With nearly 3 decades of experience at KPMG, Martin has mastered the art of merging governance with innovation, all while stressing the importance of being "MatchFit" and creating "Leadership Capacity" - a holistic approach that combines physical and mental readiness for peak performance.

"In terms of leadership, I'm not a big emailer and I'm not a big meeting requester...I think true leadership is actually knocking over and getting things out of the way and empowering other people..."

In this episode Andrew and Martin discuss:In this episode Andrew and Martin discuss:

00:05 The brutal feedback Andrew gave to Martin on his presentation and how showing vulnerability and putting a bit of himself in the presentation helped Martin.

3:30 Why KPMG bought Andrew’s previous business.

8:05 Why Martin looks 10 years ahead, not just 10 months and Martins philosophy on mentors.

16:45 Martin’s natural curiosity and how that leads him to new skills, taking a year off when he turned 50 and spending that time renovating his own house.

20:55 Leading from the back of the room.

23:20 Doing a shred a couple of times a year to keep good habits.

24:55 Spending the first half of your life training to be healthy for the second half.

26:55 Martin’s partner Suzanne’s thoughts on Martin.

31:05 Doing the Sydney to Hobart race makes the rest of the year seem easier and 

33:30 Martin’s disastrous first Hawkesbury kayak race.

38:15 Starting work at Spotless during a time of crisis.

41:00 Some of Andrew and Martin’s favourite AFR cartoons from that time at spotless

42:40 Martins safety net being his family and his values.

45:15 Dealing with tall poppy syndrome and how consulting firms can adopt AI.

52:00 Where Martin sees KPMG going in 5 years.

55:10 Recognising the tough times Andrew and Martin have been through and you can’t control the wind but you can control the sails.

Connect with Martin at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinsheppard1/?originalSubdomain=au
Or through the KPMG website: https://kpmg.com/au/en/home/contacts/s/martin-sheppard.html
View the AFR cartoons mentioned in the podcast:https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/33d364e1f8f4f4f0b2c9b3e5d9c195a7.webp

https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/813111e20707ef1bd7a1e38c3a2fdd6b670595f1.webp

https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/f9a05922d440f4f9f9a365d589da430770b4526d.webp

Listen to the podcast with Arthur Brooks: https://findingmastery.com/podcasts/arthur-brooks/

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