The Company We Keep

VECTOR Advisors

Welcome to The Company We Keep, a podcast powered by VECTOR Advisors, where we spotlight the people leading change and shaping the future across business, politics, sport and media. In each episode, we sit down with leaders, founders and decision-makers to explore the moments that defined them, the decisions that shaped their journeys, and the lessons learned along the way. At VECTOR, we believe our business is built on relationships — and this series reflects the calibre of people we’re privileged to work alongside. Expect candid conversations, real insights and the stories behind success.

  1. 13 Oct

    The Psychology of Investing, Market Crashes & Managing Risk with Preston Hamersley & Peter Phillips

    Preston Hamersley and Peter Phillips are the duo behind Indian Pacific Funds Management, a Perth based long-short equities fund that has grown into one of Western Australia's genuine funds management success stories. Preston, the founder and Chief Investment Officer, came up through JBWere and Goldman Sachs in Sydney before helping set up Airlie Funds Management and then launching Indian Pacific in 2018. Peter, the Head of Strategy and Distribution, brings a career that took him from Perth to London, Hong Kong and Sydney, including 13 years leading the institutional equities desk at Bank of America, before reuniting with his long-time friend and former desk partner in Perth. In this episode of The Company We Keep, host John Gardner sits down with Preston and Peter to trace two careers that crossed on a Sydney trading floor and came back together in WA. They talk about the pull of their West Australian roots, why WA money now makes up the bulk of the fund, and the market shocks that shaped them, including the GFC and a margin call on a Paris honeymoon. They also unpack how they manage emotion with a systematic rule book, why they will not own a company until they have met its leadership one-on-one, how trust is built with both investee companies and investors, and the advice they would give their 18-year-old selves. -------------------------------------- Key Takeaways: • The GFC, and a margin call on his honeymoon in Paris, taught Preston never to borrow heavily against equities, and to write rules for himself that run against human instinct, such as never sitting at a lower net exposure after a market correction than before it. • Most good investors try to remove emotion from investing, but you cannot, so you need a rule book for when markets are panicking: does it pass the balance sheet test and is it a quality business. • Indian Pacific will not own shares in any company it has not met one-on-one, and the question asked in the investment committee is whether you would want to work underneath that leader every day, because culture and the good bloke factor drive who stays and who leaves. • Trust is built by telling people what you do, doing it, and doing it in difficult times: over eight years the fund has tended to fall by only 40 to 50 per cent of what the market falls, and the founders invest all of their own equities money in the fund alongside their unit holders. • Both would tell their 18-year-old selves that the right people matter most, and with AI levelling the academic playing field, getting along with others and EQ are more important than ever. -------------------------------------- Follow the Podcast: YouTube: / @vectoradvisors Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2oQlEYFk3Gud0HgPRaxgdM?si=176ef52b5a0f4972 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-company-we-keep/id1895814064 Website: https://vectoradvisors.au/ Connect with John Gardner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gardner-maicd-8ab3a519 VECTOR Advisors LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/vector-advisorsau -------------------------------------- Chapters: 0:00 Cold open & preview 0:55 Introducing Preston and Peter 1:12 Two career journeys 5:09 Starting a fund in Perth and staying outside the Sydney pack 7:10 West Australian roots, risk appetite and why WA money now backs the fund 12:45 Market shocks that shaped them 16:45 Managing emotion in investing 19:43 How Peter joined and who does what 28:28 Investment philosophy and judging leadership 34:22 Building trust with companies, investors, and the road to $250-300 million 40:37 The mentors and people who shaped their careers 44:22 Advice to their 18-year-old selves Recorded and Produced at Podwave Studios: www.podwavestudios.au The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice. #TheCompanyWeKeep #VectorAdvisors #PerthPodcast #JohnGardner #IndianPacificFundsManagement #PrestonHamersley #PeterPhillips #FundsManagement #Investing

  2. 29 Sept

    Leading Through the Energy Transition, Decarbonisation & Stakeholder Alignment | Michelle Shepherd

