Business News Australia joins the Vinnies CEO Sleepout

For more than a decade Vinnies has run the annual CEO Sleepout, a national campaign to fight the issue of homelessness. Each year on the longest night of winter, many of the nation's top executives sleep out on the concrete to raise much needed funds for Aussies who desperately need it. For participants, it is one night of discomf...

More women than men appointed to the ASX 200 during 1Q18

Female appointments to ASX 200 companies surged past 50 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, with more women than men appointed during the period. It's a historic moment for Australia's top companies and marks the first time that female appointments have exceeded male appointments since the Australian Institute of Company Direct...

Making the quantum leap: how an ex-helicopter pilot landed a top role at KPMG

Matt Colquhoun (pictured) is all about military precision when it comes to doing business. Before he became an associate director at KPMG, Colquhoun spent the better part of 20 years serving in the Australian Army as an airworthiness engineer and helicopter pilot. While his two career paths seem dramatically different on the surface, ...

Progress your career with an online post graduate degree

There's a digital revolution happening in tertiary education. Engaging and immersive online learning is becoming more accessible especially for busy, mid-career professionals who are looking to take the next step in their careers. There are numerous benefits to studying online and it's become extremely attractive to professionals ...

Meet the local woman inspiring major connections at the sporting event of the decade

While Sam Kennedy's role as the director for strategy and innovation at Optus may constantly take her to the far corners of the world, she couldn't imagine calling anywhere but the Gold Coast home. Kennedy is a self-confessed lover of the city from its business landscape to vibrant social culture. So, when the Gold Coast was n...

Female board appointments spike during first months of 2018

The percentage of female appointments to ASX 200 boards has spiked in 2018, according to a new report released on International Women's Day by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). Women accounted for 47 per cent of ASX 200 board appointments in the first two months of 2018, up from 36 per cent in 2017. The AICD Qu...

Playing to your strength: how Michael Ramsey built an international fitness brand

Uninspired by a career in the oil & gas industry, Michael Ramsey decided to pursue his dreams. Having previously worked as a personal trainer, the fitness industry fit Ramsey like a boxing glove. With his mind made up, Ramsey resigned from his career as a marketing manager, opened his first F45 Studio, and hasn't looked back. ...

Vinnies predicts this Christmas will be tougher than ever for Queensland families

THE Vinnies Christmas Appeal has been one of the most important social programs run by the group since its inception. This year, the group hopes to assist 1.3 million people, provide 365,164 beds, and donate 2 million hot meals. But the group anticipates that this year's Christmas could be the toughest one to date for Queenslander...

HOW A 125 YEAR OLD BRAND PLANS TO FEND OFF DISRUPTORS

AFTER 125 years, the WridgWays name has become synonymous with the removalist industry in Australia. But with 125 years of history comes the hangup of the old way of doing business. A legacy company like WridgWays is the exact model fresh startups is aiming to disrupt. Kobus Fourie, managing director of WridgWays, is in the job to ensure th...

MATT BLATT FOUNDER ON HOW TO SUCCEED IN RETAIL WHILE STICKING TO YOUR ROOTS

FED up with the furniture options open to Australians, which he describes as "bland", Adam Drexler (pictured) and wife Deborah took it upon themselves to provide something entirely different. Their creation, under pseudonym Matt Blatt, is one of the most exciting and Instagrammable furniture stores in the country. The duo pride ...

HOW TO LEAD A BETTER BUSINESS WITH YOUR PARTNER

PEOPLE say that starting your own business is one of the greatest challenges you can face. Edward and Rebecca Plant, partners in life and business, have taken that statement to the next level. Together the Plants run a coaching program called Lead a Better Business which helps couples build sustainable and profitable businesses that creat...

SURVEY SAYS COUNTEROFFERS MIGHT BE A WASTE OF MONEY

TO RETAIN the best and brightest employees it sometimes seems like a good idea to offer more money, but recent research suggests that cash doesn't always talk. A study, commissioned by specialised recruiter Robert Half surveying 160 chief financial officers in Australia, shows more than 94 per cent of Australian CFOs have extended cou...

CEOS BRAVE THE COLD TO RAISE $1.4 MILLION FOR THE HOMELESS

MORE than 400 executives confronted the cold last night in the annual Vinnies CEO sleepout, which took place beneath the Story Bridge. Participants got a taste of what around 105,000 Australians living on the street experience every night, and in doing so raised around $1.4 million to aid the homeless. Among the 400 executives, manage...

G8 EDUCATION EXECUTIVE CHRIS SCOTT RETIRES AS COMPANY CUTS CHINESE TIES

LONG-TIME managing director and executive of G8 Education (ASX: GEM) Chris Scott has announced his retirement, on the same day that his company has emerged from a trading halt to raise $100 million in a new institutional placement. Scott has been central to the growth of the Gold Coast-based G8 Education since it began life as listed comp...

QLD'S CHIEF ENTREPRENEUR ON CURRENT 'TSUNAMI' OF TALENT: MARK SOWERBY EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PART 1

HE SPENT a decade conceiving and building Blue Sky Alternative Investments (ASX: BLA) into an ASX top 300 company and when Mark Sowerby stood down as managing director in August 2016, he was looking to spend more time with his growing family after years of long hours away from home.

But he'd barely packed his cardboard box and said h...

HOW TO MANAGE OFFICE MOVES: FIVE ESSENTIALS TO PUT INTO ACTION

IF YOU own a business, you will know that the decision to move premises isn't made lightly. Once your business starts to grow, on the one hand it's very exciting, yet on the other it can present a problem for the ill-prepared.   Relocating to a larger space often requires months of planning, and the costs of moving particular...

WHY EMPLOYEE-OWNED COMPANIES ARE BEATING ASX200 SHARE PRICES

EMPLOYEE-owned companies command a higher share price than their publicly listed peers, reaping a 17 per cent premium over the ASX200, a new index has found. The Employee Ownership Australian Index (EOAI) reveals that companies which are at least 30 per cent owned by employees tend to have better environmental, social and governance stand...

SCREEN QUEENSLAND CEO TRACEY VIEIRA RESETS THE STAGE FOR FILM SUCCESS

TRACEY VIEIRA has led Screen Queensland to three of its best years since taking over as CEO in 2014, bringing the organisation out of a malaise that had set in amid bullying claims and the resignations of two CEOs.

Its renewal culminated in FY16 when the organisation secured a direct economic spend of $218 million through international p...

SUPERYACHTS OFFER UNTAPPED POTENTIAL AT COMMONWEALTH GAMES

SUPERYACHT Australia has devised a strategy to attract more superyachts to Queensland and capitalise on revenue opportunities ahead of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. The peak body has put together a working group to focus on uniting stakeholders and share the benefits of engaging with the superyacht community as part of the Super...

RED ROOSTER CONTINUES TO CLUCK UP A STORM

THE age-old saying, 'winner winner, chicken dinner' encapsulates the fondness that Australians have for a good old roast chicken. It is this widespread sentiment and the numerous growth initiatives undertaken by chief executive Chris Green (pictured) which keeps Australian franchise, Red Rooster holding strong despite a wave of di...