Corporate Governance Specialist

Welcome to my website and thanks for stopping by.

I assist clients to improve corporate performance by enhancing governance frameworks.

Over 30 years of diversified financial services and corporate governance experience.

I believe good governance assists firms to grow market share and profitability by minimising risks and maximising opportunities.

Using my 30 years of corporate experience and high performance sports background, I get to the key points of an issue or an opportunity, quickly and efficiently. I bring institutional grade governance to young and emerging businesses that have high aspirations to compete nationally and internationally.

I’ve reported to Boards since 2003 and been a fulltime company director since 2009. I understand board process (public and private sector), family company dynamics, strong-willed founders, entrepreneurs and CEOs.

Let’s talk about how I can help you, your business and your expansion plans.

Career Summary.

My fulltime financial services career started in banking at NAB Melbourne Office in 1990 while training for the national rowing team and studying parttime for my Deakin undergraduate degree. In 1993, I was fortunate to row with a great bunch of guys, setting an Australian nationals record time and winning an open Australian national championship (Thanks Ned).

From NAB I moved to Lend Lease across lending (at MLC), property management in San Francisco, asset management and the Lend Lease/JLL global strategic alliance in Atlanta, culminating with a posting in New York focussed on investment management and institutional client relationship management.

During and post the US stint I continued my studies and did some rowing coaching when I retired from competing at national level. I was selected as coach for the US National Team (in Atlanta), Norwegian National Team (Bergen and Årungen, Oslo) and the Swiss National Team (in Zurich).

On returning to Australia, I completed my Masters degree at the University of Melbourne in 2001. During 2001, my parttime work while studying was as an analyst at the Melbourne Central retail shopping centre redevelopment with GPT/Lend Lease.

Between 2002 to 2008, the next period of my career involved diverse corporate finance and investment management roles with Hartleys, Cromwell, William Buck Securities and Mariner Financial in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.

Further study was completed during this period with the Securities Institute of Australia which led to parttime lecturing roles with Finsia and Kaplan and their respective Master of Applied Finance degree programs. The key subjects I was involved with included real estate, investment management, structuring financial products and strategic management.

Following Mariner, and in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis, I established Yarmouth Group to conduct middle market corporate advisory, predominantly to investment managers and funds management groups. During this establishment phase we dealt with many entrepreneurs and emerging boards, so further personal development was done culminating with the Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance with CSA (now Governance Institute of Australia).

Founded in September 2008, Yarmouth has now been operating fulltime since March 2009. Our clients have been quite diverse, including real estate developers, property syndicators, mortgage trust managers, private equity managers, VCs, agriculture investors, health care operators, hedge funds, equities funds, Australian Financial Services Licensees (AFSLs), Asian family offices and now fintech and proptech platforms.

Our broad corporate advisory client engagements have involved structuring financial products, purchase and sales of companies, structuring joint ventures, investment management, fund capital raising, company capital raising, AFSL procurement and management, dealing with material stakeholders including ASX/ASIC, identifying governance and/or operational issues and then rectifying the issues.

A key and rewarding highlight for Yarmouth has been as a Foundation Corporate Partner of the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL), now being the longest continuous sponsor of the club (from 2010 – to present). We began to sponsor the Giants before they entered the AFL and were based at the baseball diamond in Blacktown. I’m also actively involved with the Southern Giants coterie group by growing our corporate and supporter base south of Sydney and also contributing to the Giants Foundation.

We get great satisfaction from helping our clients achieve excellent results by improving their businesses and managing risks. The diversity of our operations means that no one day is the same, and I appreciate the clients and supporters that have backed us over the journey.

What’s important to me.

We talk to clients about minimising concentration risk and to consider having ‘four pillars’ in their strategic planning. The four pillars analogy is to show that some diversification of business lines, management and streams of cashflow can prevent potential concentration risks in the future. For example, if one pillar falls, there are three others to assist keep your structure in place. I have learnt firsthand to avoid concentration risk and I can assist clients to do the same.

My personal four pillars are family, fitness, community and ethics.

Family

As the founder of a start-up during the height of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, I would not be in the position of strength I am today, without the patience and support of my family. My family are my motivation and they are the primary reason I work hard to be a better person and operator every day.

Community

Being raised in a strong community, there was an expectation handed down to give back to the communities in which I live. Spare time has always been allocated to contribute to the communities I am fortunate to be part of. I volunteer in various ways to grow stronger communities through sports administration, coaching, education, mentoring and assisting not-for-profit organisations.

Fitness

The most successful people I know are fit and healthy. Growing up in regional Victoria, club sport and fitness were part of life. Currently, I spend time as a Parkrun participant and volunteer, as a Nippers coach and patrol member with Bancoora SLSC and rowing coach to a school team and Mercantile RC.

Ethics

As a signatory of the Banking and Finance Oath, I always strive to uphold the highest standards of behaviour in all my client dealings. Trust is my foundation - I serve all interests in good faith and compete with honour. My clients understand how we conduct our advisory business and governance activities – ethics are our bedrock and the platform on which we build strong ongoing, mutually beneficial relationships. I bring these ethics to my corporate governance work at all times.