Path to Partnership

In this episode of the Path to Partnership podcast we are joined by Vincent Scali, Business Advisory Partner at Nexia in Sydney.

This was a really great chat, perfect for this podcast as Vincent became a Partner just under a year ago so his path to partnership is fresh and new!

Vincent talks very candidly about the transition from employee to Partner and the various challenges he faced, including the fact his father was a Senior Partner at the same firm, and as Vincent discusses, there were no favours for him in his partnership journey, in fact quite the opposite. So Vincents journey to Partner was far from conventional, we talk through the time, he moved firms and service lines and took it upon himself to go back to being a grad even with 2 years experience at PWC. In my view, an early sign of Vincents self-awareness and high EQ, no doubt.

Beyond the Partner promotion itself, Vincent delves into the plan ahead as a new Partner, building his own client portfolio in a rapidly evolving market. He shares practical strategies for generating new business, leveraging his existing network, and the importance of embracing personal branding in the digital age.

Finally, Vincent imparts invaluable advice for aspiring partners, emphasizing the importance of patience, mentorship and continuous growth. It was such an enjoyable and insightful chat, a must listen to anyone on that Path to Partnership.

In this episode of The Path to Partnership, we're joined by Alistair Marshall — Amazon bestselling author of Grow Your Professional Practice, keynote speaker, and one of the foremost voices in business development for professional services firms in Australia.

Alistair shares his journey from fast-moving consumer goods into the world of professional services where he quickly noticed a gap: highly qualified professionals who struggled to articulate why clients should choose them. From that observation came a mission — to help firms and individuals not just grow, but grow with purpose.

We unpack:

• Why no one hires a generalist in 2025 — and how to position yourself as an expert
• The real definition of business development (hint: it's not “selling”)
• Strategies new partners can use to attract better clients and talent
• The importance of personal brand and building a visible, credible digital footprint
• Why "you can’t build a great relationship from behind a desk"
• And how firms can stop relying on price as their only differentiator

This episode is packed with practical advice, frameworks, and if you know Alister plenty of good humour, and is a must-listen for anyone looking to grow their practice or stand out in a crowded market.

In this episode, I chat with Shane Bell, Co-Founder and CEO of NSB Cyber — a leading Australian cybersecurity advisory firm. NSB stands for “No Steps Backward,” and once you hear Shane’s story, it’s clear that mantra has guided not just his business, but his entire career.

Shane began his journey in the Australian Navy straight out of school — an experience he loved. From there, he made a bold move into the commercial world, starting out in HR admin at an IT company. That role opened the door to a position in their digital forensics and IT team, where he began building his technical skills.

In 2007, Shane joined McGrathNicol as a Manager in their Digital Forensics team, helping to grow their Melbourne practice. After six and a half years, he moved to PwC to be part of their new and growing cyber practice — attracted by the opportunity to do what he described as “cool stuff” in the cyber space.

Two years later, the chance to return to McGrathNicol and help build a dedicated cyber division was too good to pass up. Shane spent another eight years there, making Partner in 2017. Then in 2023, he took another leap — co-founding NSB Cyber, a business he’s truly passionate about.

I’ve always admired people who take big career pivots, and Shane’s made several — from the military to tech, from tech to consulting, and from Director to Partner to CEO.

This was such an enjoyable conversation — not just because of Shane’s story, but because he’s genuinely a great guy to talk to.

In this episode, we’re joined by Phil Evans, founder of Ambition Performance Coaching. Phil is an executive coach with extensive experience advising leaders and Partners of accounting and professional services firms across Australia.

Phil began his career in elite sport, working with professional athletes in sport science, so as an executive coach he links that high performance mind set and behaviours to the modern corporate and professional services world Phil shares plenty of insights into the journey of partnership, from those readiness conversations to the key attributes needed to become a Partner. We cover a lot in this chat, including, the importance of life balance, the need for consistency of character, what keeps Partners up at night, as well as the need for having good, supportive people around you throughout your career.

I really enjoyed this chat, and not just because Phil is a scouser and Liverpool fan, but because it was great to hear that connection from elite sport to the corporate world and how Phil’s insights and advice relate to the path to partnership. So, whether you’re an emerging leader or a partner looking to elevate your practice, this conversation is packed with valuable advice. Up the reds!

In this episode, we sit down with Marc Walsh, Director at Altus Financial, one of Australia’s top 40 accounting firms based in Sydney. Marc’s path to becoming a partner is anything but traditional. When he graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, his dream was to tour America as a musician with his band. However, a series of pivotal moments led him to Sydney in 2007, where he began his accounting career at Altus—then a small firm with just 35 employees. Fast forward to today, and Altus has grown to over 110 people in NSW.

Although Marc entered the accounting world later in his career, his previous experience in sales played a key role in his success. His ability to sell, identify opportunities, and help build Altus' Tax Advisory service offering helped shape the firm’s growth.

Marc shares his insights on leadership, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness as a director and how the role evolves once you reach partnership. For Marc, it’s no longer just about personal success—it’s about empowering those around you, fostering their growth, and delivering exceptional service to clients. His approach speaks volumes about his leadership and commitment to both his team and clients.

Marc’s journey will especially resonate with those who’ve made a career pivot later in life, showing that with the right mindset and support from a commercially savvy firm, achieving success and partnership is possible.

