WA Leaders

In this episode of the WA Leaders podcast, host Charlie Gunningham interviews the "speaking lady" of Perth, Dr. Paula Smith, to discuss her 40-year career in business and the nuances of influential communication in the booming 2026 Western Australian economy. Dr. Smith, founder of the Global Institute of Training and Presenting, shares why many senior executives struggle with public speaking and o...

To many in Western Australia, Michael Malone needs no introduction. He is one of a handful of Australians who have set up a tech company and grown it to more than $1 billion in both revenue and valuation. Over 20 years as founder and CEO, he grew Western Australia’s first internet service provider iiNet to be #1 in WA and #3 in the country. Born in Ireland, his family moved to North Queensland, an...

Born in New Zealand, Sophia (or Sophie) Rossow's parents were dairy farmers. She moved to Perth when she was 3. Graduating from university with an equivalent of an occupational health and safety degree, she worked in OH&S for several years before setting up Spring Safety (although as you will hear, that was not its original name) in 2007. With the increase in importance of psycho-social safety at...

John Blake has been in sales his whole working life. Aged 17, he was spotted negotiating a new battery for his car, by surfie legend Barry Young. He was offered a job, and never looked back, eventually setting up his own sales consultancy, which he admits is now a ‘lifestyle business’. His sales system shows companies 8 ways in which they can best convert sales enquiries into actual sales. In this...

Born in New Zealand, Richard Kain grew up loving science at school, moving on to medical school. From there he worked all around the land of the long white cloud, and then over to the National Health Service in the UK, before landing in Fremantle, WA in 1993. By 2006, he was up in Karratha, where he set up Complete Corporate Health. Now approaching its 20th year, his team of 14 doctors, nurses, ps...

Dawn Russell is on a mission to make sure every business fits the right people into the right roles, to maximise their happiness and success at work. Established in 2010, her company The Heartware Group has access to an exclusive system to make this happen. Born in the UK, she moved with her family to Melbourne, aged 10, falling in love with France and the French language at school. After a few ye...

Originally from Queensland, where his parents were in market gardening, Paul Mulroney moved with his family to Western Australia when he was 14, meeting his future wife Caroline at school. Playing in a band in the early 1990s, a fellow band member had a customised software development business but suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome. With money that had been set aside to buy their first house,...

Set up 8 years ago, Brainbox employs 200 staff in the Philippines working for Brainbox clients. Not your normal outsourcing business, every staff member is embedded into their clients' business, and works for them exclusively. Before establishing this business, Tony worked as a maths teacher, then in IT before consulting, and then as a CEO of a regional council. His top tip for business leaders is...

Originally from South Africa, via New Zealand, Tracy tells us about the time she sold lollies from her backpack at school, and discovering her love of art. After degrees in art and graphic design, and jewellery making, she followed these passions - plus a spell as a cabin crew for JetStar - before establishing her own branding and design business during the height of the pandemic in July 2020. 5 y...

Straight out of school Michael Watts went to work at Wesfarmers, initially in IT, working his way through to corporate finance, studying IT and finance degrees along the way. Moving into management and software consulting, he then set up his own company, To Be Advisory in 2019. The name comes from the fact that he did not know what to call his company at first, so when people asked him, he said ‘t...

Originally from New Zealand, Emma Burdett set up and now runs Perth-based brand and marketing company Huddle Up Creative. Her boundless energy and enthusiasm shines through in our chat. We talk about her passion for scuba diving, branding and graphic design, and how she set up her own agency post GFC, bought another one, rebranded and is now on a mission to help businesses understand what they do,...

Originally from Germany, Andreas moved to Perth for a year off between school and uni, finally moving to WA in 2011. After working in financial advisory, he set up his own business, 3D Wealth, four years ago. He likes to work with younger clients, as they have more time to build up their wealth. Although, of course, he’ll work with anyone looking to set themselves up. There is a growing shortage o...

Michael Masterson has some unique perspectives on what a company is actually worth. You won’t find it on the balance sheet. It has a lot to do with its “intrinsic assets”. Founder of several successful businesses, Michael explains how to identify, value and protect your company’s most valuable assets, the ones that drive value into the future. “ (Number 1) Always surround yourself with people smar...

Lauren began her career as a physiotherapist in the public health sector before joining Aveling, her family’s 28 year old business, in 2006. Working her way up from the ground level, she recently took over as MD 18 months ago. What’s it been like taking over as the second generation leader? “A lot of support networks that I have, it’s not just about the professional side, it’s more about your pers...

Gifted in sports and full of confidence, Suzzanne left home at 17 to move across the country to sell encyclopedias. She quickly became the leading salesperson in the country. Better yet, she met her future husband David in the job, going on to great success in business and property investment together. Then the GFC hit, and to recover she set up a successful business coaching firm, which she has b...

In this our third episode, we talk with Lachie Stretton, Director at KBI Group, insurance brokers. Insurance - what a subject! Lachie takes us through his journey from the banking world into insurance. In fact, he was lured into his current insurance company after arranging finance for their founder years earlier. Never burn bridges... "I would say business operators need to be aware of technology...

In this our second episode, we talk with the founder of A Guy I Know, Graham Hall. Originally from the UK, he set up a business in Western Australian that helps organisations deliver training that (actually!) engages staff. In a fun talk through his life and work, Graham's infectious enthusiasm shines through. "So at 4 o clock in the morning, in Joondalup, if anyone's on the road, be careful becau...

In this our first episode, we talk with the founder of WA Leaders, Rupen Kotecha. Rupen talks about his early upbringing in Kenya, his move to Wales for university, then working in London, before ending up in Western Australia where he founded the CFO Centre, and then WA Leaders. "The entrepreneur spirit I've seen here in WA is amazing because WA goes through feast and famine, it's got these cycle...