The Interview Australia

Joining our program on this episode to share what is undoubtedly one of Australia’s most remarkable self-made business success stories is Billionaire Trevor Lee, Founder & Principal of Australian Country Choice Group- the largest & most successful, privately-owned, vertically integrated beef processing company in Australia.

In this rare & exclusive profile of one of Australia’s most successful yet private businessman, Trevor charts his incredibly journey, from being told his academic future was limited whilst a student at Brisbane’s Anglican Church Grammar School, to working the harsh lands of Queensland’s rugged, remote environments, ultimately culminating in the decision to follow his instincts & launch his own a business - a business which has changed not just an industry, but a Nation too, all the while cementing his legacy & the legacy of future generations of the Lee Family for decades to come.

Joining our series on this episode is prominent company director & corporate advisor, Tony Howarth AO.

Tony’s extensive five-decade plus career has taken in the heights of Australia’s financial and banking sectors, including high-profile roles leading renowned organisations Challenge Bank & Hartleys as Chief Executive Officer as well as Chairman positions with Altina Energy and Home Building Society.

He has also held a number of board positions including as a Non Executive Director of WesFarmers (2007 - 2019), Deputy Chair of the Bank of Queensland (2007 - 2010), Non Executive Director of private investment vehicle AWB and Non Executive Director and Chair of St John of God Health Care.

Across a broad portfolio of current roles, Tony serves as a Board Member of Coventry Group, BWP Trust, Viburnum Funds and Altina Energy.

Born in Bathurst, Tony left school in year 10 and joined the local bank branch, studying an accounting degree at Tafe whilst working his way up through the ranks including to General Manager of Community Banking at the State Bank of New South Wales (managing 300 branches) as well as gaining experience in retail & commercial banking in Sydney, London and New York.

In 1991, Tony moved to Perth and was appointed Chief General Manager and later, Chief Executive Officer of Challenge Bank, a period which saw him leading the bank through a strong re-build before it was acquired by Westpac four years later in 1995.

Since that time, Tony has been a trusted sounding board for both public and private organisations and has built an enviable profile across Perth’s business community.

Tony served on the University of Western Australia Senate for 12 years, and was an inaugural Chairman of the University Club and was a key driver in the creation of the UWA Business School where he led the Fund Raising and served as Deputy Chair for over a decade.

Tony ‘s community involvement included Chairman of Western Australian Rugby Union; inaugural Chairman of the Committee for Perth; President of both the Western Australian and Australian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the International Chamber of Commerce of Australia.

https://readymedia.com.au/

https://www.viburnumfunds.com.au/tony-howarth/

A rare and exclusive interview with legendary Perth businessman, John Hughes - Founder & Chief Executive Officer of John Hughes Group.

• Founded 1969

• $500m revenue per annum

• 540 staff

• 2,500 cars sold per month

Exclusively presented by Ready Media Group.

Host - Rob Langton

Joining our series on this episode is Co-Founder & Managing Director of ACFS Port Logistics, Arthur Tzaneros.

Alongside his father Terry, Arthur launched ACFS in 2005, growing the business over the course of the past two decades to become Australia’s largest private owned container logistics operator.

With National operations across transport, warehousing and freight logistics, ACFS has some 1,500 personnel working across company-owned facilities in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane & Auckland, providing a diverse

range of services to its blue-chip customers including Bunnings, Coles, Nestle, Kmart & Super Retail Group.

Arthur was born in Sydney & attended The Scots College, graduating in 1995 before working across the logistics sector in New South Wales including as General Manager, NSW for Smith Brothers Trade & Transport and NSW Landside Logistics Manager for P&O Transport Australia.

In this exclusive interview, Arthur shares the extraordinary journey of ACFS, the opportunities & challenges he’s encountered throughout his business career & the key learnings that have driven his success.

In a rare & exclusive profile, Founder of Costa Asset Management & high-profile member of the revered Costa Family dynasty, Robert Costa joins our series on this episode to discuss his diverse professional career which extends across wholesaling, retail, commercial property investment & philanthropy.

The son of Sicilian migrants who commenced their grocery business with the purchase & evolution of Geelong’s Covent Garden in the mid 1930’s (originally established in 1888), Robert was born in Geelong and attended St Mary’s Primary School & later, Lovely Bank’s Chanel College.

Upon graduation, he joined the family’s rapidly expanding Costa Group fresh produce business in the 1970’s alongside his brothers Frank & Anthony, with the company rising to become Australia’s largest horticultural and fresh produce supplier over the course of the next four decades.

Following more than thirty years in a variety of management positions within Costa Group that focussed predominantly on managing the firm’s asset base & liquidity position, Robert launched a new venture, Costa Asset Management, in 2011 alongside his brother Anthony.

Today, Costa Asset Management (CAM) functions primarily as an investment office with a diverse portfolio of assets across fixed income, private equity, venture capital, commercial property investment, property development & international real estate.

