OCTOBER BULLETIN

From Adelaide to Hollywood, meet Dale Roberts of KOJO

CEO's Report

First off, welcome 2022 Scholars to the ILF Bulletin . We aim to circulate the Bulletin on the first Tuesday of the month, except in January. 

During September, Suzi and I felt like we had run a marathon at our desks. The month is primarily focused on the award's ceremony. It is a huge logistical exercise complicated by many last-minute changes of guests due to short notice overseas business travel and the Queen’s funeral holiday, which caused turmoil in politician diaries due to a change of sitting week dates. Suzi sent 600 invitations, many of which were prevented by SPAM filters from reaching addressees. This is an increasing problem that we will need to address. Late responses and COVID withdrawals meant the seating plan, which took two days to prepare, had to be constantly adjusted. On top of this there was the brochure to proofread, banner photos to finalise, the slideshow to set up, speaking notes to write, a run sheet to prepare, and multiple VIP briefing papers to return on top of all the usual catering requirements for a function. It was exciting to arrange in the same four weeks the Lumination State Innovator Award and the EverEdge Battlefield Masterclass, which were both announced at the award's ceremony. A further two offers for new Scholars and an additional sponsorship agreement were agreed in principle, subject to board approval.

There is a separate article about the ceremony, and without repeating it here I was really impressed by the quality of the networking. The more I see of our Scholars the more I see what a class act you all are. Your achievements are exceptional, your willingness to share your knowledge and contribute to each other’s success and your contributions to the welfare of South Australian’s more generally are exemplary. There is no question in my mind that the ILF Scholars' Network is the premium business network in SA, and this is because of the quality of our Scholars.

The easy but very valuable part of the month was the Lessons from the Edge breakfast seminar, exclusively offered to Scholars by the Australian Centre for Business Growth. You can read more about the event in this edition, but my thanks go to Professor Jana Matthews and Richard Littleton for undertaking the entire arrangement and administration burden.

Out and about

• Adrien Doucet (ILF2021), French Australian Chamber of Commerce SA President, kindly invited me to attend a FACCI "Executive Women Series with LK" seminar. Four brilliant women explained the experiences that had contributed to their success and the differing approaches they used to increase their success. Evidence of ILF connections were everywhere, with the panel including Chantale Millard (ILF2017), Managing Director of Maggie Beer, Michelle Pole, Manager of Governance and Business Services at Oz Minerals Carrapateena copper gold mine and wife of Daniel Widera (ILF2022), and Hollie Coleman, National People and Culture Leader  Adelaide, and Diversity and Inclusion, at Grant Thornton, an ILF Scholars' Network major sponsor. It was a brilliant event, and everyone was highly complementary about Chantale’s contribution in particular. I recommend similar events to anyone of any gender as a great way to see things from a different perspective. 
• I was invited by Natasha Malani to attend the SA Leaders Graduation Ceremony at the Adelaide Zoo. I was impressed by the scale of the SA Leaders alumni and the number of ILF Scholars who are part of the network. They speak very highly of the benefits they gained.
• The William Buck Economic Update offered a depressing view of the world economy with recessions almost certain in the US, Europe, and UK. A silver lining is that the Australian economy is expected to slow considerably but not enter a recession. Wage growth in Australia is moderate by world standards with the UK on 7.5 per cent,  while it is in the low teens in the US. Australian consumer confidence is now close to the lows experienced when the pandemic broke out and that indicates spending will slow soon. 
• The Office for Small and Family Business "Small Business Round Table – Adelaide Metro West” was attended by about 50 business leaders including three Scholars, Peter Cox (ILF2013), Todd Shipway (ILF2021) and Michael Clayton (ILF2022). The office is seeking how best to support small and family businesses and the round table was really a listening post. I was impressed by the contribution of Michael, Todd, and Peter. For those who are unable to attend a round table you can have your say online. One question I noted was about how to be more environmentally responsible and it was suggested Green Industries SA will provide advice.         

Beyond business

September was a bit subdued on the home front as I have a lingering post-COVID cough, and my energies were directed to the ILF.  However, we managed to host a dinner party at home for some good friends. It was agreed the next day that we all felt a little tired but not hungover, despite destocking our cellars of top-quality wines. I am wondering does this prove that good wine does not cause a hangover?

Our grandchildren Noah and Jill played grand finals for their respective basketball teams. Jill’s team started slow and gradually caught up but not quite enough when the final siren sounded. Noah’s team started on top and pretty much stayed there all day, but only just until running away at the end. Both games were exciting to watch.             

