Sweat Capital

In this episode of Sweat Capital, we sit down with former Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer to unpack one of the most fascinating careers in global finance - from studying history at Princeton to leading one of Australia’s biggest and most scrutinised institutions.

Brian reflects on the realities of running a Big Four bank: balancing regulators, shareholders, customers and employees while operating under constant public scrutiny.

We discuss the transition from consulting into banking leadership, what people underestimate about being a bank CEO, and the lessons he carried from ANZ and ultimately Westpac.

We also explore Brian’s next chapter after banking - including his roles in fintech and as CEO of Quantium Health - where he’s now focused on the intersection of AI, data science and healthcare. 

A wide-ranging conversation about leadership, pressure, institutions, reinvention and building a career across multiple eras of business.

You can also check out Brian's book: The Leadership Star: A Practical Guide to Building Engagement

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This episode was recorded on 5 May 2026.

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In this April recap episode, Lulu, Charlie & Dimi discuss what's actually redundant in the business world today...

Cover letters?

Business cards?

Physical notebooks?

Long hours?

Reflecting on recent episodes with the likes of Trent Blacket and Charlie Viola, we dive into whether or not certain customs and conventions still earn their place – or whether we're holding onto them out of habit, nostalgia, or sheer professional inertia.

We also provide an update on how how the show is progressing, as well as flagging some exciting upcoming guests.

We hope you enjoy!***This episode was recorded on 4 May 2026.

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In this episode of Sweat Capital, we sit down with Sophie Greiner and Bella Filacuridi, co-founders of Dome, to unpack what it actually takes to build a business inside one of the fastest-moving corners of media – the $130bn global podcast industry.

Podcasts have quickly become one of the most powerful vehicles for community, identity, and cultural conversation in the world, and yet the commercial value of genuine fandom has still not been fully recognised.

Enter: DomeFest – Australia's first-ever podcast fan festival, held earlier this year at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion.

We dive into how two founders with zero event experience convinced the country's biggest podcast talent, and the team behind Lost Paradise, to back their vision, and why the turnout (with attendees flying in from across Australia & New Zealand) convinced them the IRL opportunity might be even bigger than the platform itself.

We also explore the commercial thesis driving Dome, why an engaged audience of 10,000 diehard listeners is worth more to a brand than a show reaching the masses, why podcast hosts are trusted more than influencers, and why the next wave of value in the industry will flow to communities, not download counts.

For founders, creators, marketers, or anyone thinking about community, media, or how to carve out a category in an industry dominated by legacy players, this episode is a rare look at how two young operators in their early twenties are turning shared obsession into commercial opportunity by building something Australia has never seen before.

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This episode was recorded on 17 April 2026.

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In this episode of Sweat Capital, we sit down with Charlie Viola, Founder of Viola Private Wealth, to unpack one of the toughest decisions in wealth management - walking away after you’ve successfully built a business and client base.

Charlie helped grow Pitcher Partners’ wealth business from under $50 million to more than $3.5 billion in funds under management. At that point in his career, he made the call to execute a management buyout of Pitcher’s wealth arm.

We discuss what drives a move like that, how winning clients changes when you’re on your own, and the realities of building a high-net-worth advisory business without the backing of an established advisory platform.

Charlie also shares what wealthy clients actually value, how trust is built over decades, and how he’s scaled Viola Private Wealth to advising on over $3 billion today while maintaining a high-touch model.

A conversation about relationships, credibility, and playing the long game in wealth management.

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This episode was recorded on 8 April 2026.

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We'll see you in the next one,

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No shortage of highly successful people have been quoted as saying “I sort of just fell into it...” but what are people really saying here?

In this March recap episode, Lulu, Charlie & Dimi explore the concept of intentionality and whether people ascribe enough weight to intentional decision making and its impact on career progression versus the serendipitous circumstances that people often encounter.

We also dive deeper into how to find comfort in an uncertain world where on any given day…”AI is coming for your job”.

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This episode was recorded on 8 April 2026.

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In this week’s episode of Sweat Capital, we sit down with former ethical hacker Assadi Youssef to unpack his journey to becoming the point man for many of Australia’s leading companies on the latest advancements in enterprise grade cybersecurity products.