    Michelle Shepherd is one of Western Australia's most influential figures in energy, currently serving as Chair of Synergy and Chair of Territory Generation, roles that place her at the centre of the nation's decarbonisation push. Over a career spanning more than three decades, she has moved from the ACCC and the sale of Victoria and South Australia's government-owned energy assets in the 1990s, through senior positions at AGL and Alinta, to board leadership across some of the most significant organisations in the sector. She is also a non-executive director of the WA Cricket Foundation and a long-time supporter of the YMCA. In this episode of The Company We Keep, host John Gardner sits down with Michelle to trace a career that began almost by accident and grew into a lifelong passion for the energy industry. They explore why WA and the Northern Territory are outperforming the eastern states on energy policy, why renewables backed by gas is now the cheapest path to new generation and more. Michelle also reflects on the leadership lessons of driving culture change at Alinta, the difference between leading as an executive and chairing a board, the power of diversity around the table, and her deep commitment to using sport and community to help young people find where they belong. -------------------------------------- Key Takeaways: • Michelle never set out to work in energy, her career grew from a single 12-month contract helping government write the regulations, which became a 30-year passion instead of the short-term role it was meant to be. • WA and the Northern Territory are outperforming the East Coast on energy policy, largely because government-owned assets give the state more freedom to drive decarbonisation outcomes, while privately owned East Coast businesses face harder commercial and investment risk. • For new generation, renewables backed up by gas is now the cheapest option, so the commercial case and the climate case point to exactly the same answer, the only real variable is the pace at which you build. • Nuclear is not on the table for the next 5 to 10 years: it is currently illegal to build a nuclear power station in Australia, and even without that barrier the timelines are far too long to help meet WA's near-term energy goals. -------------------------------------- Follow the Podcast: YouTube: / @vectoradvisors Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2oQlEYFk3Gud0HgPRaxgdM?si=176ef52b5a0f4972 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-company-we-keep/id1895814064 Website: https://vectoradvisors.au/ Connect with John Gardner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gardner-maicd-8ab3a519 VECTOR Advisors LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/vector-advisorsau -------------------------------------- Chapters: 0:44 Introducing Michelle Shepherd - Chair of Synergy and Territory Generation 2:54 Three decades of change in energy policy, regulation and cost of living 5:44 How WA and the Northern Territory stack up against the East Coast 7:38 Growing up in Perth, working young, and a netball career that peaked in year seven 9:46 Community, the YMCA and WA Cricket 11:58 Culture change at Alinta and the power of communication in the workplace 16:33 Leading through change: diversity, new voices and listening to young talent 19:51 Woodside's clean energy retreat, renewables plus gas, and the nuclear question 23:17 Bringing diverse stakeholders together and the shift from executive to chair 28:50 The leaders who shaped her, and a shout-out to husband Brendan 31:33 Family, travel, Italy and advice to 18-year-old Michelle Recorded and Produced at Podwave Studios: www.podwavestudios.au The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice. #TheCompanyWeKeep #VectorAdvisors #PerthPodcast #JohnGardner #MichelleShepherd #Synergy #TerritoryGeneration #EnergyTransition #Decarbonisation #RenewableEnergy #WAEnergy #NuclearEnergy #Leadership #BoardGovernance

  3. 8 Sept

    Life After AFL, Financial Planning & Backing Yourself with Matthew "Spider" Burton

    Matthew "Spider" Burton is one of the most recognisable figures in West Australian football. Matthew was the tallest player in AFL history when he debuted, an inaugural Fremantle Docker, and a cult figure across nearly 150 games split between Freo and North Melbourne. But the more compelling story is the second act. Now principal of financial advisory firm Zephyr Wealth, Spider has spent 23 years turning the hard-won lessons of elite sport into a philosophy of patient, human-centred financial planning. In this episode of The Company We Keep, host Shaun Duffy sits down with Spider to talk about the brutal reality of transitioning out of professional sport, why "an athlete dies twice", and how the AFL Players Association helped him build a life after footy while most of his teammates let the offer pass them by. Spider also shares the belief that personal financial advice is more personal than it is financial, what he's learned watching his daughter chase a netball career with West Coast Fever, his unconventional path to an AFL debut at 25 under Gerard Neesham, and honest reflections on head trauma, impact injuries, and the self-belief he wishes he'd found sooner. -------------------------------------- Key Takeaways: • Transitioning out of elite sport is brutal even when everything is going your way. Spider was happily married, employed and 33 when he retired, and it still took two years to come out of the funk, an athlete dies twice. • The AFL Players Association will fund your entire education, a trade, or work experience, but it only helps the players who take it up, and too often ego gets in the way of preparing for life after footy. • Personal financial advice is more personal than it is financial. The real job is listening, uncovering people's biases, and drawing out the non-dominant partner so both can sleep at night. • It's mainly about action, not shares versus property. Most clients already know enough, they just need a financial organiser who builds their confidence and keeps following up until it gets done. • Self-belief was the missing piece. Spider's advice to his 18-year-old self is to back himself sooner, the same confidence he lacked early at West Coast before realising he belonged on an AFL field. -------------------------------------- Follow the Podcast: YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@vectoradvisors?si=Sqiyc8x7sVK496Aj⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/vectoradvisors⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-company-we-keep⁠ Website: ⁠https://www.vectoradvisers.au⁠ Connect with Shaun Duffy: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-duffy-b1ba7910/⁠ VECTOR Advisors LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/vector-advisors/⁠ -------------------------------------- Chapters: 0:00 Cold open & preview 0:46 Introducing Matthew "Spider" Burton: principal of Zephyr Wealth and former AFL player 2:32 "An athlete dies twice": losing your identity leaving the game 4:37 From a hyper-structured footy life to fending for yourself 8:05 The AFL Players Association: full funding and why so few took it up 10:39 Advising players on money, gambling and working with the psychs 14:20 How being recognisable kickstarted the advisory career 16:57 Advice more personal than financial: managing clients' biases 19:25 Netball, resilience and watching his daughter with the Fever 22:34 A non-conventional path: 80 hopefuls and a Freo debut at 25 27:15 Head trauma, CTE and impact injuries: was it worth it? 29:40 Two cities and advice to the 18-year-old Spider: back yourself Recorded and Produced at Podwave Studios: ⁠www.podwavestudios.au⁠ The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice.