Lisa and I had a good chat with a neuro physician. The strongest piece of advice he offered is to avoid Vitamin B6 which is dangerous for the nervous system. It is used widely as a preservative in food and in vitamin tablets. Some of my vitamin capsules with B6 quickly went in the red bin at home.      

Finally, I attended the opening of the Beston Global Food Company lactoferrin plant  at Jervois, near Murray Bridge, which produces five per cent of the world’s supply. Extracted from milk, lactoferrin provides significant health benefits, is used in baby formula and other products, and currently sells at $1000 p/kg. I have a soft spot for Jervois as my grandfather and two uncles owned dairy farms that supplied milk to the Jervois Coop as it was then. Uncle Roger was chairman of the board for a period and was instrumental in the merger with other dairy coops to form Dairy Vale (remember them?). The plant was opened by the Premier who said he understands that, for wages to remain high in Australia, businesses must be competitive in world markets and therefore need to be efficient. I was offered a taste of the product and although it is bland, hopefully it will help me shake the cough!

On an end note, thanks to those who provided feedback on this part of my column. It was supportive, with some warnings not to go too far. I did have a suggestion that Scholars might be interested in some stories from my Army life. Hopefully there will be time to dip the toe in that water next month.

Geoff Vogt

Scholar in the Spotlight

Dale Roberts
Managing Director, KOJO
Leadership 21, Melbourne Business School, 2013

With a creative streak embedded in his blood, Dale Roberts cracked the formidable US film industry with his first Hollywood feature at age 24. Now, he heads a creative studio with 120 full-time staff across six offices in two countries producing premium entertainment, marketing, sport, and event experiences. With three businesses under the KOJO umbrella; KOJO Creative, KOJO Studios and KOJO Sport, its illustrious client-base includes Netflix, Cricket Australia, BMW, and Warner Bros.

Diving into the deep end
"Growing up I was always the creative one in my friendship group, I loved filmmaking, cameras, editing, and creating stories that let my imagination run free. My dad bought a Super 8 movie camera when I was five-years-old for a holiday to Bali, he had one rule, nobody touches the camera except him! Of course, I ignored that rule and promptly picked up the camera and started filming him eating a hamburger. I’ve been hooked ever since.

In 1996 I bought my shares in KOJO at the ripe old age of 22 to start the editing and post-production part of the business. Along with my business partner Marty Pepper, we set about building our skills, services, and network to break into the US film studio industry with our first Hollywood feature being Snow Falling on Cedars in 1998.

Over the next 15 years, I was editing, producing, and running our thriving post-production business, but that all changed when company co-founder John Chattaway passed away and our then CEO decided to depart the business. At a board meeting the following month I was given the role of CEO. I literally wrapped up in the edit suite on a Friday afternoon and then on the following Monday morning, I took over a business that had 60 staff in two states. To say I wasn’t prepared is an understatement."

ILF 'Night of Nights'

The ILF 'night of nights' has showcased one of the most culturally diverse cohort of Scholars in the Fund’s 13-year history, with two new awards announced for outstanding leaders. The annual grants award ceremony, held at the Entertainment Centre on 26 September, hosted 230 guests including luminaries from politics, business and education such as Deputy Premier the Hon Susan Close MP, former Premiers Hon Stephen Marshall and Hon Dean Brown AO, Grant Thornton’s Ian Kemp, William Buck’s Grant Martinella, Australian Centre for Business Growth Dr Jana Matthews, Business SA CEO Andrew Kay (2014), Australian Industry Group’s Jodi Van Deventer and our own honorary president Richard Colebatch with ILF board members.

Taking to the stage
Host Kris Lloyd AM (ILF2014) praised the ILF’s influence on her own business journey, announcing that Woodside Cheese Wrights was, for the first time, exporting to the US with a  container of cheese. Consilium Technology founder and Scholar Seth Thuraisingham (ILF2018) took to the stage to present his company’s journey from 25 to 165 staff thanks to a takeover and merger with like-minded companies. He attributed the ILF to “fanning the flames” of growth and ambition in the state’s business leaders and offered a lesson in entomology to turn ANTs (automatic negative thoughts) into BEEs (believing in positive expectations and emotions). SA Film Corp chief executive Kate Croser told of her unsuccessful application to the ILF in 2014, due to ineligibility of her industry, and how the learnings from the application process had driven her to make her own opportunities. SAGE Group founder and Scholar Andrew Downs (ILF2013) reflected on his 2013 grant which took him to Harvard Business School and led to his business transforming from a $67m, 274-staff operation to a group of companies employing 670 people with revenue of $180m. His CEO Adrian Fahey received an ILF grant in 2016 and his chief financial officer, Dion Draper, is on campus now.

