Scholar in Focus:  Chantale Millard (ILF2017) CEO Maggie Beer Holdings

"Driving Innovation Through The Value Chain,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA.

Maggie Beer Holdings (MBH) is an ASX-listed company representing three premium brands; Maggie Beer Products, Paris Creek Farms and Saint David Dairy. Each brand is committed to making premium food and beverage products using Australian produce, supporting local farmers and their communities.  The businesses are operated predominately in retail and food service, however the recent acquisition of Sydney-based Hampers & Gifts Australia (HGA) will give the Group a substantial e-commerce and direct to consumer business. 

Chantale's Top ILF Learnings:

• If you are failing at something, fail fast and pivot to something else.  Don’t waste resources and time on something that isn’t working.
• If you have a product or service that is winning, double down and invest in this quickly to ensure further growth as it won’t be long until your competitors catch up!
• Growing your business doesn’t necessarily have to come from sales, reviewing every part of your value chain for improvement areas can be even more powerful.  Saving $100k in your value chain can be easier and longer lasting that growing your sales to achieve this much profit.
• Know where your business is on the Bell Curve, is it a mature business that is stable with no growth or is it a business still in growth? This will highlight if you need to invest further in what you are doing, or if you need to pivot to something new, to create growth again. 

At the time of the course I was CEO of Maggie Beer Products, now I am the CEO of listed company Maggie Beer Holdings, which now contains four premium Australian food businesses. I initially implemented my learnings into Maggie Beer Products and have now incorporated them into the wider group. We have successfully launched many new products in new categories growing our revenue base and improving our EBITDA considerably. 

Read more of Chantale's growth plans for MBH and bio here>

From the CEO Geoff Vogt

May has seen a huge influx of applications of good quality, and pleasingly, just under 40% are from females. As at midnight on 31 May, we had received 87 applications compared with 35 in 2020. The ILF portfolio value has held up well despite market gyrations during May, so we could potentially be heading for a record year. Summarising such a large volume of applications for assessment by the selection committee has been challenging for Suzi and myself, but also very rewarding.

June's bulletin has some very exciting content including:

• Chantale Millard as our Scholar in focus. She has risen to the top of one of Australia’s iconic food companies and she provides a fabulous insight into Maggie Beer Holdings strategic growth plans.
• Julia Johnson (ILF2019) contributes an expertly written precis of the Hiring and Retaining Key Staff breakfast delivered by Dr Jana Matthews at the Australian Centre for Business Growth, along with photos.
• If you missed the “Hiring and Retaining Key Staff” breakfast there is an invitation to a webinar titled “Finding and Retaining Awesome People for Growth” also offered by Dr Jana Matthews. It is on this Thursday 3 June from noon to 1.30 pm so you will need to enrol quickly. Details below.
• A reminder the Strategic Planning and Implementation Training with Donald McGurk is on Friday 18 June 2021 with MC , Anthony Kittel (ILF 2010), supported by 12 ILF Scholars. Be quick to commit. Sponsored by William Buck, the event is very popular. With just under 80 acceptances on the day invitations were sent, it will book out very soon. Registration details can be found below.
• A summary of the 4 May Information evening, and photos and a reminder to save the date for the ILF Scholars Network Personal Investing breakfast to be held on Thursday 29 July.
• Should you be adding geopolitical risk to your corporate risk plan? Increasing geopolitical tensions, which could lead to trade embargoes and potentially even war, could make pandemic caused trade disruption seem like a minor blip.  
• Not sure if Defence reserves could provide a source of quality staff for your business? An article below might help you decide.
• There are social photos taken at the Information evening and also at the Australian Centre for Business Growth breakfast
• Finally, there is plenty of media action for Scholars including Kelly Baker-Jamieson (ILF2016) who The Advertiser reported is joining the Premier’s Council for Women, Johnathon Matthews (ILF2014) who explained “Patent Box” benefits in the ‘Tiser, and information about Grant Wilckens' (ILF2014) business and private life in SA Life magazine.     

Read more of the CEO Update here>

Upcoming Event: Strategic Planning and Implementation training event with Codan's Donald McGurk: Friday, 18 June 2021, 12.30-6.30pm

This afternoon training session provides an opportunity to hear real views from really successful business leaders. Anthony Kittel (ILF2010), Managing Director of REDARC, will facilitate the all-star line-up which includes keynote, Donald McGurk, Managing Director of Codan, reputed to be the best practitioner of Strategy in Adelaide. Under Chatham House rules you will view the Codan Strategy Plan on a page.  