  4. 25 Aug

    The $2 Billion Sleeping Giant Imdex, Global Strategy & the Future of Mining Tech with Paul House

    Paul House is CEO and Managing Director of IMDEX, the $2 billion Perth based industrial technology company quietly transforming how the global mining industry drills, discovers, and makes decisions. With a career spanning Arthur Andersen consulting, 20 years as an expat across Zambia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and eight years raising a family in India, Paul brings a genuinely global perspective to strategy and leadership that few Australian CEOs can match. In this episode of The Company We Keep, host Shaun Duffy sits down with Paul to unpack his philosophy on corporate strategy, why he thinks AI is a 'solvent' not just a tool, and what the collapse of Arthur Andersen taught him about values, culture, and accountability. Paul also shares his take on algorithmic trading's impact on ASX stocks, the lessons that farm life in Gnowangerup baked into his DNA, mental health in rural communities, and the story of running the New York Marathon on one third of the required training. Connect with Paul House: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauledwardhouse/ -------------------------------------- Key Takeaways: • IMDEX is a $2B global technology business helping miners drill smarter - collecting subsurface data and turning it into real-time insights that drive the next decision. • Strategy is not what you can get done inside your own four walls: customers, competitors, and new technologies all get a vote. Hold your opinions strongly, but loosely. • AI is a solvent, not just an augmentation tool - the real opportunity is to replumb entire processes to reach an outcome differently, not simply automate what already exists. • The Arthur Andersen collapse taught Paul a lifelong lesson: when you see someone else fail, don't say 'thank goodness that wasn't us' - ask honestly how you would have withstood the same pressure. • At 18 you think knowledge is everything; at 55 you know it's curiosity - and the best opportunities always live in the grey zones, not the black and white ones. -------------------------------------- Follow the Podcast: YouTube: https://youtube.com/@vectoradvisors?si=Sqiyc8x7sVK496Aj Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/vectoradvisors Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-company-we-keep Website: https://www.vectoradvisers.au Connect with Shaun Duffy: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-duffy-b1ba7910/ VECTOR Advisors LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vector-advisors/ -------------------------------------- Chapters: 0:00 Cold open & preview 0:44 Introducing Paul House - CEO of IMDEX, a AUD $2 Billion mining technology company in Balcatta 1:32 What IMDEX actually does: smarter drilling, better data, real-time insights for miners 3:22 Three career stints: Arthur Andersen, SGS and IMDEX - how each shaped his thinking 5:08 20 years as an expat: 7:22 CEO philosophy 8:36 Engaging the capital markets personally and the impact of algorithmic quant traders 10:38 Corporate strategy 13:08 AI as a solvent 16:36 Arthur Andersen, Enron and the cheap MBA: what you learn from other people's failures 19:36 Farm life in Gnowangerup, mental health in rural communities, and the exodus of country kids 27:36 Advice to 18-year-old Paul Recorded and Produced at Podwave Studios: www.podwavestudios.au The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice.

