The head of Future Directors Institute, talks about his other passion: gin.
You co-founded Gin Lane late last year. What does Gin Lane do?
We introduce the gin curious and gin enthusiasts to Australian craft gin. There are more than 30 distilleries in Australia, producing 50-plus gins. Gin is the fastest-growing liquor in the world in sales terms. It’s absolutely going off and the craft scene has taken off here. Down the line, we would like to get a distillery to make a bespoke gin for our members.
What motivated you?
My friend and I wanted to drink free gin. My unenviable task is to go to the distilleries and try their products. It’s a hard job. Whenever I travel, I try to combine it with a trip to a distillery.
How does it work?
For $79 a month, the gin enthusiast will receive a bottle of gin, curated by us, delivered to their door with a whole bunch of content about that particular gin.
How did you get so interested in gin? Why not wine, or whisky?
I love gin. I’m a Pom. I don’t drink whisky. Wine clubs are two a penny, but there was no gin club here.
Tell me about your day job.
I co-founded the Future Directors Institute last year. At a high level we are trying to bring about more diversity on boards. By bringing in younger people, we’re trying to bring about better governance and better outcomes by developing people with different experiences and coming from diverse backgrounds.
How to you go about doing that?
We have three strings: advocacy, training and building a close-knit community. We’re out there talking to boards about the benefits of generational diversity. We have training programs where we work with people between the ages of 20 and 50, although our sweet spot is people in their 30s. We have 110 graduates. Of the ones who’ve tried to join boards, about half have got roles.
What plans do you have for the business?
We want to take this globally.
What do you think about the focus of the diversity debate being around gender?
I don’t think the conversation should stop at gender. Gender diversity is really about equality – and we are a long way off that. The age debate is more about diversity than it is about equality. There’s a bigger chance of cognitive diversity if you have people from different backgrounds, different ages and of both genders.
What are the stats for young people on boards?
In the ASX 200, less than 2 per cent of directors are younger than 45. Under 40, you can count them on a couple of hands.
Should mining behemoth BHP Billiton be appointing a 30-year-old?
Yes. Retail, investment companies and telecoms companies in particular could benefit from generational diversity. In telecoms and retail, where is the demand coming from? Starbucks just put a Millennial on its board.
Let’s get back to your other passion for a minute. How do you drink your gin?
I like a classic gin and tonic. I drink it neat or with a tonic syrup and soda water.
Lemon or lime?
It depends on the gin. With some gins I might put in a strawberry, orange peel, ginger and apple or juniper berries.
Ice?
I try not to use ice because that dilutes the flavour. I keep the gin in the freezer and the tonic in the fridge.
Favourite gin?
Globally, it is Sacred from the UK. It is just beautiful. In Australia, I prefer not to say because they are all clients.
What do you drink besides gin?
Red wine. I’m a big pinot noir fan, especially from the South Island of New Zealand.
What else do you do in your spare time?
I have a three-year-old son and I love the movies. I love the escapism. I read but I tend to read trashy stuff. I have a massive pile of business and self-help books but I don’t find myself reading them. I don’t learn through reading. I learn more by talking to people.
Favourite movie?
The Shawshank Redemption is my all-time favourite.
Are you a social media junkie?
I have to be. It’s a good way of learning and a way of promoting business. I use mainly LinkedIn and Facebook.
What frustrates you about Australia?
A sense of complacency. There is a sense of “she’ll be all right mate”. We haven’t had a war on our own soil. We haven’t had a GFC. We’ve had a mining boom that we haven’t done much with. There’s a big desire to grow and move, but there’s an element of “it’s always worked out”.
