Talking Business With Alan Kohler

Jeremy is PwC's Chief Economist in Australia & Partner in its national Economics & Policy team. His experience spans a range of diverse areas including cost-benefit analysis, valuation of the economic contributions of companies, industries, not-for-profits & specific activities, the economics of copyright & reviews of govt programs and regulatory changes. He discusses his recent policy brief for the China Matters forum on what Australia could do in the event of a China economic 'hard landing'.

Mike is CEO of the Customer Owned Banking Association. He is an experienced Banker with extensive in-depth knowledge across all aspects of banking. This experience has been gained from senior positions held in corporate banking, commercial banking, credit, retail, and 3rd party banking and more recently as Managing Director of AMP Bank. He has also worked in finance across three continents, Australia, America and United Kingdom. Mike discusses the customer owned banking model. What it is and how it is different to investor owned. Financial services royal commission. What it means for our sector and how Govt can use it as an opportunity to improve retail banking in Australia. And the general business environment and Mike’s experience and insights.

Ajeet describes himself as an angel investor, mentor, former CEO of SINE and current CEO of Zebpay. He has been in the start-up scene in India since 1993. Zebpay is an app-enabled cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider headquartered in Singapore. Zebpay has just launched an SMSF funds for crypto. Ajeet shares his thoughts on the future of cryptos & how cryptos truly becoming a mainstream payment alternative to cash. He says: ‘I have seen  seen quite a bit of the ups and downs of starting up. Among other things, this has seen me raising money for my own startup, and eventually raising money for several other startups. I have sold my first company in a cash-only deal, and helped some founders exit their startup. Some noteworthy episodes of my startup life: being CEO of IIT Bombay’s business incubator (SINE), an angel investor, mentor, member of Mumbai Angels, and more.'

Xero is a New Zealand domiciled public technology company, listed on the ASX, that offers a cloud-based accounting software platform for small and medium-sized businesses. The company has three offices in New Zealand (Wellington, Auckland and Napier), six offices in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth), two offices in the United Kingdom (London and Milton Keynes), three offices in the United States (Denver, San Francisco and New York), as well as offices in Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Africa. Xero's products are based on the software as a service (SaaS) model and sold by subscription, based on the type and number of company entities managed by the subscriber. Its products are used in over 180 different countries. Xero recently released a report Paying the Price: the economic impact of Australian big businesses paying small businesses late. According to the report, $115 billion in payments from large businesses to SMBs is paid late each

Andrew has more than 30 years’ banking, funds management and financial markets experience and previously specialised in leverage and acquisition finance as well as corporate and institutional lending. His areas of expertise include corporate debt origination, portfolio and risk management and corporate restructuring. Andrew previously specialised in leverage and acquisition finance as well as corporate and institutional lending. Discussion topics: Fixed income market is changing as exemplified by negative bond yields Investors need to change with it. Investors used to rely on fixed income for income, now cash, term deposits etc are at record lows Investors should move up the risk curve ever so slightly to corporate loans. Corporate bonds/ loans offers these – with returns between 4 – 10%, depending on risk. Rather than one loan, now funds offering many – more diversified That risk is still well below equities (bonds / loans rank first) Non-bank corporate loans are also an al

Melbourne-based start-up Eutropia Aerospace was founded by high-school students Moses Huf-Tirfe and Hamish Drummond. The startup combines reusable rockets with hybrid fuel to provide a more cost-effective way of getting micro-satellites into orbit. He discuses the emerging Australian space-tech industry & how the space and satellite industry may be worth $2.7 trillion globally by 2030.

Richard has more than 25 yrs experience in plastic Surgery and is one of Adelaide's most experienced and well regarded plastic surgeons. Inspired by his viticulturist father Burton, Richard Hamilton, fifth generation wine grower, established his own winery and vineyards at McLaren Vale in 1972. Currently he & his wife Jette have two of South Australia's leading wine labels; Leconfield Wines at Coonawarra. Richard Hamilton Wines at McLaren Vale. Leconfield Wines Background: Leconfield is a remarkable family wine business owned by Dr Richard Hamilton and his wife Jette. It encompasses two of South Australia's leading wine labels, both attributable to the Hamilton family: Leconfield Wines at Coonawarra. Richard Hamilton Wines at McLaren Vale. With a strong wine industry heritage dating from 1837, the family has developed a distinguished international reputation for elegant fine wines. Leconfield wines are based on a simple philosophy – great wines are crafted from great vineyards. Inspired by his vitic

