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Michael joined the GDQ board in 2012 & appointed CEO in May 2017. After a fabulous nearly twelve years (six and a half as CEO) I have handed over to one of my GM’s who reported to me for six years.Probably the most rewarding role of my career, and I am handing over a very stable and well run operation.Key achievements at Guide Dogs Queensland (GDQ) include:• Huge improvements in workplace culture, wellness, risk and health and safety management• Staff satisfaction rose from 44%… Show more Michael joined the GDQ board in 2012 & appointed CEO in May 2017. After a fabulous nearly twelve years (six and a half as CEO) I have handed over to one of my GM’s who reported to me for six years.Probably the most rewarding role of my career, and I am handing over a very stable and well run operation.Key achievements at Guide Dogs Queensland (GDQ) include:• Huge improvements in workplace culture, wellness, risk and health and safety management• Staff satisfaction rose from 44% to 71% by 2019 and close to 90% in December 2022• Similar increases in volunteer and client satisfaction scores• Built a new Executive team of five GM’s whose tenure continue (two for six years)• 87% Revenue increase over 5 years in a very difficult economic environment• GDQ’s strategic plan projects steadily increasing net surpluses to 2030 • Complete successful restructure of the organisation• NDIS certification fantastic audit success (only 1 minor nonconformity)• Best success rate for qualifying guide dogs in the country, equalling best in the world• 25% increase in Guide Dog clients• Significantly increased the range of client services provided and slashed waiting lists• Excellent constructive Board relationships and greatly improved board pack reporting• Played a pivotal role in getting State based Guide Dogs Australia organisations to work harmoniously together. Previously viewed each other as competitors. • Developed online modules and internal cadetships to qualify our own Orientation & Mobility specialists and Guide Dog Mobility specialists to successfully overcome a global skills shortage. • As a result GDQ currently assists Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand in providing these specialist services• Gifted the online modules to the International Guide Dog Federation at their Vancouver Conference in April 2023.• Over 150 accredited Guide Dog School staff worldwide are now using this material Show less

Established in 1960, Guide Dogs Queensland is a leader in the provision of Guide Dogs and mobility services to Queenslanders of all ages, with little or no vision. It is a large sophisticated member based charity, with over 1,500 volunteers and 150 staff, receiving less than 7% of its funds from government. It has an internationally accredited world - class guide dog breeding program. It is currently again ranked as QLD’s most trusted charity, with excellent traditional & digital marketing… Show more Established in 1960, Guide Dogs Queensland is a leader in the provision of Guide Dogs and mobility services to Queenslanders of all ages, with little or no vision. It is a large sophisticated member based charity, with over 1,500 volunteers and 150 staff, receiving less than 7% of its funds from government. It has an internationally accredited world - class guide dog breeding program. It is currently again ranked as QLD’s most trusted charity, with excellent traditional & digital marketing strategies. Directly involved in ongoing “hands on” governance. Active involvement in monthly assessment of a significant share portfolio, investments, risk management and fundraising.I have also participated in several NFP thought leadership workshops and panels addressing the current fund raising and NDIS challenges with other CEO's & directors of major Charities. Show less

Larok was founded in 2003 as the management vehicle for a number of entrepreneurial ventures. These include Curzon Design & Marketing, a sales/marketing, strategy and management consultancy, Exeter, a new airbnb start up that achieved "super host" status in three months, Swissguard an importer and distributor of niche products, and two industrial property Investment Trusts. Recently facilitated the merger of two charities and acted as strategic advisor to two new ventures and a major new large… Show more Larok was founded in 2003 as the management vehicle for a number of entrepreneurial ventures. These include Curzon Design & Marketing, a sales/marketing, strategy and management consultancy, Exeter, a new airbnb start up that achieved "super host" status in three months, Swissguard an importer and distributor of niche products, and two industrial property Investment Trusts. Recently facilitated the merger of two charities and acted as strategic advisor to two new ventures and a major new large national life, health & general insurance group, working directly with the Executive Chairman. Responsible for general management, marketing and all strategic planning and achieving strategic goals. Show less

The Executive Connection's 21,000 members in 16 countries are CEO's, senior executives and business owners, working together for better business results. Members participate in confidential monthly meetings, facilitated by a TEC Chair with access to one-on-one executive mentoring, expert speakers and our global network of business leaders.

