UM Australia has 90 employees and is one of Australia’s five largest media companies. With annual billings in excess of $800m, they produce consistently excellent work for companies including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Sony, and Lego. They were recently recognised by BRW as the best place to work in Australia. They’ve also been named Media Agency of the Year and Global Media Agency of the Year for three years running by B&T and Mumbrella. They have a people-centric approach to business, which is evident in one of their slogans: “Agencies don’t win pitches, people do.” Mat Baxter is a highly accomplished CEO in the media industry who is an expert in developing leadership capability and organisational culture that achieves amazing business results. Along with the above awards, Mat has also been awarded the Agency Head of the Year by Campaign magazine. After nearly five years as CEO of UM Australia, Mat has recently moved to New York to take up his promotion as the Global Chief Strategy and Creative Officer of parent company IPG Mediabrands, which is a member of The Interpublic Group of Companies that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Best Workplace CEOs with Claire Harrison

13. Mat Baxter, UM Australia Part 2 (Winner: BRW Best Place to Work 2015)

12. Mat Baxter, UM Australia (Winner: BRW Best Place to Work 2015)

Since Stephen Wood took over as CEO of Infotrack in 2010, the company has enjoyed explosive growth. The company, which provides a revolutionary way to order and manage online searches and services, has an excellent track record, saving countless businesses time and money by conducting property, personal and corporate searches quickly and efficiently. They’ve been recognised with a number of awards, including rewards for service excellence and innovation. They have also been recognised as one of Australia’s best places to work. With a successful and accomplished career in the Australian information and communications technology (ICT) ICT industry spanning 26 years, Stephen Wood’s professional experience has been focused on the building and rebuilding of various ICT businesses. Thanks to his demonstrated leadership in the sector, Stephen was awarded the title of Best Mid-Market Leader at the BRW GE Capital Momentum Awards, which included businesses with annual revenue ranging from $10m to $250m. At the end of 2015, Stephen moved into the Chairman position.

11. Stephen Wood, Infotrack Part 2 – High Performance Culture

10. Stephen Wood, INFOTRACK – High Performance Culture

The E-Web Marketing vision is to bring happiness, success and fun (HSF) to everybody they encounter. Since 1998, they have helped hun- dreds of Australian businesses maximise their proﬁts by building their online presence and sales with the help of evolving digital solutions. From strategy development to measuring results, the E-Web Marketing team helps clients achieve ROI in search, conversion, content, social and design. They strongly believe that work isn’t something that has to be endured; quite the contrary, they believe that work is something everybody can (and should) enjoy. Gary Ng is a Hong Kong-born entrepreneur with a passion for people, happiness and achieving amazing results. Gary embraces an energetic work environment with a strong focus on delivering excel- lent customer service through their innovative products and services.

9. Gary Ng - E-Web Marketing

Maple Event Group is a Melbourne-based, family-owned event group with two stunning event venues (Leonda By The Yarra and Fenix Events). The company has one clear goal: to consistently deliver exceptional experiences to clients and their guests. Carly Cohen and her hus- band, Eric Cohen, passionately wanted to work together, but they also wanted to make sure that they had time to spend with their children. They started their own company, and they have strived to create a workplace where people enjoy coming to work and feel engaged in what they are doing. Maple Event Group has been recognised for their excellence in hospitality, customer service, and as one of Australia’s great places to work.

8. Carly Cohen Part 2 - Maple Event Group

7. Carly Cohen - Maple Event Group

In her time as Chief Executive of Starlight Childrens Foundation, Louise Baxter has been responsible for sustainable revenue growth, which has funded signiﬁcant Starlight program development and expansion. Louise is passionate about the cause and therefore committed to continually improving the impact  of Starlight programs, and two recent social return on investment (SROI) studies have proven she is doing just this. Starlight is deliv- ering a remarkable $4 to $5 for every $1 invested. These results are due to Louise’s focus on business growth through Starlight’s workplace culture. Thanks to Louise’s leadership, Starlight has been awarded AON Hewitt Best Employer accreditation – the only Australian charity to receive this accreditation.