In addition to Costa AM, Robert & the late Anthony Costa jointly founded their philanthropic enterprise, The Anthony Costa Foundation in 2011 which seeks to make a positive impact in the communities in which the family operates in through providing grants, strategic advisory & resources to a range of causes including homelessness, food insecurity, opportunity in education and mental health.

Outside of his corporate interests, Robert has also variously held a number of professional roles including Mayor of Geelong West, Chair of Monash & RMIT University’s Global Reconciliation bodies, Chair of the Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund, Director of the Geelong Performing Arts Centre Trust & Life Governor of the Barwon Health Foundation.

In this exclusive, in-depth interview, Robert shares the insights & achievements behind his distinguished four-decade plus career as well as the fundamentals involved to achieve sustained success in both business & life.

Produced and distributed exclusively by Ready Media Group.

Host - Rob Langton

https://readymedia.com.au/

Joining our program on this episode is prolific Western Australian entrepreneur & company director, Michael Malone - Founder of iiNet, the homegrown Australian success story he built to become the Nation’s second largest listed ISP with over 2,000 personnel, over 1m customers & $1bn in annual revenue prior to its sale in 2015 in a circa $1.5bn deal.

In this rare & exclusive interview, Michael details his extraordinary personal & professional successes, the journey of iiNet, his unique philosophy and approach to business, the evolution in Western Australia’s start-up scene and what he considers his most seminal achievements.

Presented exclusively by Ready Media Group.

Host - Rob Langton

Joining our series for an exclusive profile is Kevin Maloney, Founder & Chairman of family office investment firm, Tulla Group.

Born in Sydney in the late 1940’s to parents Joseph, a retired army major who upon discharge, went into the hotel business and Florence Maloney, Kevin was one of eight siblings whose early exposure to business was formed through his parent’s acquisition and management of the Zetland Hotel as well as their interests in horse-racing, a passion which continues to be prevalent throughout his life today.

From humble beginnings in Sydney’s western suburbs, Kevin left school at age fifteen and began working as a clerk at ANZ, progressing through the firm to become the youngest person in its history to be appointed to a management role.

During this time, Kevin’s thirst for hard work and his ambitious nature began to take shape, working full time at ANZ whilst also juggling roles three other part-time roles including as a poke machine attendant at the South Sydney Junior Leagues Club, a bookies clerk, and a taxi driver.

Following a two-decade career with ANZ, Kevin left the firm and became a Founding Executive Director and the inaugural Chief Executive of Elders Resources Finance in 1986, a business which provided capital to finance resource projects across the World to the tune of more than $4bn in the gold, oil, gas, forestry, and silver industries.

In the early 1990’s, Kevin established Tulla Group, a private investment vehicle to direct a number of ventures including diverse forays into jewellery, retail apparel, copper mining and building materials.

By 1996, Kevin foresaw a unique opportunity to provide high-quality accommodation services to mining sites across Australia, launching MAC Services Group, a business which specialised in prefabricated buildings and constructed villages for mining communities via its seed asset in Queensland’s Moranbah.

Over the course of the decade, MAC Services Group grew to encompass over 3,300 rooms across five villages, with revenues exceeding $69m per annum, ultimately culminating in the decision to float the business on the stock exchange in April of 2007.

Under Kevin and his son Mark’s leadership, MAC Services continued to expand throughout Australia post public listing, with new villages opened in Western Australia whilst rooms under management exceeded 5,000 for the first time.

In December of 2010, MAC Services (The MAC) was acquired by Oil States International Inc in a $689m deal, with investors receiving four times their money back in just three years whilst sowing the seeds for Tulla Group’s next chapter as a family office.

Tulla Group is today one of Australia’s most successful and diversified family offices, with investments across mining and resources, technology, racehorse breeding, property & venture capital.

Our discussion with Kevin charts his background, his early business successes and challenges, the extraordinary rise of MAC Services, his key career achievements, and the investment focus of his family office.

Produced, licensed & distributed exclusively via Ready Media Group

Host - Rob Langton

The Interview | Australia's flagship business series.

Our special guest on this episode is highly-respected corporate advisor and doyen of Western Australia’s business community, Mr. John Poynton AO.

In a diverse career that encapsulates a range of industry sectors including investment banking, corporate advisory, stockbroking and private investment, John has been an instrumental figure for over four decades, establishing an enviable track-record as a strong deal-maker and confidant to leading organisations from throughout Australia.

https://readymedia.com.au/

Joining our series for a rare and exclusive profile is special guest, billionaire Shesh Ghale - Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of MIT Group, renowned property developer & global philanthropist.

In an extraordinary tale of success defined by resilience, adaptation and hard-work, Shesh has risen from a childhood spent in the rugged mountains of Nepal in the early 1960’s through to an early education in the Former USSR of Ukraine, ultimately culminating in the decision to re-locate to Australia in 1990 and embarking on a career-defining pursuit into the educational and property investment industries.

