Our next guest is Jim Whalley, South Australia’s Chief Entrepreneur. Before entering the business world, Jim joined the Royal Australian Air Force straight out of school where he was a pilot for 27 years.
He then returned to complete his MBA at the University of Adelaide & in 2000 Co-Founded Nova Systems which he lead as CEO for 16-years, growing the business from 2 to 550 employees & landing on Top 20 fastest growing companies in SA, BRW Fast 100 & BRW “Best Places to Work.”
Jim is currently Chair & Executive Director of Nova Systems as well as leading South Australia’s entrepreneurship model to support the South Australian Government’s new approach to economic growth.
I joined Jim at Lot Fourteen in Adelaide & can’t wait to unpack his leadership & entrepreneurship journey & hear about his plans for the future of entrepreneurship in South Australia.
Resources
· Read about Jim’s view on making entrepreneurs heroes:
https://indaily.com.au/news/local/2018/12/18/adelaide-business-heroes-and-villains-in-chief-entrepreneurs-spotlight/
https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/news-analysis/former-fighter-pilot-south-australian-chief-entrepreneur-startup-founders-should-be-hailed-heroes/
· Follow Jim on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-whalley-bb2a9512/
· Learn more about The Office of The Chief Entrepreneur:
https://chiefentrepreneur.sa.gov.au/
Quotes
· “When you have a vision or a goal, it makes many of the decisions much easier.”
· “My professor said…, ‘Think of something or fail.’”
· “I’m into celebrating people having a go.”
· “It’s just having an open mind, an enquiring mind & a logical mind that allows you to scan the environment & the landscape, see an opportunity & then look at how your capabilities match…”
· “If you go too far from your level or expertise & confidence there is a high risk of it going wrong.”
· “I think it’s great that athletes in Australia end up on the front page of the paper, but I’d also like those people that take a risk, that build businesses, that provide jobs, & do great things on a national & global scale that they’re celebrated as well & that they end up as role models for us.”
· “We need to make entrepreneurs heroes & there is an obligation that goes with that & that is that entrepreneurs do good, not evil.”
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Feel free to connect with Josh on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/joshdfarr