6. Louise Baxter Part 2 - Starlight Childrens Foundation

5. Louise Baxter - Starlight Childrens Foundation

Paul Siderovski, who started Sidcor in Newcastle in 2002, is not shy about his company’s success. Indeed, he claims that Sidcor is Australia’s most profitable accounting business. It has become so by helping customers maximise their tax savings while also improving cash flow, promoting business growth and ensuring asset protection. Profit is not Paul’s primary motivator, though. He says that his driving force is to change lives.

4. Paul Siderovski, SiDCOR Chartered Accountants

 Mark Middleton is the highly-regarded CEO of Icon Group, which incorporates Icon Cancer Care, Radiation Oncology Centres (ROC), Epic Pharmacy and Slade Health. He is passionate about ensuring accessibility to world class cancer care for all Australians. In 2007, as the CEO of Radiation Oncology Centres (ROC) he led the highly successful clinical commencement of ROQ Toowoomba, repeated the success in 2011 with ROQ Cairns and in 2014 with ROQ Gold Coast. Mark was the driving force behind the acquisitions of Radiation Oncology Institute (ROI) and Oceania Oncology to form ROC. In 2010, he led the company to a Business Excellence Award from the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and in 2014, a place on the BRW Top 25 Best Places to Work in Australia and Top 25 Best Places to Work in Asia.  In 2015 Mark was awarded the regional winner of the AIM Excellence Award   

3. Mark Middleton, ICON Group

Tristan White, Founder and CEO of The Physio Co, award winning great place to work. This is the final half of my interview with Tristan. In 2004, The Physio Co was a single person with a vision to change seniors’ healthcare forever. Now, The Physio Co, with more than 100 team members and 250,000 physiotherapy consultations per year, has consistently been named one of Australia's Best Places to Work. Founder and CEO, Tristan White is a qualified physiotherapist and is passionate about sharing what he has learned to help others grow as individuals and professionals. Tristan writes a blog, “Culture is Everything”, which was listed as one of SmartCompany’s Australia’s 25 Best Business Blogs.  My big takeways from Tristan are: 1. Culture starts with retention and retention starts with recruitment. You can't grow a business unless you retain the people in your team. So you need a robust recruitment process, including the ability to attract great people to your business. Tristan said the recruitment process and decisions are based 80% on the candidate’s ability to demonstrate The Physio Co’s organisational Values. 2. The Physio Co undertakes an individual quarterly cultural review where every team member out in the field will have a quarterly conversation with their team leader. It's a values based conversation as to what core values they've been living exceptionally well, which core values they could improve upon and how their performance is aligned with their painted picture vision. A great way to motivate, align goals, and improve performance. 3. With the growth of The Physio Co, Tristan has been successful at maintaining the same great workplace culture by systemising the culture so it is not completely reliant on him. His leadership team, managers, and team leaders now all have an important role to play in ensuring The Physio Co remains a best workplace. I would love your feedback on my first interview. So please connect with me on LinkedIn, and if you enjoyed this show, please provide a comment and rating. On our next episode I will be interviewing Mark Middleton, CEO of Icon Group. Mark has led the significant growth of this organisation, which includes companies such as Epic Pharmacies and Radiation Oncology Centres. Until next time, I’m Claire Harrison and thanks for listening to Best Workplace CEOs.

2. Tristan White, The Physio Co (2)

Tristan White, Founder and CEO The Physio Co - #1 BRW Best Place to Work. Welcome to our first episode of Best Workplace CEOs with Claire Harrison.  Our first interview is with Tristan White, Founder and CEO of The Physio Co. In 2004, The Physio Co was a single person with a vision to change seniors’ healthcare forever. Now, The Physio Co, with more than 100 team members and 250,000 physiotherapy consultations per year, has consistently been named one of Australia's Best Places to Work. Founder and CEO, Tristan White is a qualified physiotherapist and is passionate about sharing what he has learned to help others grow as individuals and professionals. Tristan writes a blog, “Culture is Everything”, which was listed as one of SmartCompany’s Australia’s 25 Best Business Blogs. On this podcast, Tristan shares his story, strategy and tips for other CEOs to grow your business through building an amazing workplace culture.

1. Tristan White, The Physio Co

Best Workplace CEOs is a podcast for business leaders who want to hear the success stories of CEOs who have developed great places to work and consequently achieved amazing business growth and results.

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Best Workplace CEOs with Claire Harrison

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