WA Leaders

Oliver Wood: Hard Truth About Entrepreneurship, Partnerships & Scaling a Business by WA Leaders

In this episode of the WA Leaders podcast, host Charlie Gunningham interviews the "speaking lady" of Perth, Dr. Paula Smith, to discuss her 40-year career in business and the nuances of influential communication in the booming 2026 Western Australian economy. Dr. Smith, founder of the Global Institute of Training and Presenting, shares why many senior executives struggle with public speaking and offers strategic tips such as the rule of primacy and recency and the importance of using frameworks over "death by PowerPoint". The conversation explores her journey from starting a personal development school at age 19 to completing a PhD in leadership, while also touching on her personal philosophy of "quiet leadership" and her recent 1,000-kilometer trek across the Camino Francis in Spain. This episode, recorded at Podwave Studios in Leederville, serves as a masterclass for leaders looking to enhance their visibility and reliability through the power of speaking.

Guest: Dr. Paula Smith

Website: paulasmith.com.au, gitp.com.au, paulasmith.com.au

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: Podwave Studios

For more information on WA Leaders, please visit waleaders.com.au

#WALeaders #PerthBusiness #BusinessLeadership #WestAustralia #PublicSpeakingTips #InfluentialCommunication

To many in Western Australia, Michael Malone needs no introduction. He is one of a handful of Australians who have set up a tech company and grown it to more than $1 billion in both revenue and valuation. Over 20 years as founder and CEO, he grew Western Australia’s first internet service provider iiNet to be #1 in WA and #3 in the country.

Born in Ireland, his family moved to North Queensland, and then WA, settling in Padbury in 1978. He worked in his parents’ fencing business, did a Pure Maths degree and teaching qualification, working as a relief teacher to fund the early months of iiNet in the mid 1990s. Taking the company public in 1999, he had to steer the company through rough waters with aggressive competition from the bigger players, and an attack by the Hollywood film industry. He stepped down from the company in 2014, and it was sold a year later to TPG. He has been investing in startups, and sitting on various boards - including WA Leaders - as a professional director ever since. To get away from it all, he climbs mountains.

"A lot of businesses here are often under the radar. They are businesses that – typically - have a sound product, good management team, but may not have the corporate nous to deal with lawyers, accountants, to grow the business another 5x or 10x. So they become part of WA Leaders to try and fill in that gap.” Michael Malone.

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Guest: Michael Malone

Web site: https://perth.net.au

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: The Hub, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102

For more information on WA Leaders, please visit https://waleaders.com.au

Born in New Zealand, Sophia (or Sophie) Rossow's parents were dairy farmers. She moved to Perth when she was 3. Graduating from university with an equivalent of an occupational health and safety degree, she worked in OH&S for several years before setting up Spring Safety (although as you will hear, that was not its original name) in 2007.

With the increase in importance of psycho-social safety at workplaces, especially due to recent legislation changes, she works with a range of businesses consulting on their OHS and ISO certification needs.

"Every team and every site has different psycho-social hazards. You might have a great experience at one site, and then go to another one and not have that same support.” ~ Sophia Rossow

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Guest: Sophia (Sophie) Rossow, Spring Safety

Web site: https://springsafety.com.au/

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: The Hub, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102

For more information on WA Leaders, please visit www.waleaders.com.au

John Blake has been in sales his whole working life. Aged 17, he was spotted negotiating a new battery for his car, by surfie legend Barry Young. He was offered a job, and never looked back, eventually setting up his own sales consultancy, which he admits is now a ‘lifestyle business’.

His sales system shows companies 8 ways in which they can best convert sales enquiries into actual sales. In this podcast, John explains one of them. It’s surprisingly simple, yet usually overlooked. Among other things, he still surfs, and sings and plays guitar in a local pub. You are going to enjoy this talk with John…

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Guest: John Blake, John Blake Sales Breakthrough Solutions

Web site: https://john-blake.com.au/

John’s podcast: ‘Master Dealmaker Secrets’ https://john-blake.com.au/podcasts

John’s book: Hugh Stakes Selling https://john-blake.com.au/high-stakes-selling-book

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: The Hub, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102

For more information on WA Leaders, please visit www.waleaders.com.au

Born in New Zealand, Richard Kain grew up loving science at school, moving on to medical school. From there he worked all around the land of the long white cloud, and then over to the National Health Service in the UK, before landing in Fremantle, WA in 1993. By 2006, he was up in Karratha, where he set up Complete Corporate Health.