• Panel Session one - Big Business: ensuring engagement at all levels of a big ship. With Alf Ianniello (ILF 2011)  (Detmold), Stephen Faulkner (ILF2018) (PMB) and Shaun Westcott (ILF2018) (Mitsubishi Australia)
• Panel Session 2 – Services: planning for demand fluctuations. With Gerry Doyle (ILF2016) (Tonkin), Joanna Chronis (ILF2019) (LogicPlus), Kelly Keates (ILF2015) (Zonge Engineering)      
• Panel Session 3 – Startup to Big Business: : biggest change in approach with growth from small to large. With  Andrew Downs (ILF2013) (Sage), Oscar Fiorinotto (ILF2017) (Supashock), Claude Cicchiello (ILF2014) (La Casa Del Formaggio)
• Panel Session 4 -  Pivot: Is strategy important in  a crisis? Chantale Millard (ILF2017) (Maggie Beer Holdings) Charlotte (Charlie) Aykroyd (ILF2018), (Clean Green Australia), Ben Rowe(ILF2015) (Brauer)
• Special Guest - Jamie McKeough, Managing Director, Business Advisory, William Buck.

Register here>

Sponsored by William Buck

Upcoming Event: Personal Investing Breakfast,  Thursday 29 July 2021

This topic was unanimously acclaimed by the ILFSN committee when it was proposed.

On the basis that plumbers have leaky taps, accountants have the worst personal financial records and doctors have the worst health it seemed likely that managers who make lots of money in their working life might neglect their personal finances.   

The breakfast is being sponsored by Morgan Stanley and will be delivered by:

• Scott Dawson, Financial Planner, Morgan Stanley. Scott provides strategic financial planning advice to high net worth individuals and families across tax effective structuring, superannuation, retirement planning, asset protection and estate planning. Scott has 12 years’ experience in financial services, holds a Masters of Financial Planning and has completed the FASEA Financial Adviser Exam.
• Sam Saunders, Senior Vice President and Financial Adviser, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Sam is the ILF’s Portfolio Manager and with his guidance the ILF Portfolio has achieved above benchmark performance since inception. He is a well-researched logical thinker and clear communicator. He possesses a Bachelor of Commerce from Flinders University, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from Kaplan, and a Graduate Diploma  in Self Managed Superannuation Funds from Kaplan. ​​ You will learn about:

1. How to invest your personal capital.
2. Why you should use the superannuation system and how to maximise the benefits available.
3. Some options if you are considering investing outside of superannuation.
4. How Morgan Stanley views the future performance of capital markets.

It is a must attend event if you are unsure about the best investment approach. Even if you believe you have everything under control you might just learn a way to better manage the investment risk reward equation.

This is a breakfast that will provide food for the body to get you off to a great start for the day and food for the brain to get you off to a great start for the rest of your life.

Invitations will be sent during June.

Hiring and Retaining Key Staff Event Summary

While skills needed in many roles continue to change, attributes in successful hires remain constant. And these have little to do with functional competency.

International expert on entrepreneurial leadership and Director at the Australian Centre for Business Growth, Dr Jana Matthews delivered a session on hiring and retaining key staff. With a post pandemic skills shortage, the session came at an apt time—providing the knowledge and tools to “go get 'em”.

Seth Thuraisingham (ILF2018) and David Hart (ILF2014) both participated in programs run by the Australian Centre for Business Growth and were invited by Dr Matthews to join and assist her in the presentation. Their insights provided a useful emphasis on practical application in their workplaces of the principles outlined by Jana in her presentation.  

Julia Johnson (ILF2019), of Myrotia, attended the event and provided this summary:

Dr Matthews highlighted the importance of curiosity and intrinsic motivation. Simply put, people are either motivated or they’re not, and there’s little you can do to change this. Does the candidate have the respect of their peers? And in turn, can you see evidence of the candidate respecting the organisation or the ideas others bring to the party? Is there evidence of the candidate being both a lifelong learner and teacher? Jana also counts creativity, a team player mindset, the ability to anticipate needs, identify multiple options and recommend the best solution as winning attributes.

Read Julia Johnson's full event summary here>

See more social photos here>

Applicant Information evening

After being cancelled last year, an Applicant Information Evening was held on 4 May. We received very positive feedback from potential applicants and exhibiting institutions alike.