  5. 11 Aug

    Spray-On Skin, Scarless Healing & the Long Game of Research with Fiona Wood AO

    Professor Fiona Wood AO is one of Australia’s most respected surgeons and researchers: a world-leading burns specialist, the inventor of spray-on skin, co-founder of the Fiona Wood Foundation, an Officer of the Order of Australia, and the 2005 Australian of the Year. In this episode of The Company We Keep, she joins host Shaun Duffy to talk about why, after decades at the operating table, she is now devoting almost all of her time to research. Fiona takes us inside the long game of medical research: a clinical trials “101” that traces spray-on skin from a 1990s idea (and a dash to the local art store for anything that could spray) all the way to FDA approval in 2018. She is candid about the real handbrake on progress, funding, and the $8 million the US military put behind a single trial that Australia could never have resourced. She explains how she assigned her intellectual property into a not-for-profit foundation so royalties could fund the next generation of research, and why knowing when to “put a plate down rather than let it smash” is its own kind of discipline. The conversation moves from the science to the human. The lifelong relationships burns care creates with patients, post-traumatic growth, and the WA burns response to the 2002 Bali bombings. She looks ahead to next generation ReCell, unscarring scars, the regenerating spiny mouse, and healing skin in space, before leaving her 18-year-old self one piece of advice. Fiona Wood Foundation: Website: ⁠⁠https://www.fionawoodfoundation.org.au/⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/fiona_wood_foundation/⁠⁠ Connect with Shaun Duffy: Shaun Duffy: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-duffy/ ⁠⁠ Vector Advisors: ⁠⁠⁠https://au.linkedin.com/company/vector-advisorsau⁠⁠ Key Takeaways • Research is a marathon, not a sprint: spray-on skin went from a 1990s concept to FDA approval in 2018, with countless overlapping steps of literature review, lab work, toxicology, validation and trials. • Funding is the real handbrake: being “drip-fed” makes everything take longer. The US military funded an $8 million trial that Australia, Fiona says, could never have resourced. • Know when to put a plate down: parked projects are never wasted; publish everything (with patents where relevant) so others with more resource can build on it. • Everything in life is relationships: trust is built one delivered promise at a time, and overpromising while underdelivering is “an absolute killer.” • Burns care is a lifelong relationship: patients return over decades and growth spurts, so she builds in colleagues who will care for a child long after she is gone. • Small injuries can change a life’s trajectory: understanding why some people scar or become vulnerable has implications far beyond burns, from cardiovascular disease to neurodegeneration. Chapters (0:00) Welcome and introducing Professor Fiona Wood AO (2:05) Why she is shifting from surgery to research (3:20) The physical toll of a life at the operating table (5:00) Clinical trials 101 and the 25-year spray-on skin journey (10:50) Funding as the real handbrake on research (12:55) Does Australia have the will to fund research? (14:10) Hard calls: parking projects and reinvesting IP (19:35) Everything in life is relationships (20:50) What’s next: next-gen ReCell, unscarring and healing skin in space (24:35) Lifelong patient relationships and post-traumatic growth (28:45) The Bali bombings and the AusBurn Plan (35:25) Advice to an 18-year-old Fiona: just go for it Produced by Podwave Studios: ⁠http://www.podwavestudios.au⁠ The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice. #TheCompanyWeKeep #VECTORAdvisors #FionaWood #SprayOnSkin #ReCell #BurnsResearch #ScarlessHealing #AustralianOfTheYear #MedicalResearch #RegenerativeMedicine #WomenInSTEM #WesternAustralia #Podcast #BusinessPodcast #Innovation #Healthcare

  6. 28 Jul

    Thirty Years with Hawaiian, Community Impact & Leading with Authenticity with Russell Gibbs

