In 2012, after a 15 year career spanning engineering, project management, investment banking and general management, I realised that the large corporate path wasn't for me - I needed more autonomy and accountability than big business could ever provide.

I co-founded Alpin Group with lain Morris to acquire, operate and grow small businesses in Australia.This was a big leap of faith that felt crazy at the time, but proved to be the best business decision of my career!

I acted as CEO for three of the businesses, for periods ranging from 6 months to three years, after which I successfully managed my own succession and remained on the Boards of each as a Non-Executive Director.

We acquired our first business in June 2013 and over the next 4 years acquired four more. By 2020, we had successfully exited two of these businesses and sold partial stakes in the other three.

This owner/operator experience gave me that mix of autonomy and accountability I was seeking. It also opened my eyes to the world of small business and the global EtA community.

I'm now leveraging my own EtA experience to back other aspiring entrepreneurs and play my part in supporting the critical global transition from baby-boomer owner/founders to the next generation of business owners.