Tania Jolly (ILF2019) was a lively and informative MC, briefly summarising the ILF process and explaining the benefits she got out of her Stanford Course. Tania introduced  Hamish Hogben (ILF2013) who inspired the audience as he explained how his INSEAD course had provided the impetus for significant career progression. He was followed by Penni-Anne Donato  (ILF2019) who described the application process and how she decided the AICD Company Directors Course was her best course choice. All three touched on the benefits of the ILF Scholars Network functions. Geoff Vogt explained that with funding being well taken care of at this point it would be a good year to apply.

It was great to see some board members and several Scholars attend. Potential applicants find the interaction with Scholars in particular very helpful. While it was a little quieter than in 2019, as travel restrictions prevented some institutions sending representatives, it was another very successful event on the ILF calendar.

JUNE READING: Time to add Geopolitical Instability to the Risk Management Plan of your business? 

Every well run business has a risk management plan, most have a risk appetite definition, and many link these to their strategic plan.

Risk planning 101 requires a risk plan to consider the likelihood of a risk occurring and the scale of the consequence if does occur.

Not many include the risk of war in their plan. With the increased rhetoric between Australia and other counties against China and the increasing scale of the Chinese military there is no doubt the risk has increased. A number of parallels have been drawn between China’s activities today and those of Nazi Germany in the 1930’s. Russia seems to be active in many areas, there is always the risk of a boil-over from the middle east and who can predict what will happen in Afghanistan. Cyber disruption is increasing.  The consequence could be much greater than trade sanctions which have devastated some industries in recent years..

While it is hoped that sanity will prevail and war will not occur, the consequences could be huge.

Therefore it may be time for your business to add the risk of geopolitical instability to your risk management plan.  An article from Livewire might help you decide.   

Read Livewire article here>

Hiring and Retaining Key Staff webinar, Thursday 3rd June 2021, 12 noon - 1.30pm

Did you miss the Hiring and Retaining Key Staff breakfast? Here is another opportunity offered by the Australian Centre for Business Growth.

Hosted online by Director, Dr Jana Matthews, ANZ Chair in Business Growth, she will be joined by Adam Parsons, General Manager of QLD based company Campbell Scientific Australia and Callan Cox, Managing Director of SA-based builder, Mykra.

Dr Jana, Callan and Adam will explore this universal business growth challenge and share their own experiences about:

·       What to do when looking for candidates.

·       What the best candidates are looking for.

·       How to recognise awesome people.

·       Things you need to do to find and retain them.

It's a great opportunity to learn more about finding and keeping awesome people who will help your company on its growth journey. The Zoom link for the webinar will be sent to you via email after registration.

Register here>

Do you know a great leader who is not eligible for an ILF grant?

The ILF often receives enquiries from great people who do not fit our eligibility criteria. There are multiple Scholarship and grant award organisations that might be able to provide study support for leaders who are not eligible for an ILF grant. There are selected links on the ILF website and many more will be revealed through a google search.

One that, like the ILF, is focused on South Australia is the Playford Memorial Trust. It is certainly worth considering if you wish to support your best and brightest young staff members as it provides prestigious scholarships, awards and internships for high achieving students in areas of strategic importance to the State.

The Trust’s priority areas currently include:

Advanced manufacturing and new technologies | Health sciences and enabling technologies | Environmental sciences including water and energy | Mining and resource development | Agriculture, aquaculture and food production

In 2021, the Trust and its partners across industry, government, the education sector and the community will provide around $700,000 in scholarships, internships and awards to university undergraduates, Honours, Masters and PhD students, as well as to students at varying levels of TAFE.

Search for Playford Memorial Trust scholarships and awards here>

Want to attract and retain key staff?

Defence Reserves might help. As a reservist I can say that reservists   generally are well rounded mature individuals who are willing to make a sacrifice for the greater good.    

Why they are good team members?

Defence reservists learn discipline, teamwork, technical skills, and with promotion, leadership qualities that can be useful in the workplace.

The disadvantage - they do disappear for training exercises and less often on operations. For training exercises, several months’ notice should be possible. The government does provide benefits to employers including funding supplements to at least partially offset any costs associated with the absence of a reservist.

Want more information:

1. Funding support for employers information here> 
2. Benefits of employing reservists information here> 
3. Learn first-hand what reserve service is all about here>
4. Recognition for supporting reserves information  here>

Call Maj Rick Clarke 0429 924 908  or Lynda Oliver 0423 001 483 for more information.

Scholars in the Media: