2021: A year in review

Amid the challenges and disruptions of 2021, the Industry Leaders Fund has sustained its strong support of SA’s emerging business leaders, delivered record investment returns and continued to entrench itself as the state’s foremost educational grant provider and networking organisation.

The grants assist SA firms to generate wealth-creating opportunities for the advancement of the state, and this year we are proud to have played a role in supporting ILF scholars to create more than 2,600 local jobs.

In October, the ILF welcomed the largest ever cohort of incoming Scholars, with 39 current and future business leaders receiving their grants from the SA Premier, the Hon Steven Marshall. The value of grants, $514,000, the highest since the ILF began.

At this event, the ILF presented the first ever David B McNeil Award and offered the second Colin J Peters AM Memorial Award, for the first time to a new Scholar.

The support from individuals and families who share our vision for a strong South Australian economy is crucial to enable ILF to support worthy applicants in the future, and we were grateful to receive for the first time ever a living bequest this year.

In 2021, acclaimed artisan cheese maker Kris Lloyd AM (ILF 2014) was appointed as an honorary board member to the ILF Board. She became the first female scholar to serve in this role and brings significant insights, energy and new perspectives to the organisation. Seven Scholars, including Ms Lloyd, joined the ILF as members following the 2020 constitution amendment which allows Office Bearers of the Scholars Network committee to nominate to become ILF members.  Only ILF members are eligible to join the Board. 

A record number of well-received functions at a range of unique and informative venues were offered to Scholars, with just two needing to be rescheduled due to COVID-19. We are grateful for the support of our sponsors to enable the ILF to continue to deliver quality training and networking opportunities. Thank you to ILF major sponsors' Grant Thornton and William Buck for their generous support, and also to our major supporters' Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, Logic Plus and Help Systems.

To review this year's events, please browse past editions of our newsletters here.

From the CEO Geoff Vogt:

2021 has been a big year for the ILF with a number of firsts several records broken. These are recorded in the opening article.

November was another eventful month with the following occurring;

• The ILFSN committee met early in the month and planned training activities for next year. The calendar shows later in the bulletin.
• The AGM was held. As there were no new nominations all retiring board members were re-elected. Scholars who have served as a Chair or Treasurer of the Scholars committee and chosen to become members of the ILF were welcomed to their first AGM. 
• A new donation to the Industry Leaders Chairman’s Foundation was received.
• The ACNC (The Australian Not for Profit and Charities Commission) advised that the ILF had been selected for a random audit of its operations to ensure its charitable status was still appropriate. Extensive volumes of information were requested and have been gathered and a response is being drafted.   
• The ACNC advised that the Industry Leaders Chairman’s Foundation had been selected for an audit to ensure that continuation of its DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient Status) was justified. Information was gathered and a response provided during the month. The ACNC advised within 24 hours that they would proceed no further with that enquiry and the case had been closed. It is very reassuring to have their confirmation that everything is in order. Hopefully this will mean that we will not be selected anytime soon for another audit. Hopefully it also means that the ILF enquiry will receive a similar response.  
• Season three of the ILFSN Mentoring Program launched at Deloitte. A summary of the event shows later in the bulletin.
• The Morgan Stanley personal investment seminar provided something for everyone from beginners to very experienced investors. You can read about it later in the bulletin. 
• We advised Scholars from 2020 and before who had not been able to attend their course due to travel restrictions about the extended deadlines approved by the Board for course commencement.

It is now over two months since the last awards ceremony and less than 6 months until applications close in 2022. The ILF’s search for quality applicants has begun. Now is the time to consider who amongst your acquaintances might be worthy applicants and encouraging them to come forward. Many thanks to Scholars who have already e-introduced potential applicants. The quality is very high, which is excellent, but are almost exclusively male so this does not auger well for the gender diversity which was much improved in 2021 compared with prior years. The application system will be on line in the new year.

Read more of the December CEO Report here>

Scholar event summary - Personal Investing:

More than 40 Scholars received a comprehensive overview of personal wealth investing at a breakfast  event at the Mayfair in November, with some also joining online. The event was made possible by generous sponsorship from Morgan Stanley who provided the speakers as well.

After the usual disclaimer, the topic of investment structures was explained, including personal ownership, company ownership and superannuation, followed by a detailing of the value of various insurance options. These insights were provided by Morgan Stanley Investment Adviser, Scott Dawson. ILF Investment Adviser and Morgan Stanley Senior Vice-President, Sam Saunders offered practical tips about portfolio construction and a discussion of often overlooked investment basics, concluding with a number of comments about the current state of markets and future projections. 

Feedback forms showed the presentations were considered to be very high quality and greatly appreciated.

While we encountered some unfortunate technical glitches with the live stream we think the value add for those who are unable to attend is worthwhile and will be seeking to improve those aspects in future. Copies of the slides have been distributed to participants and are available on request to Suzi.

In closing, David Hart thanked Morgan Stanley for its support also highlighting the event was a result of a Scholar suggestion. He encouraged ongoing input for future events. Email your suggestions to the CEO.

Further details about the presentations here>

Event summary - ILFSN Mentoring Season 3 launch and update

For Season Three of the ILFSN Mentoring Program Christine Molitor (ILF2017) matched 34 mentors and 34 mentees many of whom met at Deloitte for the launch function on Wednesday 10 November.

