Today’s guest is David Delaporte, CFO of Drifta.

Drifta was a company affected by Covid and we speak extensively about the challenges he had when the borders shut. Having a business that relies on freight and logistics, it wasn’t easy.

We cover a range of topics in this episode including:

• Adjusting to remote work. 
• Taking on considerable responsibility early on in one’s career and what that means for future success. 
• Advice David received from a career counselor early in life
• How a fateful discussion with a cleaner changed the way he thought about management. 
• How taking more of an interest in the business you work in gives more context and more value to the numbers. 
• We talk about imposter syndrome and how it can impact your career.
• And discuss how to help underperforming teams improve. 

Sumith Dissanayake and Jack Ferguson co-hosted this episode.

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

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Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

Today’s guest is Scott Richards from Beyond The Numbers. 

Scott has a story that takes us from starting a business and advertising in the Yellow Pages through to working in Kenya, this episode has it all.

Scott talks about his first business and how difficult it was to promote himself when he wasn’t accustomed to doing that. 

We talk about the composition of teams and getting the right mix of high performers and lower performers in a team. 

We discuss mental models and how they can help someone throughout their career. 

And we also chat about a new concept: Energy Management. Scott has many ideas around how to manage your energy and get the best result for yourself. Very interesting listening. 

This episode was co-hosted by Sumith Dissanayake and Jack Ferguson

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

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Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

Today’s guest is Andrew Evans, CFO of Redpath Australia. 

Andrew describes himself as  'Not your typical Accountant.' As you listen to his career and story you will be able to see why.

Having navigated much of his career through feel and gut, Andrew explains how he has made important decisions and his philosophy around leading others.

We also talk about:

• Why he was encouraged to be an Accountant at a young age.
• The 15-minute interview he still remembers.
• His unique leadership style including being able to give out trust and respect from Day 1. 
• A unique mishap he had early on in his career.
• How he has managed redundancies.
• The importance of leaning on the people you trust.

And

• Working in America, and what adjustments he made to make that work.

Sumith Dissanayake and Jack Ferguson co-hosted this episode.

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 
🔔 Never miss an episode—follow us on LinkedIn and your favourite podcast platform 
📱 Share your takeaways with #CFOCatalyst

Are you a CFO with insights to share or know someone who is? We're always looking for financial leaders to join us on the show—reach out at [email protected] to discuss featuring your expertise on a future episode.

Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

On this episode, our guest is James Versace, CFO of the Brisbane Racing Club. 

James was CFO of a business that was greatly impacted by Covid. The Brisbane Racing Club relies on in-person events, and James shares how he and his team have navigated the pandemic so far. 

We also discuss:

• His considerations when hiring someone. 
• What it’s like to be around senior directors reacting calmly under pressure.
• His respect for technically brilliant people, but we also discuss the limitations such people can have.
• Examples of poor leadership he has seen throughout his career.
• What Accountants do to prevent growth. 
  And
• His advice to a young Finance professional
  And many other stories and anecdotes collected from James’ curious career.

This episode was co-hosted by Sumith Dissanayake and Jack Ferguson

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 
🔔 Never miss an episode—follow us on LinkedIn and your favourite podcast platform 
📱 Share your takeaways with #CFOCatalyst

Are you a CFO with insights to share or know someone who is? We're always looking for financial leaders to join us on the show—reach out at [email protected] to discuss featuring your expertise on a future episode.

Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

Today’s guest is Caitlin Scantlebury, Head of Risk Culture and Assurance at LGIA Super.

Caitlin’s career path is anything but usual. 

We speak about how she has worked directly under executives from the start of her career and what that has taught her about leadership. 

We talk about how she always wanted to be a teacher before ultimately deciding to not go down that path. 

Caitlin explains:

- How working in risk can tend to bleed into her everyday life. 

- How she responded to being made redundant relatively early in her career. 

And

- How she was a perfectionist in her previous life and how that has evolved over time.

Sumith Dissanayake and Jack Ferguson co-hosted this episode.

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 
🔔 Never miss an episode—follow us on LinkedIn and your favourite podcast platform 
📱 Share your takeaways with #CFOCatalyst

Are you a CFO with insights to share or know someone who is? We're always looking for financial leaders to join us on the show—reach out at [email protected] to discuss featuring your expertise on a future episode.

Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

Today’s guest is Matthew Hudson, Associate Director and Shareholder of SV Partners

Matt has built quite a reputation on Linkedin amassing 15,000 followers and posting most days.

He is someone who is passionate about insolvency and often speaks out for the industry.

This episode will give you an idea of why he is the perfect person to do this.