Diversity firsts
This year the ILF awarded $350,000 to 24 scholars, including prizes to Trymoss Engineering CEO Stephen Moss (Colin J. Peters AM Memorial Award) and Venergy Australia CEO Matthew Wilkins (David B. McNeil Award). A new award, the Seeley International Imagineering Award for demonstrating an innovative engineering approach in a manufacturing business, was presented by Hon Dean Brown AO to Derby Rubber chief executive Michael Clayton for moving his factory from Sydney and reducing energy and water consumption at the plant by 80 per cent. Unfortunately, Seeley founder Frank Seeley AM, honorary doctorate honoris causa Flin, was overseas and unable to present the award in person. The other new award, the Lumination State Innovator Award, was presented by chief marketing officer Kieran McCann to Fivecast chief executive Dr Brenton Cooper for using technology to benefit the company over profit. Unfortunately Lumination founder and CEO, Edward Carlson (ILF2020), was in COVID isolation and unable to present the award in person.

As you are aware, the ILF’s focus is on creating wealth, employment and more head offices by number and size in South Australia as a contribution to the state's economy and hence, for the benefit of the populace. It is also aware of importance placed on diversity by many in the community and is keen to meet those expectations, provided this is able to be achieved without diverting the focus from its primary objectives. In this regard the ILF presented a few “diversity firsts” this year, including: 

• first Indigenous Scholar, Gibran Maher
• first Cambodian-born refugee Scholar, Anthony Chhoy
• first Scholar of Kashmiri extraction, Jenal Dhar
• first Scholar from South Africa of Indian descent, Kimal Singh.

Although nothing was said on the night, the below benchmark number of female Scholars was disappointing despite significant efforts to encourage more women to apply. In early May, six excellent female business leaders promised to apply but explained in late May that they had been under such pressure for a variety of reasons that they would have to wait until next year.

Fab food and wines
As is standard practice at ILF events, the award's night was complemented by excellent food, fabulous gelato supplied by Peter Cox (ILF2013) of Gelista, and premium wines supplied by ILF Scholars. Thank you Laura Carter (ILF2022) for the Unico Zelo Tropo Sparkling; Justin Tiller (ILF2022) for the Patritti 2022 Warriparinga Palomino Pedro Ximenez; and Jack Walton (ILF2022) for the d’Arenberg Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier.

Leaving a legacy
Wrapping up the night, ILF CEO Geoff Vogt presented a bombshell by announcing his imminent retirement. In closing remarks he said he had been proud to see the ILF grow to a 261-member business network with Rhodes Scholar-level qualifications for entry. He said he was motivated to ensure that his grandchildren Noah and Juliana, daughter Ally and son-in-law Peter and other South Australians would be able to find meaningful well paid jobs in SA and thanked his wife Lisa for being “the best supporter in life”.

Lessons from the Edge

Written by Geoff Vogt

Another depressingly dreary Spring day greeted about 30 Scholars who braved the elements to attend the Lessons from the Edge breakfast seminar, arranged and hosted by the Australian Centre for Business Growth (AUCBG) on 8 September. Thankfully, the outlook quickly improved with networking, conversation and coffee. Some chose the plentiful breakfast roll while others selected the fabulous Moo yoghurt, kindly donated by Mick Sanders.

Following the delicious food, we sat down for a warm welcome from Professor Jana Matthews, ANZ Chair in Business Growth and Director of AUCBG, which is part of UniSA Business. Over the course of the seminar we heard sobering stories of adversity – and how they overcame these challenges – from four ILF Scholars and AUCBG alumni. Matthew Stead (ILF2019) divulged an incredible series of family health issues that made it impossible to focus on work; quite a shock for a person who was a classic workaholic before the health problems hit. Kelly Keates (ILF2012 and ILF2015) described the shock and horror of finding trusted workers embezzling, while Wayne Duffy (ILF2015) detailed so many stories of cash shortages and trusted employees turning out to be duds that he ran out of time! Via video from the US, Calvin Stead (ILF2018) described how Kelly Tillage has produced and shipped huge volumes of machines to meet forthcoming demand that dried up with a drought in the US in 2014, and a similar experience in Australia which left the company cash-strapped. Despite the slew of depressing news, Jana encouraged the panel to reveal the solutions they applied to the challenges, and the lessons they learned. She also offered reinforcing messages underpinning the value of an AUCBG program.

