What I learned in business (that didn't kill me!)

What happens when one of the UK’s largest companies collapses—and takes trust in the entire UK audit profession with it? In this episode, I sit down with Mark Raddan , CEO of Interpath Advisory and former KPMG UK Senior Partner and Board member, to unpack the fallout from the Carillion collapse and how it fundamentally reshaped the UK turnaround and restructuring profession. Carillion employed mor...

What is customer loyalty — really? Is it points? Discounts? Retention metrics? Or is it something deeper? In this episode of What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) , I sit down with Adam Posner , founder of The Point of Loyalty, host of the What’s the Point of Loyalty? podcast, and author of For Love or Money™ — one of Australia’s longest-running loyalty research studies, spanning nearl...

Everyone talks about sustainable retail products and saving the planet, but who really cares? Retailers? Customers? Government? The global retail sourcing & supply chain is invisible to most consumers, yet it is one of the most complex, highly integrated and culturally nuanced business ecosystems in the world. James H Stewart sits down with Anne-Laure Descours , one of the world’s most senior...

Ian Robson is one of the most experienced and battle-tested sports administrators in Australia. At just 32 years old, with no prior CEO experience, Ian was appointed Chief Executive of the New Zealand Warriors , building the club ahead of its entry into top-tier rugby league. From there, his career spans: CEO of Hawthorn Football Club during its rebuild and 2008 premiership CEO of Essendon Footbal...

MasterChef finalist, television host and food entrepreneur Simon Toohey, is this week's guest. Many Australians know Simon from MasterChef Australia (Season 11 and “Back to Win”) or from his SBS series Freshly Picked. But behind the television profile is a far more layered story — one that spans cocktail bars in London, a Masters in Gastronomy in Edinburgh, plant-forward food innovation, pop-up sm...

The collapse of Rothwells Bank in late 1988 signalled the beginning of the end for WA inc. In this episode, James H Stewart sits down with Andrew J Love , one of Australia’s most experienced former restructuring advisers and non-executive directors, for a deep dive on the collapse of Rothwells Bank and the beginning of the end for WA Inc in the late 1980's. Andrew spent nearly three decades as a s...

Christo Van Egmond — Inside the Business of Live Music ACDC is one of the worlds biggest rock bands. So what does it really take to bring the world’s biggest artists to Australia? In this episode James Stewart goes inside the live-entertainment industry with Christo Van Egmond , Managing Director of TEG Van Egmond , one of Australia’s most influential concert promoters. Christo quite literally gre...

In this episode of What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) , James Stewart explores one of the most important and misunderstood challenges facing leaders, employers, marketers and boards today: how to understand and engage the next generations of consumers and workers—Gen Z and Gen Alpha . James is joined by Anastasia Pelot , founder of House of Context and a youth-culture strategist who...

Big 4 accounting firms are never far from the spotlight. In this episode of What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) , James Stewart sits down with Andrew Yates , CEO of KPMG Australia, to explore what it really takes to lead one of the country’s largest and most scrutinised professional-services firms. Andrew oversees more than 10,000 people including c.800 partners across Australia, Pap...

The Parramatta Eels are of Australia's Iconic sporting clubs. In this episode of What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) , James H Stewart sits down with Jim Sarantinos , CEO of the Parramatta Eels , one of the most passionately supported and closely scrutinised rugby league clubs in Australian sport. Before taking the reins at the Eels, Jim spent two decades at Ferrier Hodgson , helping...

From surviving a devastating car accident in Ukraine to becoming one of Australia’s most influential thinkers in customer loyalty and digital strategy — this is the extraordinary journey of Anna Samkova. Born outside Kiev and raised in Odessa during the final years of the Soviet era, Anna grew up behind the Iron Curtain. At 20, she survived a serious accident that required multiple surgeries and l...