We unpack:

- Assadi’s innate curiosity and how this contributed to his interest in the digital world

- How he become a professional penetration tester/ethical hacker, hired by many of Australia’s leading organisations to test the strength to their cybersecurity infrastructure

- Why hacking is as much social engineering as it is coding expertise

- His role today as the trusted advisor to many of Australia’s leading companies, presenting them with access to IBM’s suite of products and services

***

This episode was recorded on 30 March 2026.

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In this episode of Sweat Capital, we sit down with Trent Blackett, founder of EMT Partners, to unpack how a legal career can evolve far beyond traditional advisory work – into venture building, global talent, and capital. 

Trent began his career as a lawyer, but early on carved out a niche in media and entertainment – a space where relationships, judgment, and commercial instinct matter just as much as black-letter law. We explore how that niche developed, the sacrifices involved in building global exposure, and the landmark moments that helped put him on the map. 

A major focus of the episode is Centr.com, the consumer wellness platform Trent co-founded alongside Chris Hemsworth and Chris Hadley – including the original investment thesis, scaling the business, and its eventual sale to the Bezos family. Trent shares what that experience taught him about brand, capital, and building real businesses alongside high-profile talent. 

We also dive into the evolution of EMT Partners from a legal advisory into a broader venture and talent platform, the rise of personal brands as scalable businesses, and why the old media model is being disrupted. 

For anyone interested in law, entrepreneurship, media, or how to use 'traditional' skills to carve non-traditional pathways, this episode is a practical look at turning expertise into ownership. 

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This episode was recorded on 29 January 2026.

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In this episode of Sweat Capital, we sit down with Dr. Stephanie Allen, Senior Partner at Kearney and CEO of Jumpstart Fertility, to unpack how seemingly “academic” and consulting-heavy career paths can turn out to be some of the most practical training grounds for real-world problem solving. 

Steph began her career with a PhD in Philosophy at University of Oxford, developing deep skills in logic, reasoning, and structured thinking. One of her earliest professional problems? Optimising bus timetables for a UK town. That same skillset would later be applied to advising governments and some of the world’s largest healthcare organisations on complex, high-stakes decisions. 

We explore how consulting — particularly in government and healthcare — trains you to break down ambiguous problems, balance competing incentives, and make decisions with imperfect information. Steph shares what it really takes to build credibility in consulting, the sacrifices involved in progressing to global leadership roles, and what differentiates truly high-performing advisory firms. 

The conversation also looks forward: the future of consulting in an AI-enabled world, why judgment still matters more than answers, and what ultimately led Steph to step out of advisory roles and into the CEO seat at an emerging Australian healthtech business. 

If you’re weighing academia, consulting, or leadership roles — or trying to understand which skills actually compound over time — this episode is a powerful reminder that learning how to think often matters more than learning what to think.

***

This episode was recorded on 3 February 2026.

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In this final episode of our 2026 Future Minerals Forum series of interviews, we touch base with Eduardo Gama who provides us with an overview of life working in Brazil and the global mining industry.

Eduardo has grown a contingent of over 20,000 Instagram followers! Giving his audience tangible BTS insights into the mining sector.

A great way to round out our pods from Saudi Arabia.

A massive thank you to the whole FMF team for their support.

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This episode was recorded on 14 January 2026 at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. For more information, visit ⁠futuremineralsforum.com⁠

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In this episode of Sweat Capital, we sit down with Roger Baxter, Executive Chairman of Southern Palladium, to unpack the leap from mining policy and industry advocacy into the far harder world of project execution. 

Roger spent years at the centre of South Africa’s mining ecosystem, including as CEO of the Minerals Council South Africa, where he negotiated with government, shaped policy, and represented an entire industry. Today, he’s on the other side of the table – financing, permitting, and advancing Bengwenyama, one of the world’s most significant undeveloped platinum-group metals projects. 

We explore what truly differentiates Bengwenyama as a long-life, low-cost PGM asset; why mine life and cost position matter more than ever in attracting capital; and why high-quality projects can still trade at a deep discount in public markets. Roger explains how jurisdictional credibility, permitting certainty, and community relationships directly influence cost of capital – and where investors often misprice South African risk. 

For investors, operators, and young professionals weighing careers across policy, finance, or operations, this episode offers a rare perspective on how credibility is built before cash flow – and why execution matters more than narrative.

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This episode was recorded on 15 January 2026 at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. For more information, visit futuremineralsforum.com

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We'll see you in the next one,

Keep playing the long game.