Executive Director of the Board of Australian Insurance Holdings and related group of companies.Auto & General Insurance Limited is regulated by ASIC and APRA holds an AFSL and is a member of the Insurance Council of Australia. The major retail brand is Budget Direct. Responsible for Strategic Alliances – tendered, won and implemented Australia Post, Virgin Money, iSelect, GE Money, Maxxia, Supercheap Autos and several smaller partners.Joint achievement of successful governance and… Show more Executive Director of the Board of Australian Insurance Holdings and related group of companies.Auto & General Insurance Limited is regulated by ASIC and APRA holds an AFSL and is a member of the Insurance Council of Australia. The major retail brand is Budget Direct. Responsible for Strategic Alliances – tendered, won and implemented Australia Post, Virgin Money, iSelect, GE Money, Maxxia, Supercheap Autos and several smaller partners.Joint achievement of successful governance and stewardship of this rapidly growing financial institution.530% increase in revenue in 3 years & direct contribution to a four-fold increase in 2010 net profit.Compiled a comprehensive new marketing brand proposal accepted by the board, which radically changed the existing strategic view and set the direction for the following five years.Completely restructured the Alliances team from an area that had previously underperformed with only 6% revenue share, to a high performance team generating 40% of revenue within four years.Some of these contractually complex deals had first term revenues of over $ 250 million.Member of the executive Strategic Planning group. We had a three day annual Strategic planning retreat, and review achievement of strategic goals quarterly. Delivered 17 of the groups 29 key, five-year Strategic Programs over a three-year period, ahead of plan. Multiple highly successful PR launches & events (including two with Sir Richard Branson) Show less

This was our Registered Training organisation providing training & formal qualifications to our own staff (now over 1100) and selected staff at our Alliance partners.Education Awards included:• AITD National Training Excellence Awards - National Finalist – Best Organisational Effectiveness Program 2012 and• National Finalist - Best Implementation of a Blended Learning Solution 2011- iSelect• The LearnX Foundation - Gold - Best Blended Learning Solution 2011

Executive Director of the Board of AIH and related group of companies. Responsible for Strategic Alliances, eCommerce, Marketing, and Public Relations. Member of the executive strategic planning group with a three day annual Strategic planning retreat, and quarterly review of strategiy. Set up and led the strategic direction and results of the “front end” of the group. Implemented first local insurance aggregation contracts. Successfully led drive to obtain awards to build Budget’s brand… Show more Executive Director of the Board of AIH and related group of companies. Responsible for Strategic Alliances, eCommerce, Marketing, and Public Relations. Member of the executive strategic planning group with a three day annual Strategic planning retreat, and quarterly review of strategiy. Set up and led the strategic direction and results of the “front end” of the group. Implemented first local insurance aggregation contracts. Successfully led drive to obtain awards to build Budget’s brand credibility. Got TV advertising to work for the first time resulting in 30% sales increase. Built a winning marketing team gaining market share from much bigger competitors. Consistent annual improvement in prompted and unprompted brand recognition. Led the small award winning eCommerce team outperforming much larger competitorsResultant increasing profitability enabled a four-fold increase in the advertising budget over 5 years. Awards included:Canstar standout winner of the most awards of any Australian car insurer 2006 to 2010. In 2007 we won 12 out of a total 18 awards – AAMI was next with 3. •2010 winner of Money magazines ‘Insurer of the Year’.•Ranked ‘Best online car insurer’ by AC Nielsen research. •Money Magazine ‘Best of the Best’ Car Insurance – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.•Top 10 Award, Business & Finance – Insurance – Between January and June 2009, Budget Direct was ranked in the top 10 websites based on market share of visits among all Australian websites in the Hitwise Business and Finance – Insurance industry•Golden Award of Montreux - Multimedia/Web/CD-Rom, Financial Services – The awards feature an international jury from 19 countries who evaluated entries in 8 main categories. Budget Direct was the only Australian Financial Services brand to be recognised at the 2007 awards. •Australian Business Awards 2007 – Best Value Comprehensive Car insurance 2007 – The 2007 ABA recipients were chosen from 140 short listed entries that were selected from 800. Show less