In 2011, following a successful career in media, Carolyn set her sights on improving access to children’s hearing screening. Securing funding from the NSW government and in collaboration with the National Acoustic Laboratories, the research arm of Australian Hearing, Carolyn established Sound Scouts - a digital, game-based solution to detect hearing loss in children. Background: Children across Australia have their hearing tested at birth but the newborn hearing screening test only detects moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Children found to have hearing loss at birth thankfully receive treatment and support to address their hearing issues. Unfortunately, many forms of hearing issues can develop in the years after birth. Illness, injury and genetics can cause a child to develop debilitating hearing issues that if left untreated can have a profound impact on their life. Consequently, more children are first fitted with hearing aids during the first three years of school than are fitted in the

Nancy is the founder and CEO of award-winning Classic Finance and Classic Mentoring and Coaching. Recognised as a leader, innovator and industry expert, she is an ambassador for change both within the finance industry here in Australia, and in some of the world’s most impoverished communities. Nancy is also the author of 'Fear.Money.Purpose', a must-read for any business owner or entrepreneur wanting to move beyond the fear of money and toward greater financial freedom and purpose.

Slack gives teams something new, a home that connects their conversations, information, and software to create the context and shared understanding people need to come together. Slack is a layer of the business technology stack that brings together people, data, and applications – a  single place where people can effectively work together, find important information, and access hundreds  of thousands of critical applications and services to do their best work. The universal challenge for every organisation is to turn groups of individuals moving in many directions  into teams moving in the same direction.​ ​Slack gives teams something new, a home that connects their  conversations, information, and software to create the context and shared understanding people need to  come together.  The company, which went public through a direct listing in June, is now in more than 150 countries, is used by 65 of the Fortune 100 companies and has more than 10 million daily active u

Tom is the CEO of GoGet Carshare, Australia's largest and most recognised car sharing network. With over 3,000 vehicles in 6 cities services over 100,000 members across Australia, Tom has a deep experience in operating in the sharing economy. He discusses Australia’s mobility future and how the Australian car sharing business managed to become a successful brand in a market where many others have failed. He talk to statistics about car sharing, how consumers are engaging with the phenomenon and what marketing tactics GoGet employed to turn the new into the norm. Including: His vision for the organisation and how he sees car share as a key solution to easing congestion across Australian cities; How GoGet members are selling their own private vehicles, saving them thousands of dollars a year on registration, insurance, maintenance and petrol;  How businesses are increasingly replacing private car fleets in favour of car share;  How property developers are including car share pods in their devel

It’s not often you find a successful startup story originating from a background of military, finance and cryptocurrency. This is the case for Rob Wilson, CEO of Incent, a revolutionary loyalty reward company using blockchain to provide a radically different consumer-centric reward offering. Consumers are rewarded for their entire expenditure including bills, rent, shopping and utilities which can be redeemed to cryptocurrency or cash. Rob is also a respected blockchain advisor, having successfully conducted the first Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in Australia. Incent’s Chief Product Officer, Jins Kaduthodil joined Incent in 2017 and partnered with Rob to build the strong foundation for what Incent is today. Jins is responsible for leading a world-class engineering team in creating Incent’s technical design and infrastructure, using innovative technology alongside proven cybersecurity practices to build the world’s first mass market crypto-based product. He was the youngest senior archit

In 1999, George became a Rugby World Cup champion. He is respected throughout the rugby world for his tenacity, durability, fitness, tactical skill, leadership ability and sportsmanship. In June 2004 Gregan was appointed to the Order of Australia for his services to Rugby Union Football and in particular, as the Captain of the Wallabies. He retired from rugby in 2011. George is now actively involved in the café and catering business – The Gregan Group, established in 1997 by his wife, Erica Gregan, who is the Managing Director of the business. Currently there are 15 outlets including cafes, small wine bars and bistros. PTP: ‘Smarter Movement Better Performance’ - In 2012 George was involved in cofounding the PTP brand. George is widely respected as one of the most well-prepared athletes in the rugby world. Coupled with a degree in Sports Science, George has brought his extensive fitness and recovery knowledge to consumers through the PTP range of products and education. 