Now approaching its 20th year, his team of 14 doctors, nurses, psychiatrists and physios assist workers with emergency medical attention. Telehealth and software development are now becoming increasingly important, as well as the psycho-social treatment of patients.

"60% of our presentation has a psycho-social aspect to it. 60%. The statistics are grim in the occupational sphere. You need a team approach, and you need specialists to do it.” ~ Richard Kain

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Guest: Richard Kain, Complete Corporate Health

Web site: https://completecorporatehealth.com/

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: The Hub, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102

For more information on WA Leaders, please visit www.waleaders.com.au

Dawn Russell is on a mission to make sure every business fits the right people into the right roles, to maximise their happiness and success at work. Established in 2010, her company The Heartware Group has access to an exclusive system to make this happen.

Born in the UK, she moved with her family to Melbourne, aged 10, falling in love with France and the French language at school. After a few years in Queensland, she took a job with Singapore Airlines, where she stayed for 28 years in various roles including as sales director.

“The real job of a leader is to get work done through other people, and to make sure that everybody on the team is able to grow and develop in a way that is right for them. My goal in life is to see people in jobs that make their heart sing.” ~ Dawn Russell.

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Guest: Dawn Russell, The Heartware Group

Web site: https://heartwaregroup.com.au

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: The Hub, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102

For more information on WA Leaders, please visit www.waleaders.com.au

Originally from Queensland, where his parents were in market gardening, Paul Mulroney moved with his family to Western Australia when he was 14, meeting his future wife Caroline at school.

Playing in a band in the early 1990s, a fellow band member had a customised software development business but suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome. With money that had been set aside to buy their first house, Paul and his wife bought over the business and have been running it ever since.

“Business is not just doing the coding, you’ve actually got to think about ‘How do I market this? How do I sell this? How do I look at the finance? How do I connect with others? How do I build those sorts of relationships that are meaningful?’” ~ Paul Mulroney

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Guest: Paul Mulroney, Logical Developments

Web site: https://logicaldevelopments.com.au

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: The Hub, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102

For more information on WA Leaders, please visit www.waleaders.com.au

Set up 8 years ago, Brainbox employs 200 staff in the Philippines working for Brainbox clients. Not your normal outsourcing business, every staff member is embedded into their clients' business, and works for them exclusively. Before establishing this business, Tony worked as a maths teacher, then in IT before consulting, and then as a CEO of a regional council. His top tip for business leaders is to be kind.

“Kindness to staff. Kindness to customers. Kindness to yourselves as business owners. And increasingly important, kindness to the jurisdictions that you work within. Not just for the annual report, but actually doing things that make a difference in those jurisdictions.” ~ Tony Friday

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Guest: Tony Friday, Brainbox

Web site: https://brain-box.com.au/

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: The Hub, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102

Originally from South Africa, via New Zealand, Tracy tells us about the time she sold lollies from her backpack at school, and discovering her love of art. After degrees in art and graphic design, and jewellery making, she followed these passions - plus a spell as a cabin crew for JetStar - before establishing her own branding and design business during the height of the pandemic in July 2020. 5 years on, she employs 12 staff and helps companies set their branding and marketing straight.

“Sit down and really ask yourself, and take inventory of your life and what you have. And assess if you are willing to lose it all, or up it all. Because it will affect every single area of your life. Take stock of what you have, and be prepared to go and grow.” ~ Tracy Fryer

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Guest: Tracy Fryer, Design Studio Perth

Web site: https://designstudioperth.com.au/

The Real Biz Life Chronicles podcast: https://www.therealbizlifechronicles.com/

Interviewer: Charlie Gunningham

Recorded at: The Hub, Technology Park, Bentley WA 6102

For more information on WA Leaders, please visit www.waleaders.com.au