Following his high school education in Nepal, Shesh moved to Ukraine and studies a Bachelor / Master of Civil Engineering at Kharkiv National University on a Government Scholarship, graduating in 1986 before returning to Nepal to work as a project engineer in the Government’s transport department.

Seeking greater access to career opportunities, Shesh then moved to Australia in 1990 and embarked on further study, enrolling in a Master of Business Administration degree at Victoria University graduating in 1994 - his wife, Jamuna Gurung followed and re-located to Australia in 1991.

Having experienced first hand the quality of education offered through the university system in Western countries, Shesh identified an opportunity to provide world-class study pathways largely targeted toward international students in Melbourne, therein establishing the Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1996 alongside Jamuna.

Over the course of the past twenty-five years, Shesh & Jamuna have grown MIT into one of Australia’s most successful private tertiary education institutions, with purpose-built campuses in both Melbourne & Sydney and a cohort of over four-thousand students per annum.

Capitalising on their natural entrepreneurial institution, the pair began investing in commercial property in the early 2000’s, successfully acquiring and divesting of multiple assets across Melbourne’s CBD including Tomasetti House, The Argus Building, Sir Charles Hotham Building, 386 - 412 William Street, 388 Lonsdale Street and 154 - 158 Sussex Street in Sydney’s CBD amongst others.

In addition to his extensive domestic property interests, Shesh also has a number of investments globally including Sheraton Kathmandu Nepal held through his family office, The Ghale Group - he has also donated his time and considerable resources to a number of philanthropic and community-based organisations.

Our exclusive interview with Shesh Ghale explores his background, his passion for education, his deal-making in the commercial property sector and the key ingredients that have enabled him to become one of Australia’s most successful individuals.

Host - Rob Langton

Producer - Ready Media Group

Our guest on this episode is highly respected businessman, corporate advisor and private investor, Mark Barnaba AM.

A trusted advisor in both public and private-sector capacities, Mark’s career extends across a range of institutions wherein his diverse experiences in management consulting & investment banking have been a valuable commodity for organisations for more than three decades. 



Mark enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Western Australia, graduating with High Distinction (winning the JA Wood University Medal) in 1985 before enrolling in an MBA at the revered Harvard Business School where he graduated with the highest distinction.

After recognising Mark’s remarkable academic achievements, business heavyweight and legendary Australian figure Alan Bond employed him as an executive assistant, wherein he worked directly with Alan and his Bond Corporation for a period of two years.

In the early 1990’s, Mark joined McKinsey & Company and worked across the firm’s operations for a period of five years including in its London, Johannesburg, and Sydney offices. 



Following his return to Perth, he co-founded banking & advisory firm Poynton & Partners alongside John Poynton in 1996, with their pair (alongside others) simultaneously launching a subsidiary known as GEM Consulting. 



Alongside the growth of Poynton & Partners throughout the late 1990’s, GEM Consulting became Perth’s leading corporate advisory and financial services business having been intricately involved in major transactions including across the mining, technology, resources, and commercial property sectors.

Under the stewardship of Mark & John, GEM Consulting was acquired by AST Group South Africa in 2001 in a $44m deal.

In 2004, Mark Co-Founded Azure Capital, an independently owned, specialist advisory firm he led as Co-Executive Chair for seven years prior to selling his stake in 2010.

Mark served as the Inaugural Chairman of the University of Western Australia Business School Board for a period of eighteen years (2002 - 2020) and was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University in 2012.



In 2012, Mark was appointed Chairman of Macquarie Group Western Australia, Chairman & Global Head, Resources Group & Chairman, Corporate & Asset Finance of Macquarie Group by then Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Moore AO - positions he held for a period of six years until 2017.


Since 2010, Mark has served as a Non-Executive Director of Fortescue Metals Group Limited in addition to Lead Independent Director (2014) and Deputy Chair (2017).

In August 2017, Mark was appointed to the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia and currently Chairs the Reserve Bank Board Audit Committee.

Mark has also variously been Chairman of Western Power, Edge Employment, Alinta Infrastructure Holdings, the Black Swan State Theatre Company of Western Australia.

He is also a Senior Advisor of EY Oceania, Chairman of the Investment Committee for HBF and Chairman of Greatland Coal.

He also holds an extensive number of other positions including as Chair of GLX, Chair of the Investments Committee at HBF. Senior Advisor of EY Oceania, Senior Advisor of Appian Capital Advisory and Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia.

Our exclusive interview with Mark unpacks his diverse career journey, from successfully launching his own ventures, to working with some of Australia’s largest and most revered institutions, he openly shares the fundamentals required to achieve success as well as the crucial lessons he’s learnt from more than three decades in business.

Proudly produced and distributed exclusively by Ready Media Group.