Matthew's tips:

• give yourself permission to stop work when required
• delegate, delegate and delegate
• build a team that can support itself by pretending you're not there. 

Kelly's advice:

• trust your intuition about people
• do proper due diligence on new hires
• if you're trying to verify something and the answer doesn't make sense, keep asking questions
• be a sceptic – always test and verify
• exercise and keep in touch with friends.

Wayne's take-homes:

• don't accept poor quality financial reporting
• seek help quickly if you're unsure what to do or how to do it
• take action quickly; procrastination isn't a cure and actually makes things worse.

Calvin’s recommendations:   

• ensure management understands recruitment is most important
• don't try to cover too many roles at once by yourself
• be prepared to reform and reinvent business ops when required.   

My takeaways:

• You will always learn more from a business that's experiencing difficulties than from one that is performing well; a lesson I have observed many times throughout my career.
• There's great value in continuing the education journey, and AUCBG is an excellent choice. The experiences of the panel, all AUCBG graduates but used their ILF grant for different courses, was a powerful demonstration.

Thanks to Jana for assembling and briefing an excellent panel, for being an exemplary MC and for offering the ILF this opportunity. Thanks also to Richard Littleton for the superb event organisation.

Upcoming Events

Battlefield ready

This breakfast seminar is being offered exclusively to 2022 ILF Scholars by EverEdge Global – The Intangible Asset Specialists. Hosted by EverEdge MD Michael Masterson, the event will provide insights, case studies and practical advice on how to be ‘battlefield ready’ as you scale your business. Professor Karen Nelson Field (ILF2019) has experienced the benefits of the EverEdge approach and is also presenting at the seminar.

Attendance would normally cost $5,000 per person, but EverEdge has agreed to offer the event to new 2022 Scholars free of charge, with an abridged version to all ILF Scholars in 2023. New Scholars are welcome to nominate an extra person from their organisation on a standby basis. Any spare seats after the RSVP date will be allocated to those nominees.

Where: Kain Lawyers, L5/121 King William Street, Adelaide 
When: 20 October from 7am to 10am

Invitations were distributed to new Scholars at the awards ceremony on 26 September. RSVP Suzi by this Friday (7 October).

Save the date: Scholars' Christmas Party!

The ILF Christmas function is one of the most popular events on the Scholars' Network calendar. This year's host is Gelista – too bad if you don't like ice cream because we'll be allowed into the factory to sample some of the creamiest,  mouth-watering gelato in the world. According to Geoff, who has visited most continents and tried ice creams of all types, nothing compares to Gelista. Whilst Lucuma ice cream in Peru was his favourite, once he tasted Gelista's chocolate variety he was hooked.     

Where: Gelista Premium Gelati, 20 Forster Street, Ridleyton
When: 12 December from 5.30pm to 8pm
Sponsor: Grant Thornton

More details to come.

Business in Brief

Weighing up nuclear energy

Is nuclear energy the answer to help us reach climate goals? This short article from Livewire compares the waste management and safety concerns of nuclear energy with conventional power sources, leaving you to wonder whether it is, in fact, a viable option for the future.    

Read the Livewire article.

Blues of the building industry

Are you considering building? If so you need to be careful, unless the government takes action, warns this article from Macks Advisory. 

Read the Macks Advisory article.

Tips to offset cost pressures

Is your business facing an unprecedented cost landscape that's squeezing profit margins? This short I by IMD article offers strategies to offset mounting cost pressures, such as rethinking products, supply chains and pricing. 

Read the I by IMD article.

Sectors to watch in China's perfect storm

Despite a slew of economic and social challenges, China still has some significant investment opportunities, according to author Hans Lee of this Livewire article. He says the world's second-largest economy has faced major challenges such as slowing economic growth; a housing crisis leading to consumer revolt; a nationwide drought; and a new battleground in Taiwan.

Read the Livewire article.

Robotic roaches at the ready

According to The Australian, engineers have created a solar-powered cyborg cockroach, implanting electronics into a real cockroach to enable them to control it remotely. The article explains exactly what cyborg cockroaches are, and why scientists might need these critters in the first place.

Read The Australian article.

Scholars in the Media