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. 4 days ago

    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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 23 Jun

    First Nations Leadership, Policy Reform & Life on the Fremantle Dockers Board with Colleen Hayward

    Colleen Hayward has spent a lifetime weaving together education, social justice, and human rights from the classroom to the courtroom to the boardroom. The daughter of Len Haywood, Western Australia's first Aboriginal teacher, principal, and South Fremantle premiership player, Colleen grew up with a profound understanding of what opportunity through education truly means. In this episode of The Company We Keep, host John Gardner sits down with Colleen to explore her remarkable journey from primary school teacher to cancer survivor, from the Aboriginal Legal Service and ATSIC to heading the Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research at Edith Cowan University. Colleen shares her bold vision for cross-university study, reflects on what it means to be named NAIDOC's National Aboriginal Person of the Year, and offers an insider's perspective on board life at both Mineral Resources and the Fremantle Dockers, including why Freo leads the AFL on Aboriginal inclusion. Whether you're interested in education reform, Indigenous leadership, or governance that goes beyond ticking boxes, this conversation is a masterclass in purposeful, principled leadership. Connect with Colleen Hayward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-hayward-39b14217/ --------------------------------------Key Takeaways:Colleen's father Len was WA's first Aboriginal teacher, principal and South Fremantle premiership player, a trailblazing legacy she wishes she had asked more questions about while she had the chance. A cancer diagnosis forced her out of the classroom but opened doors into law, policy and research, each role connected by the same threads of social justice, human rights and education. Normalising school attendance across generations, reaching parents and grandparents who had poor experiences at school, is more powerful than any single program or incentive. The best university-community partnerships go beyond funding: they contribute expertise, HR capability and genuine presence in the communities they serve. The Fremantle Dockers lead the AFL with their Aboriginal inclusion, not just recruiting Aboriginal players, but investing in cultural education for the entire club. -------------------------------------- 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) Trailer (0:52) Introducing Colleen Hayward AM: teacher, ECU Pro Vice-Chancellor, Fremantle Dockers & MinRes board director (1:56) One career, many roles: social justice, human rights and education as the common thread (2:36) Growing up in a family of teachers: why school attendance was never negotiable (4:14) Are we doing enough for Indigenous kids in education (8:00) Father Lens: WA's first Aboriginal teacher, principal and South Fremantle premiership player (11:10) Arriving at Dalkeith Primary in the mid-1980s was a culture shock in both ways (15:22) Cancer, career pivot, and the path to the Aboriginal Legal Service (18:10) From ATSIC to the Telethon Institute to ECU and a vision for cross-university study (25:14) NAIDOC Aboriginal Person of the Year 2008: recognised by your own community (27:44) Fremantle Dockers: why Freo leads the pack on Aboriginal culture and inclusion (34:26) Legacy, policy change, and advice to an 18-year-old Colleen Produced at Podwave Studios: www.podwavestudios.au The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and not financial advice.

  8. 16 Jun

    West Coast Eagles, iiNet & 7-Eleven: What 30 Years in the Boardroom Teaches You with Michael Smith

    Michael Smith has chaired some of Australia's most recognisable organisations including the West Coast Eagles, iiNet, 7-Eleven, Starbucks, Synergy, the Perth International Arts Festival, and now sits on the board of AusCycling. In 2014 he was awarded a Doctor of Letters from the University of Western Australia for his contribution to business and the arts sectors. In this episode of The Company We Keep, Michael shares the framework behind decades of boardroom leadership, from his concept of complicated vs. complex organisations, to the three tests that identify a true High Court matter, to why directors need to spend half their time ‘walking the village’ rather than sitting in the ‘castle throne room.’ He also reflects on navigating two of WA's highest-profile corporate crises (the iiNet hostile takeover and the 7-Eleven wage scandal), why he deliberately avoids holding power in his mentor role at Hawaiian, and what the ‘dog-on-a-freeway’ reality of directorship actually means for your wellbeing Michael Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-smith-a4059a57/ -------------------------------------- Key Takeaways: Servant leadership is the foundation & your job is to make the people you lead as effective as possible. Culture before financials: go sit in the call centre before you open a spreadsheet. Organisations aren't engines. They're complex adaptive systems. Treat them like machines and crises will sneak up on you. Being a director is like being a dog on a freeway. You will get hit, it's just a matter of when. 50% of a director's time should be in informal spaces like walking the village, not sitting in the castle’s throne room. -------------------------------------- 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) Intro & preview (0:44) Introducing Michael Smith: corporate director royalty (2:18) Leadership philosophy: servant leadership, wisdom & no single model (3:16) Evaluating board seats: culture and call centres before financials (5:28) Why he avoids power -- mentor-in-residence, AICD mentoring & asking better questions (7:48) Complicated vs. complex: why organisations aren't engines (11:06) High Court matters: the three tests for decisions that demand the full board (13:34) The medieval village: why directors must spend 50% of time outside the throne room (16:50) Crisis in the boardroom: iiNet hostile bid, 7-Eleven scandal & the dog-on-a-freeway reality (19:26) Sport vs. business: bumblebee thinking, the Eagles, Oz Cycling & mountain biking (27:08) How 4,000 interviews a month for 20 years shaped an evidence-led strategy philosophy (32:18) Advice for 40-year-olds, 18-year-olds & the real risk-reward of ASX directorships Produced by Podwave Studios: https://www.podwavestudios.au The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and does not constitute financial or investment 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
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © VECTOR Advisors
  • Show Website
    The Company We Keep

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