We speak about:

• What song plays when he receives awards.
• How he built his Linkedin following.
• How he has built his confidence as an introvert.
• The challenges of working in insolvency, specifically challenges around dealing with government and people winding up their companies. 
• How passionate he is about Director’s understanding their duties. 
• What books he has read that have changed his entire perspective on his career. 
  And
• How he deals with office politics.

Sumith Dissanayake and Jack Ferguson co-hosted this episode.

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 
🔔 Never miss an episode—follow us on LinkedIn and your favourite podcast platform 
📱 Share your takeaways with #CFOCatalyst

Are you a CFO with insights to share or know someone who is? We're always looking for financial leaders to join us on the show—reach out at [email protected] to discuss featuring your expertise on a future episode.

Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

Today’s guest is Guy Griffiths, CFO of PVH Brands Australia.

Today’s conversation is an interesting insight into someone who has spent much of their career in retail, and working up to becoming a CEO.

We talk about how Guy:

• Flew in and Flew out for over 9 years.
• Used Chartered Accounting as a passport to work around the world. 
• What his sabbaticals were like early on in his career.
• What the benefits were of working in London early on in his career. 
• What you should focus on getting out of an MBA if you choose to do one. 
• What extended travel can do to your job prospects when you do eventually come back to Australia.

We also discuss what happens when Accountants become CEO’s and he details his own time as CEO of Wow Sight and Sound, including what he would do differently if he had his time again. 

Another great episode with a professional who is full of knowledge. 

The co-hosts of this episode are Sumith Dissanayake and Jack Ferguson.

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 
🔔 Never miss an episode—follow us on LinkedIn and your favourite podcast platform 
📱 Share your takeaways with #CFOCatalyst

Are you a CFO with insights to share or know someone who is? We're always looking for financial leaders to join us on the show—reach out at [email protected] to discuss featuring your expertise on a future episode.

Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

Today’s guest is Rhydian James, CFO of Discova. 

Working in the tourism industry Rhydian was one of those people affected by Covid and we cover what that looked like in detail.

We also discuss:

• How Rhydian managed to work remotely and get up at 3am each morning. 
• How hard it is when your revenue goes from something to nothing.
• His entrepreneurial endeavours during high school.
• Why Rhydian respects people who have worked in hospitality jobs when they were young.
• The role culture plays in someone’s ability to contribute to a team. 
• And a new concept to the podcast ‘PQ.’ (Not IQ or EQ)

A great episode to start Season 2. We hope you enjoy listening!

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 
🔔 Never miss an episode—follow us on LinkedIn and your favourite podcast platform 
📱 Share your takeaways with #CFOCatalyst

Are you a CFO with insights to share or know someone who is? We're always looking for financial leaders to join us on the show—reach out at [email protected] to discuss featuring your expertise on a future episode.

Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

In this episode, we are speaking to Jeremy Stewart, CEO and Managing Director at Trade Tools.

Jeremy is a very committed individual and has spent most of his working life at Trade Tools. As you know that is quite rare to see these days. 

We cover:

• His stint in Film and Television and why he stopped pursuing that.
• How an unfortunate incident prevented him from entering the airforce.
• The way his leadership and management skills have developed over time. 
• How he filled knowledge gaps midway through his career.
• What it was like to start a Saas Company from scratch.
• How he aims to take Trade Tools into the future. 
  And Much More

Jack Ferguson co-hosted this episode.

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 
🔔 Never miss an episode—follow us on LinkedIn and your favourite podcast platform 
📱 Share your takeaways with #CFOCatalyst

Are you a CFO with insights to share or know someone who is? We're always looking for financial leaders to join us on the show—reach out at [email protected] to discuss featuring your expertise on a future episode.

Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!

On this episode we are speaking to Duncan McHugh, Head of Finance at Nutrition Warehouse, and Co-Founder of One More Rep.

Duncan’s story is one of loyalty. Having a Dad who worked as a CFO for the theme parks on the Gold Coast for 25 years, Duncan is someone who didn’t find it strange to stay in roles for 10 years. 

We also talk about:

• How he spent time in a remote town in Northern Queensland early in his career. 
• What it has been like to start his own Accounting Firm. 
• What it means to ‘manage up’
• And how he managed Covid as a leader at Nutrition Warehouse.

Another great episode with a great guest.

This episode was co-hosted by Jack Ferguson and Sumith Dissanayake.

Thanks for tuning in to Books to the Boardroom! If you enjoyed today's episode, take your leadership journey further:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 
🔔 Never miss an episode—follow us on LinkedIn and your favourite podcast platform 
📱 Share your takeaways with #CFOCatalyst

Are you a CFO with insights to share or know someone who is? We're always looking for financial leaders to join us on the show—reach out at [email protected] to discuss featuring your expertise on a future episode.

Until next week, keep reading, keep listening!