JUNE BULLETIN

Electrifying success: The story of SAGE Automation.

CEO's Report

Welcome to the July Bulletin.

June has been a busy month, with the handover from Geoff continuing. Assessments of the 2023 Stage 1 applications have remained a key focus.

Thanks once again to many of our scholars who have continued to introduce yourselves, and for your support, encouragement and warm welcome. It is much appreciated. If you haven’t already been in touch and wish to do so, please don’t hesitate – I’d love to hear from you.

The ILFSN Committee chaired by Shaun Westcott (ILF2018) held its tri-annual meeting in early June. There was a great discussion about the key role of the ILFSN and its central position to the long-term success of the ILF mission. In particular, the committee was energised about the opportunity to evolve with emerging industry sectors in SA, including space, defence, alternative energy and digital technologies, as well as traditional growth areas in manufacturing, ag-tech, food, beverage and tourism. The group has resolved to establish a longer-term strategy over the coming year to support continual development in the standard and quality of the ILFSN and the experience each of you have interacting with it and each other. Watch this space!

2023 grant applications - update

Since the last report, the successful Stage 1 applications have moved through to Stage 2 with assessments now in progress before the panel meets again in July to consider these and decide which will go through to interview.

It is pleasing to see a number of the state’s emerging new industries/technologies represented in the mix of applications this year.

Richard Barrett
CEO, Industry Leaders Fund
Level 1, 45 Greenhill Road, Wayville SA 5034
M: 0417 283 633
E: richard.barrett@industryleaders.com.au

Scholar in the Spotlight

Andrew Downs
Founder and Executive Director, SAGE Group
Owner President Management (OPM) program
Harvard Business School, 2013

Like all natural-born leaders, the story of a South Australian business great begins long before the apprenticeship that sparked a love of automation and the ensuing empire.

Not a sporty lad or musically inclined, Andrew Downs preferred mowing lawns around his Woodside neighbourhood for pocket money in his younger years.

“I was very hands-on and analytical from an early age, there was certainly no music or sport,” Andrew, the founder, owner and executive director of SAGE Group, says.

By the time high school rolled around, Andrew had lost interest in the traditional chalk-and-talk classroom, which wasn’t the end of the world considering he went on to establish a multi-national, multimillion-dollar business and, later, hone his leadership skills at Harvard.

Instead of burying himself in books, he became an apprentice electrician at the age of 16 with Uniroyal / Bridgestone in the early ‘80s.

“Although my academic qualifications were pretty lousy, I excelled at trade school. I loved my job. I loved the electrical industry. And I fell in love with automation,” he says.

Moonlighting turned million-dollar business

Landing a job as a maintenance supervisor at Bridgestone in 1989, Andrew’s passion for all-things automation went on the back burner for a couple of years.

That was until he began “moonlighting” with a mate in his back shed after hours, playing around with programming and CAD as a side hustle.

Their first job in ’91 sparked the SAGE name – a name that’s now a world leader in the design, development and delivery of innovative automation solutions for the manufacturing, mining, utilities, defence and infrastructure industries.

“Our first job was a security light for a strata title unit, and we didn’t have a name to put on the invoice,” Andrew recalls.

“My friend Paul said, ‘just put SAGE at the top’ because my nickname was ‘Scallop’ and his was ‘Grogan’. So it became Scallop and Grogan Electrical.

“Because I was still moonlighting and probably only 50 per cent focused on my very well-paying day job, I was given an ultimatum by my then-boss: ‘You’ve either got to stop SAGE or leave’, so I left. My partner Paul decided not to go on the journey and that was that.”

From humble beginnings in Andrew’s back shed, SAGE Group has grown to boast 700+ employees across Australia and India.

Recent events

ILFSN Training Workshop – Business Value Maximisation
Sponsored by Grant Thornton

Skilfully organised and convened by Chantale Millard (ILF2017), this popular event on 16 June brought together a series of panels to bring forth experiences on building great businesses in the face of myriad challenges.

Keynote speaker Jim Whalley shared candid and entertaining insights into the challenges and successes in the growth journey of Nova Systems, with his lessons learned resonating with many of our scholars.

Key focus areas covered in the panel sessions included markets, culture, financial, risk and governance, with an excellent case study on the rise-and-rise of South Australian manufacturer Kelly Tillage, while confronting challenges in each of these areas.

A special thank you to each of the panel members and to Grant Thornton for sponsoring and hosting this great event.

Friday, 18 August:
Business Resilience (ILFSN breakfast training event)

Business in Brief

Uni merger unlocks new opportunities

Business SA has welcomed news of the long-mooted amalgamation of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, congratulating the two universities and the State Government for their "forward-thinking approach". The two universities have formally merged to create the nation's fifth-largest by number of students, with teaching at the combined entity to begin in 2026. Business SA says the merger will strengthen South Australia’s presence in higher education as the largest educator of domestic students in Australia, positioning the newly formed Adelaide University more favourably in global rankings while boosting research and innovation.

Read the Business SA article.

SA secures international wine event

Adelaide will host the International Masters of Wine Symposium in November 2026, bringing 500 delegates from wine-importing nations to SA. The event will allow attendees to experience and invest in South Australian wine, which contributed 64 per cent of the total value of Australian wine exports in the year ending April 2023 according to the Bureau of Statistics

Read the InDaily article.

Scholars in the Media