    Russell Gibbs is one of Perth's most respected business leaders: Chairman of Hawaiian and a man who has spent three decades helping shape one of WA's most distinctive property companies. His path to the top is anything but straight: roof tiler, primary school teacher, accidental property professional, and ultimately the trusted custodian of the Wen family's WA vision. In this episode of The Company We Keep, host John Gardner sits down with Russell to trace a career built on relationships, manners, and seizing the moment. From surviving theproperty crash in the late 80’s by being the cheapest, best-dressed employee in the room, to being hand-picked by Madam Wen to run Hawaiian after years of quiet, authentic relationship-building - Russ's story is a masterclass in people-first leadership. He also discusses Hawaiian's bold next chapter: using their shopping centres as community hubs to address domestic violence, youth mental health, and the growing challenge of people feeling they no longer belong to a community. It's a conversation about relationships, authenticity and the belief that the harder you work, the luckier you get. -------------------------------------- Key Takeaways: · Manners matter more than you think: Russell kept his job in the late 80’s property crash not because of his performance, but because he was the best-dressed, cheapest employee with good manners and someone needed to get the beers on a Friday. · Relationships built authentically over years become your most valuable career asset when it counts. Russ didn't realise he was building his network; he was just being himself. · Hard work isn't just long hours: it's meeting people, listening, reading, spotting opportunity, and having the intention to seize it when it appears. · Hawaiian's next chapter: using shopping centres with reach to a million Perth residents as community hubs to tackle domestic violence, youth mental health, homelessness and loneliness. · Leadership evolves from directing to stewardship - the job of a great chair shifts from making decisions to helping others make better ones. -------------------------------------- Follow the Podcast: YouTube: https://youtube.com/@vectoradvisors?si=Sqiyc8x7sVK496Aj Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/vectoradvisors Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-company-we-keep Website: https://www.vectoradvisers.au Connect with John Gardner: LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/john-gardner-maicd-8ab3a519 VECTOR Advisors LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vector-advisors/ -------------------------------------- Chapters: (0:00) Cold open & preview (0:36) Introducing Russell Gibbs - chairman of Hawaiian (1:00) From roof tiler to teacher: how Russ's career actually started (2:42) Growing up in Maddington with a Burmese immigrant mother (4:28) The property crash, a train speech, and the real reason Russ kept his job (8:24) How good manners and genuine relationships landed Russ the top job at Hawaiian (10:26) Three decades with the Wen family: building a property empire with a community heart (13:48) Hawaiian Ride for Youth and why backing youth mental health was bold in 2000 (15:28) Business and community: why they're not mutually exclusive (17:00) Project Bigfoot: using Hawaiian's shopping centres to reach a million Perth residents (25:14) Boardroom lessons from West Coast Eagles: stewardship over direction (33:58) Advice to 18-year-old Russ: take more chances and stop worrying what people think Recorded and Produced at Podwave Studios: www.podwavestudios.au The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice.

  7. 14 Jul

    Playing Test Cricket for Australia, Women in Sport & Leading Through Change with Christina Matthews

    Christina Matthews is one of Australian cricket's most decorated sportspeople: record-breaking wicketkeeper, most capped female test cricketer in Australian history, and formerly the CEO who transformed WA Cricket into a high-performing, commercially sustainable powerhouse. A life member of Lord's and the MCG, Christina now serves as Commissioner of Tourism WA and board director of the Perth Bears Rugby League Club, among many other roles. In this episode of The Company We Keep, host John sits down with Christina to unpack the leadership philosophy she carried from the crease into the boardroom. She talks about making the bold call to move marquee cricket from the WACA to Optus Stadium, steering the $180 million redevelopment of the WACA Ground, and why the biggest mistake in sport is thinking your needs are the most important thing in the equation. Christina also shares her perspective on the women's sport pay gap, the community programs that actually change lives, and why the Perth Bears rugby league experiment is bound to succeed. If you want to understand what it takes to lead an organisation through emotionally charged change and come out on the other side with more fans than you started with this conversation with Christina is worth listening to. Connect with Christina Matthews: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinamatthews100/ -------------------------------------- Key Takeaways: The same rules that drive elite team performance apply directly to business: everyone must know where the team is headed, their own role, and how to support those around them. Women's sport transformed its trajectory the moment it got regular TV coverage, and the pay gap is starting to get closer as well. Moving WA Cricket to Optus Stadium was data-driven, the opposition was emotional. Persistence, vision, and walking in stakeholders' shoes eventually won them over. The biggest mistake organisations make is assuming their needs are the most important part of any equation, thinking beyond what you want and understanding what others need to give. Real social impact programs are built on authenticity and ground-level learning, not PR. Give people a tribe, and magic happens. Legacy isn't trophies, it's the system-changing moves that set an organisation up for the future, long after you've left the building. -------------------------------------- Follow the Podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/vectoradvisors Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-company-we-keep Website: https://www.vectoradvisers.au Connect with John Gardner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gardner/ VECTOR Advisors LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vector-advisors/ -------------------------------------- Chapters: 0:00 Cold open & preview 0:46 Introducing Christina Matthews: Australian wicketkeeper, former WA Cricket CEO, commissioner and board director 2:28 Vision and collaboration: the elite cricket principles Christina took into business 4:16 The day she was picked to play for Australia and the 1984 India tour 6:34 Most capped female test cricketer for Australia and why she quietly backs the multi-format game 7:38 Women's sport pay gap: what's changed, what hasn't, and the equality vs equity confusion 11:30 Moving marquee cricket to Optus Stadium - data-driven decision, emotion-driven opposition 13:46 The $180 million WACA redevelopment: walking in other people's shoes 18:06 Athletes vs administrators: what each side gets wrong about the other 22:26 Community programs that change lives and why everybody needs a tribe 31:52 Legacy: the two system-changing moves that set WA Cricket up for the future 33:26 Advice to 18-year-old Christina: stay curious and stop worrying so much Produced by Podwave Studios: www.podwavestudios.au The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice.

