Welcome back to another Meet the Team segment. In this segment, we speak with Craig our Financial Controller, responsible for overseeing financial operations and reporting.
If you weren’t working in Private Equity or Finance in general, what other role or industry could you envisage yourself working in?
I would love to be a primary school teacher. When I finished school, I worked as a sports coach for both primary and high school children and really enjoyed the whole experience. Now with children of my own, it is amazing to watch them learn about the world and I love being able to contribute to that.
If you could have dinner with any three people in the world (past or present), who would they be and why?
- David Attenborough – It would be incredible to hear about his travels.
- Neil Armstrong – I am intrigued by the science behind going to space, as well as the experience of being up there.
- Ricky Gervais – He is my favourite comedian and also offers cutting and insightful critiques of society at large.
What are three things that you can’t live without?
- I’ll start with my family and friends. I am incredibly lucky to have not only a beautiful wife, two sons and a dog, but also a loving and close extended family and group of friends.
- The water. I’ve been lucky to live close to Manly Beach, Sydney Harbour and Amsterdam’s canals.
- Sport. I love watching almost all sports (go the Sea Eagles and Sydney FC), and I also enjoy staying active through running and playing with my kids.
What’s something you do to reset or recharge when life gets busy?
Apart from a sleep-in (which is rare in my house), the next best thing for me is to go for a run. Once COVID cut my low-flying rugby career short, I switched my energy to running and really enjoy both the freedom and calmness that it brings. I also often run without headphones, which I find allows me to process my thoughts.
If you could start your own business tomorrow, what would it be?
If I knew, I’d hopefully be out there giving it a go! What I think makes a successful and sustainable business is one that offers a solution to a genuine problem in an innovative way and prioritises their customers’ best interests.
What’s a piece of advice you’ve received that really stuck with you?
The classics have proven to be so valuable:
- Treat others as you would like to be treated.
- Always act with integrity and respect.
- Keep things in perspective, which I’ve become much better at as I’ve grown through my career, and also now as a parent.
- Travel and meet as many people from different backgrounds as you can.
Book recommendations?
Over the last couple of years, I have read a number of Bryce Courtenay’s books, which are incredibly rich and enthralling. He is a beautiful writer of Australiana. In terms of non-fiction, I really love Freakonomics (and SuperFreakonomics) as they have such great examples of the interaction between data and human nature.