A Sydney based IT “start up” (initially three of us) which provided a new SMS business communication software solution.• Setting up and implementing the Distribution Strategy for Australia. • Setting the Marketing & Sales & PR strategy including research & selection of appropriate verticals - personally winning the crucial initial sales.• Setting the equity structure, capital funding & budgets.• Negotiation with alliance partners & resellers nationally• Recruiting… Show more A Sydney based IT “start up” (initially three of us) which provided a new SMS business communication software solution.• Setting up and implementing the Distribution Strategy for Australia. • Setting the Marketing & Sales & PR strategy including research & selection of appropriate verticals - personally winning the crucial initial sales.• Setting the equity structure, capital funding & budgets.• Negotiation with alliance partners & resellers nationally• Recruiting, training and leading new staff to get the business off the ground.Led strategic planning for the company. Show less

Achieved a positive “turn around” in 3 years of this family founded & run large Sydney Advertising and Design group after major problems caused by prior uncontrolled growth.Led the business from crisis management to properly structured control by changing to completely new operating systems, which provided daily measurement of each staff member’s workload and gross profit.Initiated the first strategic planning workshop for the group. Monitored achievement of Strategic Objectives every three… Show more Achieved a positive “turn around” in 3 years of this family founded & run large Sydney Advertising and Design group after major problems caused by prior uncontrolled growth.Led the business from crisis management to properly structured control by changing to completely new operating systems, which provided daily measurement of each staff member’s workload and gross profit.Initiated the first strategic planning workshop for the group. Monitored achievement of Strategic Objectives every three months. Planned, developed and facilitated a complete change in strategic direction to an online systems driven business and converted over 400 clients to an online portal reducing errors by 70%, and cutting costs 40% by strict financial control.Tripled production efficiency through introducing appropriate management systems, resulting in a positive culture change and engaged workforce, which successfully positioned the company for a trade sale (I subsequently sold my share). Show less

Reported to the Managing Partner in Sydney. Responsible for major client acquisitions. Developed and managed the national implementation of online ‘GST’ training to all major clients via a new eLearning platform. Previously worked for Deloitte for 6 years in Audit and Accountancy.• Built a portfolio of 26 eLearning clients (e.g. Zurich, Boral, Transfield, AGL) and 5600 users in 8 months, which raised $1.8 m revenue from cold call sales to major icon companies.• Renegotiated favourable… Show more Reported to the Managing Partner in Sydney. Responsible for major client acquisitions. Developed and managed the national implementation of online ‘GST’ training to all major clients via a new eLearning platform. Previously worked for Deloitte for 6 years in Audit and Accountancy.• Built a portfolio of 26 eLearning clients (e.g. Zurich, Boral, Transfield, AGL) and 5600 users in 8 months, which raised $1.8 m revenue from cold call sales to major icon companies.• Renegotiated favourable IT & ASP contracts & support and sales channel.• Successful partnering with external groups to gain difficult projects (e.g. Westpac online share trading).• Gained significant new business in several key areas, (e.g. Macquarie Bank, Auditor General) by introducing a new ‘multi-skilled’ team approach to gaining key clients, transcending partnership silos.• Assisted the World Economic Forum’s Melbourne 2000 summit. This required direct liaison with the NSW and Victorian State governments. The role included utilising Bob Carr (NSW Premier) & Tim Fischer (former Deputy Prime Minister) amongst others, to host corporate sponsorship events to gain the required funding. Show less

A colleague and I formed Kerfield, an insurance broking, professional tax, finance and portfolio investment consultancy based in Johannesburg. I worked closely with the 6 professional associates (4 tax lawyers & 2 accountants) with a large focus on employee benefits & corporate tax planning) plus 30 staff and ran this extremely profitable, financial services consultancy and property business for 5 years. Set up the business plan and strategic objectives for the business. • Taking a… Show more A colleague and I formed Kerfield, an insurance broking, professional tax, finance and portfolio investment consultancy based in Johannesburg. I worked closely with the 6 professional associates (4 tax lawyers & 2 accountants) with a large focus on employee benefits & corporate tax planning) plus 30 staff and ran this extremely profitable, financial services consultancy and property business for 5 years. Set up the business plan and strategic objectives for the business. • Taking a business from start up, to a successful sustainable business, with a significant base of corporate and high net worth clients, $230m assets under management and 14 industrial property developments within 5 years• Managing in a turbulent rapidly changing political, legislative and taxation environment.• Managing risk on major investment portfolios and international tax structures• Awarded the best performing agent/broker prize for Norwich Union Trust.• Awarded second best performing agent/broker prize by Syfrets Unit Trust. Show less