Past Speakers

Guest Speaker:  JD de Lange| Chief Operating Officer, Allan Gray

Topic: The Many Facets Of Value

Johan (JD) de Lange joined Allan Gray in Australia in 2010 as Head of Retail. Prior to joining Allan Gray in Australia, JD spent nine years with Allan Gray in South Africa (AGL), the largest privately owned South African investment company, where he was a Director of Investor Services and a Director of the Allan Gray Unit Trust Management Company.

As the face of Allan Gray Australia, JD is a strong proponent of the fact that there are only two ways to add value to your portfolios and that’s firstly getting the right financial advice and secondly making the right investments.

JD will … Read More

Guest Speaker:   Senator Jane Hume| Assistant Minister for Superannuation, Financial Service and Financial Technology | Liberal Party of Australia

Topic: With Great Influence Comes Great Responsibility

Senator Hume is the Assistant Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and Financial Technology.  Appointed in 2019, Senator Hume is the first to hold an explicit Financial Technology portfolio in Australia.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Senator Hume has broad experience within the financial services and superannuation industries, having worked for the National Australia Bank, Rothschild Australia, Deutsche Bank and, immediately prior to her election, as a Senior Policy Advisor at Australian Super.  Senator Hume has also served on a number of boards including the Royal Children’s Hospital, Federation Square, and Perinatal Anxiety & … Read More

Guest Speaker:   Rod Butterss| Co-Founder | Amadeus Group

Topic:   A Turbulent Journey

Rod was born in Melbourne and was one of ten children. A serial entrepreneur by DNA. Rod started his business career at age seven, selling newspapers in Bayside Melbourne and he hasn’t stopped selling since.

With a marketing background and time spent at the helm of St Kilda football club; Rod will share the highs and lows of his professional and personal journey in his own unique way.

He talks candidly about his journey, warts and all, along with his re-building process, and what he has learned about addiction, identity, and purpose.

As Rod explains: “I have been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember. … Read More

Guest Speaker:    Annalise Jennings  | Founder Dynamic Exchange

Topic:  The Transformation Journey of the Aboriginal Community of Napranum

Annalise Jennings is a business and community strategist with a background in risk management and 25 years’ experience in Corporate Banking. She has specialized in projects that focus on transformation and maximizing human potential.

Dynamic Exchange is an organization committed to supporting communities and organizations to reach their full potential. She has worked extensively with Australian Indigenous communities and is the creator of Whole of Community Change – a blueprint designed to bring about community ownership and self-determination. In 2014 she was invited to share her work with the Aboriginal community of Napranum in a TEDx Talk entitled, “The SHIFT from Paternalism, … Read More

Guest Speaker:    Rhett Kessler  | CIO and Senior Fund Manager Pengana

Topic:  ‘Investors Dilemma in a low rate environment’

Rhett joined Pengana in October 2007, bringing with him over 18 years experience as an investment professional.

He is responsible for leading Pengana Capital’s Australian equities team and managing the Pengana Australian Equities Fund.

Prior to joining Pengana, Rhett was Head of Research for IAG Asset Management (IAGAM) as well as being a joint portfolio manager for various wholesale funds totalling $3.3 billion. In 2005 he successfully launched the IAGAM Absolute Return Fund, on which the Pengana Australian Equity Fund is based.

Rhett was previously a rated media analyst for UBS Australia, and prior to that successfully managed wholesale and retail … Read More

Guest Speaker:    Jonathan Reeve  | General Manager ANZ for Eagle Eye, a digital loyalty and promotions platform

Topic:  Amazon and the Future of Retail

Jonathan is the author of Retail’s Last Mile: Why Online Shopping Will Exceed Our Wildest Predictions, a book which explores the disruption of store retail by online shopping.

Jonathan has worked in retail businesses on three continents for over 18 years and was part of the team that developed the operating model for Tesco.com, a global pioneer of online grocery retail.

Jonathan has an MA in Economics from Cambridge University (UK) and an MBA from INSEAD (France).

Date:           Friday 2 August 2019

Venue:        The Kelvin Club, 14–30 Melbourne Place

                     (East-side of Russell Street … Read More

Guest Speaker:    Simon Madden | Simon Madden Consulting

Topic:  The 2 Commandments of Organisational Success

Simon has a unique outlook on what it takes to be successful. With an initial career in education, he still managed to fit in 19 years of Australian Rules Football at the highest level after making his debut at just 16 years of age.  His football career was further acknowledged when he had the dual honour of being inducted into Essendon’s Hall of Fame and the AFL Hall of Fame.

While he has never been far away from football, he is currently Director of the Essendon Football Club, he has continued his professional skills in business, media, and high-performance people development.

Simon has a wealth … Read More

Guest Speaker:    Eddie Tamir | Cinema Owner | Classic Cinema Group

Topic:   The Cinema Business – now and into the future

Eddie developed an obsession with the screen from an early age as an only child, carrying around a portable TV everywhere he went, watching everything from Felix the Cat to Gilligan’s Island. Eddie studied Creative Writing, and Psychology at Columbia University, New York. He later went on to study a Postgraduate degree at Swinburne School of Film and Television.

He rekindled his love of film through Cinemas. The Classic Cinema Group today owns and operates theatres in Elsternwick, Lido Cinemas Hawthorn, Cameo Cinemas Belgrave, and Ritz Cinemas Randwick

As a sucker for old buildings, Eddie was most inspired by … Read More

Guest Speaker:     Simon Mawhinney | Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer | Allan Gray

Topic:   The Importance Of Being Different – Generating Better Investment Outcomes

Simon Mawhinney joined Allan Gray in 2006 as an analyst. He joined Allan Gray from Alliance Bernstein, where he held a role in Finance from 2004 to 2005. From 2001 to 2003, Simon worked in the Equity Markets group at Macquarie Bank. He also worked at Deloitte and Touche in the Financial Institutions Services team from 1998 to 2001.

Simon holds a Bachelor of Business Science (First Class Honours) with majors in Finance and Business Strategy and a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (University of Cape Town). Simon qualified as a chartered accountant in 1998 and … Read More

Guest Speaker:      Prof. Danny Samson, Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business and
Economics at Melbourne University

Topic:   The Innovation Imperative – Innovate or Die

Danny Samson has been Professor of Management at the University of Melbourne for thirty years.

In this time, he has:

trained countless senior executives now working in industry
held several leadership roles at the University of Melbourne
founded and directed the Centre for Manufacturing Management
been a board director of the Traffic Accident Commission
led the DIST funded study into ‘International Best Practices in Technology Management’
been a member of the Australian Manufacturing Council
been a member of the Commonwealth Government, Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management

He is passionate about the role … Read More