John Rawson, of Deloitte’s tax practice in Adelaide welcomed about 46 of the participants and explained that they are pleased to support the ILF. David Hart thanked Deloitte. Christine explained the handbooks and many of the principles of mentoring. Geoff recounted his experiences and encouraged mentees to remember that mentors learn plenty from mentees, mentees to not hesitate to contact their mentor and mentors and mentees not to feel despondent if the match does not work.

Those who were not able to be at the function were provided match details by email.

Mentors and mentees should by now have met at least once. Feedback so far has been generally very positive.

There has been a query about the logic of one match. While the match is not as ideal as many others, as soon as the mentor and mentee were reminded about one of the key outcomes sought by the mentee and the experience in that area of the mentor they agreed to give it a go. Ultimately if it is not as productive as desired by the two participants we will find a fresh matches.    

If you are in the program and finding that it is not working as expected please let Geoff know, 0457 900 202 or ceo@industryleaders.com.au  

Upcoming event: Christmas function at LMS Energy, 13 December, 6-8pm

Join us to celebrate the festive season with our final ILFSN cocktail function of 2022, combined with a tour of LMS Energy, sponsored by Grant Thornton.

The tour will include insights into its recently established operations control centre which monitors projects around Australia on a 24/7 basis.

More information and to register here>

Upcoming event - Culture Day

Planning for the Culture Training event is in its early stages. At this stage, it is planned that it will resemble the June 2021 Strategy day, with a keynote speaker and lots of short presentations with practical tips from Scholars. The aim will be to assist everyone to overcome labour shortages, with a focus on attracting and retaining staff as well as improving productivity.

Any suggestions or volunteers who wish to assist will be gratefully welcomed.

2022 Scholar events calendar:

Please save the dates for these events, noting dates may be subject to change.

18 Feb, 12.30-6.30pm: 

Culture day focusing on attracting and retaining staff. Sponsored by Grant Thornton and hosted at their offices. Invitations will be circulated in late January.

22 March, time and location TBA: 

ESG with a focus on a case study or studies. Sponsored by DMAW.

13 May, 7.15-9.00am:

M&A Breakfast: How to grow your business or part sell down to raise capital for growth.  Sponsored by William Buck and hosted at their office.

14 Nov, 12.30-6.30 pm:

Government and business. Sponsored by William Buck and hosted at their office

July/August:                                                       

A social wine and cheese event is being organised by a subcommittee chaired by Tania Jolley. 

Omicron

The big news as we go to press is Omicron. There are four main influencing factors that will impact on our lives. Transmissibility, severity of symptoms, efficacy of vaccines and willingness of governments to lock us down.

Morgan Stanley predict that it will be two weeks until transmissibility of the disease is confirmed, although early signs are ominous. It will also be two weeks until lab tests will be completed to assess the severity, although lab tests have been proven to be less than reliable. In the early stages of Delta they predicted far worse outcomes than were actually experienced in humans and it takes longer to understand the human experience. At this stage, it appears that people with three doses of vaccine or two doses and a Covid infection are well protected. Drug companies say they can produce effective vaccines in about three months if required. Finally it seems governments are nowhere near as enthusiastic about lock downs as they were.

December readings:

Exciting new technologies likely to emerge in 2022

These technologies will shape the world if/when successful. Some have been around for a while and some are brand new. It is a 10 minute read, so you may prefer to save a copy until the weekend or for the summer break.    

Read The Economist article here>   

Workplace Wellbeing Index

Staff attraction and retention is a key to success in the war for talent and combatting the so called “big resign”.

This lengthy article explains how to implement a method, already proven in other workplaces, to keep your finger on the pulse.

If you are in a hurry look at the summary at the foot of the article.  

Read article here>   

New UK remuneration indicator for executives coming here?

The UK's 100 largest listed firms are increasingly including environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in remuneration decisions, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has uncovered, with 60% now including ESG measures as part of their executive incentive plans.

Read the article here>   

Fake chips bedevil Asian supply chains

Semiconductors are predicted to be in short supply until 2023. In the meantime fake and substandard chips are in circulation. This short article from EIDA outlines the risk and discloses the name of an inspection service.

Read the article here>   

Scholars in the Media:

Premier's food award winners

Claude Cicchiello (ILF2014), Managing Director of La Casa Del Formaggio wins Outstanding Leader Award, while Robern Menz, Richard Sims (ILF2012) and Phil Sims (ILF2017) were recognised with the Business Excellence Award at the Premier’s Food Awards on Friday 12 November, 2021.

Read more here>

Congratulations to wineries in Halliday's Top 100:

Bleasdale: Nathan Wessling (ILF2020), 94 points Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2021; 95 points Mulberry Tree Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2019;

Angoves: Victoria Angove (ILF2015) and Richard Angove (ILF2020), 95 points Family Crest McLaren Vale Shiraz 2019; 98 points, Warboys Vineyard McLaren Vale Grenache 2019;

Wirra Wirra: Andrew Kay (ILF2014), 94 points Church Block McLaren Vale, Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot 2019.

As a benchmark, the latest Grange received 97 points.

View full list here>

Tom Williams (ILF2015), Brad Spencer (ILF 2018), Gosia Davis (ILF2021)

BAE Systems to build 5 representative ship blocks during prototype phase of Hunter-class frigate project. Read more here>

Three firms join prototyping phase for Hunter-class. Read more here>

Digital artefacts and documents forming the basis for the design of Australia’s Hunter class frigates  transferred from Scotland to Osborne. Read more here>

Apprentices employed on the Hunter-class Program progress. Read more here>

Personal Investing event social photos: