunities and pathways it’s now p

How many people do you know who can be in the same job for 17 years and still feel like they are 'living the dream'? Mitchell Giles was the CEO of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation of Queensland (ADFQ), before it merged with the Gold Coast Drug Council in 2012 to become Lives Lived Well, and he's remained CEO since then. If compassion were a blood type you could be certain that Mitchell has it running through his veins. After the obligatory career experimentation upon leaving school, which included a failed attempt to get in the air force because, he could "basically only see in black and white," he settled on nursing, way back when male nurses aren't so common as they are today. A posting in a drug and alcohol unit at a not-for-profit hospital became the start of a long career, rising to the role of Nursing Manager, but when the hospital was privatised, Mitchell soon realised that he had a distinct preference for the not-for-profit environment and made the switch to community nursing. His passion for his

The mining and resources sector often gets a bad rap when it comes to environmental credentials, but what most people don't realise is that mining is actually critical for many of the emerging technologies that environmentalists are urging us to switch to. Glass for solar panels, for example, doesn't grow on trees. It relies on high-quality silica sands, such as those found at Cape Flattery in Far North Queensland. My guest on the podcast this week, Theo Psaros, is the Executive Chairman of ASX-listed Metallica Minerals Ltd, who made the strategic decision a few years ago to focus soley on silica mining projects. That decision will bear fruit in the next 2-3 years, when they expect to export their first shipment. Theo explains it's a long and careful process. Apart from the obvious logistical concerns, Metallica have also gone to great lengths to build a strong and respectful relationship with the traditional custodians of the land upon which they are working. It's an episode worth playing close attention

Yaron Lifschitz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaron-lifschitz-73683056/#experience CIRCA Website: https://circa.org.au/ Richard Triggs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs/ Arete Website: https://www.areteexecutive.com.au/

Brad Welsh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-welsh-a880a449/ Energy Resources Australia Website: http://www.energyres.com.au/ Richard Triggs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs/ Arete Executive Website: https://www.areteexecutive.com.au/

IHG Hotels & Resorts Website: https://www.ihgplc.com/en/ Leanne Harwood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leanne-harwood-0a89892a/ Richard Triggs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs/ Arete Website: https://www.areteexecutive.com.au/

Australian Honey Bee Industry Council Website: https://honeybee.org.au/ Richard Triggs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs/ Arete Website: https://www.areteexecutive.com.au/

Ben Strong LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-strong/ Ausenco Website: https://www.ausenco.com/ Richard Triggs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs/ Arete Website: https://www.areteexecutive.com.au/