From escaping civil war in Sri Lanka at just six years old, to building one of the most successful automation start-ups in Australia and New Zealand, Nishan Wijemanne has lived a business journey defined by resilience, reinvention and relentless curiosity. In this episode, we trace Nishan’s extraordinary path — from his early years in Christchurch, to his foundational training at Dematic , one of...

Bruce Carter AO is one of Australia’s most respected commercial advisors and arguably South Australia’s “Mr Fix-It”. Over more than three decades, Bruce has become the person governments, boards and business leaders call when the stakes are high and commercial pragmatism is in demand. Bruce built his career in corporate restructuring and insolvency as a young partner at EY before founding Ferrier...

When Iain Nairn walks into a room, he brings over 40 years of global retail experience — and a lifetime of lessons in leadership, resilience, and reinvention. From his early days with Laura Ashley in the UK to record-breaking years at Country Road Group , a short but powerful stint at David Jones , and a complete digital reinvention of Hudson’s Bay in Canada, Iain has led through every challenge r...

From a kitchen table in Brisbane to a global online fashion movement — this is the story of Black Milk Clothing. In this episode of What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) , host James H. Stewart sits down with Jackie Kruger , CEO of Black Milk Clothing , the cult Australian label known for its bold designs, product range diversity, and fiercely loyal community of Sharkies . Jackie share...

John King's global experience in retail and wholesale brands is unique. He led three major retailers— Matalan , House of Fraser , and Myer —through wildly different market cycles, against major headwinds and each with their own unique set of challenges. After an early career with Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer in the UK, he spent 13 years in the wholesale sector, witnessed the 9/11 attacks on t...

The Jim Thompson story is a spy mystery that leads to the launch of the Thai Silk industry In this episode, James H. Stewart sits down with Frank Cancelloni , Group CEO of Jim Thompson — Thailand’s most iconic names in silk design, craftsmanship, and culture. Frank shares his journey from leading global retail giants in Asia like Lacoste , Tommy Hilfiger , and Calvin Klein to reimagining Jim Thomp...

Private-equity veteran Patrick Elliott (Founding Partner, Next Capital; ex-Macquarie PE; former Chair of JB Hi-Fi) joins James H Stewart to unpack career pivots, equity investing and what they teach us about risk, governance, and value creation. Patrick traces his path from restructuring at Ferrier Hodgson to Private equity investing at Macquarie , then the leap to found Next Capital . We dig into...

Di Gillett is a former fashion-design student, turned retailer, turned headhunter, turned podcaster — whose life and career are a study in resilience and reinvention. Di began her career in fashion and retail with Myer and Country Road, before spending more than 30 years in executive search , working with industry icon Andrew Banks at Talent 2 and later founding her own firm, Agora Partners . Toda...

Evan Thornley is an entrepreneur, investor, reformer, and one of Australia’s most original thinkers on business and social change. Evan’s career has been anything but conventional. He co-founded LookSmart , one of Australia’s first tech companies to list on NASDAQ at the height of the dot-com boom, before riding out its spectacular crash. He later entered Victorian politics , led the global Better...

Paul Howes is one of Australia’s most recognisable public figures and a leader whose career has spanned the union movement, politics, and corporate life. Raised by a single mother in Sydney’s Blue Mountains, Paul became the youngest ever National Secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union , rising to national prominence during the Beaconsfield mine disaster . He later became a key player in Labor’...

Born out of the ashes of Enron and the collapse of global Big 5 firm Arthur Andersen, Korda Mentha has become a powerhouse advisory firm in Australia/Asia fuelled by winning some of the biggest and most high profile mandates in the country. In this episode of What I Learned About Business (That Didn’t Kill Me) , James H Stewart sits down with Mark Korda , co-founder of KordaMentha to discuss the i...

For 40 years I was a corporate undertaker. I buried businesses that failed and helped save those where there was still a pulse. I was parachuted into some of corporate Australia’s biggest financial crisis, insolvencies and turnaround environments. I have been in Board rooms, Court rooms and on shop floors when all seems lost (and sometimes it was). Over decades at the coal face of business (often...