  8. 30 Jun

    Quantum Computing, AI & the Future of Human Creativity with John Barrington

    John Barrington is one of Western Australia's most quietly influential thinkers. He is a technology strategist, medical research driver, and leader in the arts sector, who has spent decades working at the intersection of science and creativity. From founding Barrington Consulting to co-founding Artrya Ltd., now an ASX-listed AI company with FDA clearance for detecting coronary artery disease, John has consistently been in the room before the rest of the world arrives. In this episode of The Company We Keep, host Shaun Duffy sits down with John to unpack the next frontier: quantum computing. John explains what quantum actually is, why Australia is a recognised world leader, and what the 'harvest now, decrypt later' cybersecurity threat means for boardrooms today. He also shares his conviction that AI isn't killing human creativity, it's making it more valuable and reflects on the lessons from a career built on following 'your blisters, not just your bliss. Whether you're a business leader, a curious mind, or someone trying to make sense of where technology is taking us, this conversation is worth listening to. Connect with John Barrington AM: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-barrington-am/ -------------------------------------- Key Takeaways: Quantum computers don't just compute faster, they solve problems that classical computers literally cannot, including modelling diseases, climate, and logistics challenges with infinite variables. Boardrooms need to act on quantum cybersecurity now: bad actors are harvesting encrypted data today, planning to decrypt it once quantum becomes widely available. AI isn't killing human creativity empathy, flair, and collaboration will become scarcer as machines take on more tasks, and scarcity creates value. Organisations must protect dedicated time for long-term thinking and stop labelling incremental improvement as innovation. Follow your blisters, not just your bliss: do the hard things that align with who you truly are, and the difference you make to others will follow. -------------------------------------- Follow the Podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2oQlEYFk3Gud0HgPRaxgdM?si=176ef52b5a0f4972 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-company-we-keep/id1895814064 Website: https://vectoradvisors.au/ Connect with Shaun Duffy: Shaun Duffy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-duffy/ Vector Advisors: https://au.linkedin.com/company/vector-advisorsau -------------------------------------- Chapters: (0:00) Cold open & preview (0:52) Introducing John Barrington AM: Management Consultant, Quantum Australia board member and arts patron (2:24) What is quantum computing, and what can it actually solve? (5:18) Where quantum is right now: from labs to early commercialisation (8:36) Top applications: Alzheimer's, cancer, climate, energy and logistics (10:46) The cybersecurity threat no boardroom is talking about: harvest now, decrypt later (12:00) Is quantum bigger than the internet? John's view on the coming step change (13:22) Arts, science and Da Vinci: Why you shouldn't have to choose (15:28) Is AI killing human creativity? Why the answer is the opposite (17:12) A hospital bed moment: the human skills machines will never replace (23:06) Artrya Ltd: co-founding an ASX-listed AI company to detect heart disease earlier (28:30) Advice to 18-year-old John: follow your blisters, not just your bliss Produced by Podwave Studios: http://www.podwavestudios.au The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice.

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About

Welcome to The Company We Keep, a podcast powered by VECTOR Advisors, where we spotlight the people leading change and shaping the future across business, politics, sport and media. In each episode, we sit down with leaders, founders and decision-makers to explore the moments that defined them, the decisions that shaped their journeys, and the lessons learned along the way. At VECTOR, we believe our business is built on relationships — and this series reflects the calibre of people we’re privileged to work alongside. Expect candid conversations, real insights and the stories behind success.

Information

  • Creator
    VECTOR Advisors
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © VECTOR Advisors
  • Show Website
    The Company We Keep

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