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

What can a funeral business teach us about leadership, trust, innovation and family business governance? Quite a lot, it turns out. In this episode of What I Learned in Business (That Didn't Kill Me) , I sit down with James MacLeod OAM, Managing Director of Tobin Brothers Funerals, one of Australia's largest and most respected family-owned businesses. James's journey is remarkable. Starting as a c...

Born and raised on a dairy farm near Shepparton and the first person in her extended family to attend university, Wendy built a remarkable 32-year career with Accenture that took her from regional Victoria to leadership roles across Asia, New York and the global technology consulting sector. Following her executive career, Wendy became one of Australia's most respected Non-Executive Directors, ser...

If we are the "lucky country", why does life feel hard for so many of us? Saul Eslake is one of Australia's most respected independent economists and his conversation with James H Stewart cuts through the political noise and examines the true state of Australia's finances. Drawing on decades of experience advising governments, financial institutions and businesses, Saul provides a candid assessmen...

Online success is more than just a great platform, service or product. Brand development, storytelling and communication sit front and centre of why customers will engage with you. This means understanding the power of language. In this episode I sit down with Bernadette Schwerdt — entrepreneur, best selling author, founder of the Australian School of Copywriting, and host of the podcast So You Wa...

Coopers Brewery is one of Australia's oldest family businesses and most famous brewers. In this episode James H Stewart sits down with Andrew Cooper, Executive Director of Coopers Brewery. Founded in Adelaide in 1862, Coopers Brewery has survived wars, recessions, industry disruption, changing consumer preferences, and even a hostile takeover attempt. But this conversation is about far more than b...

What happens when business and government policy intersect? What happens when the institutions that underpin our democracy, economy and social cohesion come under pressure? What happens to leaders when moral clarity is lost? James Stewart sits down with Jennifer Westacott AC — one of the most influential leaders in Australian public and business life. From growing up in public housing, in a home m...

Have you ever wanted to be part of a Social Enterprise? What about building a business that does good for the community - at scale? Kim McDonnell — founder of Thankful, Thankful4Farmers, and Saveful, and winner of the 2025 Women in Digital Champion of Change Award, has done just that (and more)! Kim shares her remarkable journey from growing up in the remote mining town of Mount Isa, in outback QL...

How a Holocaust survival story shaped a family legacy and inspired a serial retail investor to keep striving for success. In this deeply personal discussion, James H Stewart sits down with retailer, investor, former lawyer and long-time friend, Tom Krulis for a conversation that goes far beyond business. Tom opens up about his family’s extraordinary journey, including the posthumous publication of...

The Banking Royal Commission was the reset needed for the Australian banking industry and demanded by the community. Sally Bruce's first hand experience at Macquarie Bank, National Australia Bank, AMP bank, gave her a unique insight into some of Australia's largest financial institutions, the important role than they play in the community and what can go wrong when the institution gets in its own...

A former F18 fighter pilot, a former leader of the Australian aerobatic flying team the Roulettes, a Senior Advisor to the Australian Defence industry and someone who literally jumps off tall building (or cliffs) in a single bound. That's what you get when you chat with Peter Robinson. In this high-impact episode, James Stewart sits down with Peter Robinson, CEO of NWE Strategic to discuss the cur...

Harvey Weinstein and Brittany Higgins have one thing in common. They were at the heart of a movement to reform workplace safety and workplace culture and right at the centre of that process, was Kate Jenkins AO, one of Australia’s most prominent voices on workplace safety, sexual discrimination and culture. Kate is the former Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commissio...

The Australian residential housing market is unaffordable for many. It is being impacted by a perfect storm of a supply demand imbalance, rising construction costs, a fuel crisis, and a planning system which many argue needs wholesale reform. To hear more, I sit down with Angus Raine , Executive Chairman of Raine & Horne — one of Australia’s oldest and most enduring family businesses to get hi...

Geopolitics now sits at the centre of business decision-making. My guest is Dr Merriden Varrall , one of Australia’s leading geopolitical analysts and China specialists, and the founder and CEO of Vantage Geopol. Merriden brings a rare combination of academic depth, policy experience, and commercial advisory insight. She has spent nearly a decade living and working in China, held senior roles with...

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...