Nicole combines her passion for life, enlightenment and fine food through running Universal Village, a fair trade food business that markets the Qi Tea and Eloments Vitamin Tea brands. Nicole has helped take fair trade products into the mainstream grocery stores. Nicole was a founding board member of the Fair-Trade Association and is currently the Secretary. She holds a Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and has a passion for doing business with purpose. Eloments is the world’s first organic tea enriched with plant-based vitamins and minerals, designed to give consumers a natural and enjoyable way to take their daily vitamins. This small company - comprised of just Julie Hirsch and Nicole - is celebrating a recent big win with entry into the tea aisle in 75% of Woolworths supermarkets around Australia, making them one of the few female-owned companies to sit in the category. They are proud of their recent capital raising mission for Eloments, they were proud (and rightly so) to share they broke

Mike is a strategic thinker with creative passion, Mike helps to grow build brands, digital products & eCommerce channels with a unique blend of technology, storytelling, design and data experience. He is the co-founder of Scratch, Australia's fastest-growing direct to consumer pet company. Thousands of dogs around Australia lick their Scratch bowl clean and enjoy healthier food, made fresher on subscription without all the retail markups along the way. He is also an eCommerce Designer & digital strategist & speaks on eCommerce, brand and the subscription economy. He is also one of Australia’s most experienced direct to consumer marketers.

Warryn Robertson is Portfolio Manager & Analyst on Lazard’s Global Listed Infrastructure, Global Equity Franchise, and Australian Equity teams. He has been working in the investment field since 1992. The Lazard Global Equity Franchise Fund is an actively managed portfolio of between 25 to 50 securities that seeks long-term, defensive returns by investing globally in a range of franchise companies. The Fund invests in listed companies which they consider have an “economic franchise”, meaning companies which possess a combination of predictable earnings and large competitive advantages. The Fund’s objective is to achieve total returns (including income and capital appreciation and before the deduction of fees and taxes) in excess of the MSCI World Index with lower risk over the long term. He discusses what investment trends he has observed across his 20 year career, Current markets – why markets look expensive, top stock picks, value vs growth investing & his opinion on the

Queensland-based mutual Heritage Bank is defying both industry trends and a highly competitive market by announcing it will open two branches in Sydney – the first ever outside its home state.  Heritage is Australia’s largest customer-owned bank. Based in the regional city of Toowoomba, Heritage has 59 branches across southern Queensland, $10 billion in total consolidated assets and 800 staff members. Chief Executive Officer Peter Lock said the move into bricks and mortar in Sydney reflected Heritage’s desire to build its national footprint and its belief in the future of the branch concept. Peter has more than 30 years experience in the financial services industry, spanning insurance, institutional banking, business development, business banking and corporate banking. He has held senior management roles at the Bank of Melbourne, St George Bank, and the Commonwealth Bank, following a career with the National Australia Bank.

Sam is a professional negotiator - the only female in Australia to have even made it onto the consideration list for the Police Negotiator's course. She was the Head of Partnerships and Sponsorship at Telstra for 15 years and is now a gun for hire - companies hire her to negotiate all kinds of things, but primarily things relating to marketing. She has just released a book called I Love Negotiating, as well as launching an online course called Negotiation Fundamentals. She sees negotiation is a critical business skill, but it's one that is rarely taught. Sam could share some basics on how to run a smooth and successful negotiation, as well as tips on how to ask for things the right way to maximise your chances of success. She enjoys solving business problems from the outside in, focused on Negotiation strategies, go-to-market strategies & growth strategies.

Rory Jeffes brings decades of experience to one of the top jobs in Australian arts, and Opera Australia operates on a global stage as one of the most prolific companies in the world. Rory became Chief Executive Officer of Opera Australia in August 2017. Prior to this he was Managing Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for 8 years, during which time he led the development of the presence and profile for the orchestra in China as a leading cultural ambassador for Australia.  He has also held senior management roles in the Development area at leading not-for-profit organisations. He discusses Opera Australia & the importance of the company to the Australian & International artistic landscape, the fostering of Australian talent & the business of show business.

Julian Beaumont is the Investment Director of Bennelong Australian Equity Partners. He has been a fund manager in Sydney for over a decade now, before which he worked in finance in Singapore and London. Bennelong Australian Equity Partners is an Australian-based funds management firm. It currently has invested approximately $6 billion in ASX-listed equities on behalf of institutions, charities, family offices, high net worth’s and other individual clients. Discusses The current state of the market. The division on the ASX between domestic-only businesses (eg, Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths) and Australia’s globally-orientated champions (CSL and Goodman Group). Where is the growth on the ASX? Investors (misplaced) love of dividends. The concentration of the ASX in certain stocks, sectors and styles.