In this episode, we’re joined by Sevan Tuna, the Managing Partner of Alexander Spencer, a top 100 accounting firm in Australia, and host of the insightful business podcast, The Bottom Line. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out his podcast—it’s a must-listen for anyone interested in business!

Sevan’s journey is truly inspiring. He arrived in Australia in 1986 with his parents and sister, hailing from Istanbul. With Armenian heritage, Sevan’s first job at just 12 years old was working in his uncle’s restaurant, laying the foundation for his lifelong passion for business. This early experience eventually led him to steer Alexander Spencer to its current success.

During our conversation, Sevan shared his unique path to partnership—one that wasn’t typical, but exemplifies his determination, drive, and the critical role of building strong relationships with both peers and clients.

We also dive into the value of mentors, especially during his transition to partner, and how he wishes he’d engaged one sooner. Sevan opens up about the challenges of shifting from an employee mindset to becoming a business owner, and the personal growth required to navigate that change. He talks candidly about luck, but it’s clear from our discussion that Sevan created his own luck and therefore created his own opportunities.

Having spent formative years working in a family business, coupled with his experience in accounting, Sevan’s story is a testament to the power of hard work and passion. Today, he’s channelling those lessons into advising small to medium-sized enterprises and shaping the future of Alexander Spencer.

In a candid conversation it becomes clear why James has achieved such success in his career so far (and there’s plenty still to come). Starting his journey at BDO as a Cadet, James quickly climbed the ranks to Manager before taking on a secondment in the UK. After returning to Sydney in 2016, he transitioned to Senior Manager, but the entrepreneurial itch soon led him to establish his own advisory firm Ainsworth Advisory, where he served as a virtual CFO for multiple clients.

In a pivotal moment, James returned to BDO in 2021 as a Partner and became Partner-in-Charge just a year or so later. His story is one of growth, resilience, and seizing opportunities when they arise.

Throughout our conversation, James shares his passion for people and clients, offering valuable insights on the power of authenticity and the impact of delivering exceptional service in building a sustainable client base. We also explore the challenges of the accounting industry, the importance of work-life balance, and the undeniable value of surrounding yourself with a strong team to achieve success.

Full disclosure, this episode is a good’un! Will has such an interesting career journey, with plenty more to come. He began his career in a small boutique firm in Sydney and then moved into commercial accounting roles. Will then joined Xero’s where he became country Head in both Canada and Australia in a relatively short period of time. It’s a meteoric rise for someone so young, however when you hear of Will’s resilience, determination and energy, it’s easy to understand why.
We talk through how Will overcame the disappointment of not pursuing a football career, as well as his razor-sharp focus on being a sponge and learning and adding as much value as possible in the first “10 year block” of his career. We talk about a couple of sliding door moments which wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t have that focus and tenacity and how that drive helped to create the opportunities that were put in front of him.
Will talks about what he regrets in his career as well as advice to anyone on that career journey, whether it be on the #pathtopartnership or running a company. We also talk through what his next 10 years looks like and how GoodLuca.com is going to change the learning and development game for accountants.

In this episode, we take the podcast in a slightly different direction. Why???.... I hear you ask, well a common theme across all the podcasts I’ve done with Partners and Managing Partners is just how important and impactful it is for a future Partner or current Partner to build their personal brand and leverage their own digital reputation. That is why I asked Roger Christie, Managing Director of Propel and podcast host of Your Digital Reputation to be a guest, because Roge is THE expert in this field. Plus, full disclosure, he’s also a mate of mine and us working together has been in the pipeline for some time.
We talked in detail about how Partners and Leaders of professional services firms can leverage LinkedIn, how without trust in the digital world, you'll have a very hard time driving sales and innovation and attracting talent. Roge says LinkedIn is your best opportunity to earn and leverage that trust at scale. He talks passionately and perhaps most importantly, that having an online presence isn't all about you. He says there is a direct correlation between leaders who are visible and active online, and the willingness of their teams to follow suit. When leaders are present, they unlock their teams' potential - and “that's where the real magic happens”.
As someone who should be leveraging LinkedIn more myself, a key takeaway for me from this chat was, if you see LinkedIn more as a relationship platform, and not a sales platform then the “why” you use it, and how you use it should make more sense and be easier. Generally, people don’t like being sold to, but people will listen to leaders who are an expert in their field, who are credible, who add value and are authentic - and who have more of a "we" mindset than a "me" mindset.
So whilst this episode is a little different to hearing about someone’s individual journey to becoming a Partner, the advice that Roge gives will add so much value to anyone on the journey to Partnership or already in that role today who wants to build their profile, team, client base even more into the future.
Hope you enjoy the episode, and feel free to connect with Roge on LinkedIn with any questions on how to maximise your own potential online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerchristie/

Wali Aziz is Head of Audit & ESG Leader at Walker Wayland NSW, a AFR top 20 accounting firm. Wali was a real pleasure to interview, during our chat he shared excellent insights into the career moves he made and opportunities he saw in order to achieve his goal of becoming an Audit Partner.

Wali shared his views on the importance of having mentors during your career journey, as well as the importance of having a supportive and commercial firm such as Walker Wayland in helping him achieve Partner.  Wali talks about the need as a leader to evolve and grow, even as a Senior Partner, an example of which is importance and focus ESG has with clients.

For anyone on that Path to Partnership I really think Wali’s story will really resonate.