Niki Scevak: Zero to one and beyond, Courageous ambition, Dandelions and Orchids + secrets to being supremely well read

Judy is the Group CEO of Euphemia, the family office for Australian entrepreneur and technologist, Dom Pym. Together they manage ~$65m in investments globally, focussing on Fintech, ClimateTech, women-led startups and startup infrastructure. Prior to teaming up with Dom, Judy was the CEO of Startup Victoria, Australia’s largest network for entrepreneurs with over 60,000 people in the community. She is also Chair of the advisory board at LUNA and is a board observer at Birchal on behalf of Euphemia.

Judy was born in Penrith, in NSW, a bit outside Sydney and now lives in Melbourne, Australia.

*(This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship. Find out more about their renowned VC catalyst program). Reach out to Vidit if you're curious to learn more or want an intro to Midsy at Wade. 

If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! 

***

CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and this weeks guest, Judy Anderson-Firth. 

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 

***

The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

Jack Zhang is the Co-founder and CEO of Airwallex, last valued at $5.6B. Airwallex is a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance, serving over 100,000 companies around the world. Jack is responsible for devising and implementing the overall strategic vision of the company. Under his leadership, Airwallex has raised over US$800 million in funding, supported by top-tier investors including Lone Pine Capital, Greenoaks Capital, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, Sequoia, Tencent and SquarePeg. Prior to starting Airwallex, Jack had over a decade of experience in foreign exchange trading and investment banking across London, Melbourne and Hong Kong, including start various entrepreneurial pursuits including import and export businesses, cafes and more. Jack was born in Shandong, China and then moved to Melbourne, Australia when he was 15. He now spends his time mostly between New York and London. 

***

CLICK HERE to read show notes and timestamps from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and this weeks guest, Jack Zhang. 

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 

***

The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

This is the second and final part of a 2 part special conversation with Ahmed Fahour in a rare public interview appearance. Ahmed is a prominent business executive who has held leadership positions in various organizations around the world. He moved to Australia from Lebanon at a young age, and is currently CEO of The Gurner Group. Previously, he has held well known roles including as CEO of Australia Post, NAB, Citigroup and Latitude Financial Services alongside board roles with Invest Victoria and the $15B National Reconstruction Fund. Ahmed is an active member of Muslim community and was Australia’s Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founders of the Islamic Museum of Australia. Ahmed is married to Hannah and between them they have six children. He was born in Lebanon and now lives in Melbourne, Australia. 

***

CLICK HERE to read show notes and timestamps from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and this weeks guest, Ahmed Fahour. 

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 

***

The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

This is part 1 of a 2 part special conversation with Ahmed Fahour in a rare public interview appearance. 

Ahmed is a prominent business executive who has held leadership positions in various organizations around the world. He moved to Australia from Lebanon at a young age, and is currently CEO of The Gurner Group. Previously, he has held well known roles including as CEO of Australia Post, NAB, Citigroup and Latitude Financial Services alongside board roles with Invest Victoria and the $15B National Reconstruction Fund. Ahmed is an active member of Muslim community and was Australia’s Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founders of the Islamic Museum of Australia. Ahmed is married to Hannah and between them they have six children. He was born in Lebanon and now lives in Melbourne, Australia. 

***

CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and this weeks guest, Ahmed Fahour. 

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 

***

The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

Dr. Larry Marshall is a distinguished scientist, technology innovator, and business leader with over 25 years of experience. He holds a PhD in Physics and As the longest-serving chief executive of CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, he led a transformation that resulted in the first growth in 30 years and the first emissions reduction in 100 years, achieving 83% of Net Zero. He has led 2 companies to IPOs and served as CEO of 6 companies in various sectors, and has 100 publications and conference papers, holds 20 patents, and has served on 20 boards of high-tech companies operating in the US, Australia, and China. Larry was born and lives in Sydney, Australia. He spent 30 years living and working in the US.

***

CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and Larry Marshall. 

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 

***

The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

Mark Suster is a globally renowned Investor, being Partner at Upfront Ventures, based in LA, California. He previously was the founder & CEO of two successful enterprise software companies, the most recent of which was sold to Salesforce.com where Mark became VP, Product. Mark was born in Philadelphia, and now lives in Los Angeles, California in the USA. 

***

CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and Mark Suster. 

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 

***

The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

We're joined by Holly Kramer in a very rare public interview appearance. Holly is an experienced non-executive Director and Chief Executive. She is on the boards of leading companies such as Woolworths, ANZ, Fonterra and more. Holly is the former CEO of Best & Less and has more than 25 years’ experience in general management, marketing and sales, including roles at the Ford Motor Company (in the US and Australia), Telstra Corporation and Pacific Brands. She was born in Billings, Montana in the US and currently lives in the southern highlands, just outside Sydney in Australia. 

***

Learn about Holly’s sunrise in Billings, Montana with a deep connection to nature, and the influences of her parents -- her dad a doctor and mum having scholarships to Ivy League schools but giving that up to be a stay at home mum to Holly and her brother. 

In this candid conversation, we cover Holly’s relationship with money growing up, the fascinating story behind her move to Australia post university and the link with the Ford Motor Company, how she met her husband, Transition from the car industry at Ford to telecommunications at Telstra as marketing director (+ working for previous guest Daniel Petre in between those roles). 

Particular areas that stand out include:

• Learnings from a former prominent public company CEO and recollecting fascinating stories of dealing with conflict
• How Holly learnt the importance of understanding people, building relationships, having open communication.
• Leaving Telstra to join Best & Less when it was struggling, and why she wanted to manage a P&L and a business end to end, rather than just a function
• The incredible role numerous mentors have played in opening doors for her career moves, often in sectors that she is new to
• Reflecting back on 2012 and setting up foundations for a successful board career since which has included AMP, Australia Post, Woolworths, ANZ, and more
• The desire to build a family
• Rare inside view of how boards operate — aspects that a lot of you may not know about
• Whether she has built more courage as she has become more senior in her career.
• And why the most challenging experience she had was my time on the AMP board.
• And her current focus on helping companies with their climate and sustainability strategy and why that’s important.

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 

***

The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

This is a replay of our very popular episode with Daniel Petre. He was one one of 5 global VP's under Bill Gates at Microsoft, Co-founded three Venture Capital firms including the globally successful Airtree, and is now building his non for profit in Start Giving.

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In this (replay) episode #113 w Daniel Petre, learn about:

• sunrise in  Sydney and immigrant parents from Romania being sent to Australia after World war 2
• reflections on childhood not being the happiest and looking for a sense of belonging
• success at age 18: be a fighter pilot in the Air Force, don’t make it from last 35 applicants
• psychology being a path Daniel would explore if he was 18 again
• Joining Microsoft when it wasn’t a household name and rising to one of 5 global VP's under Bill Gates
• Does he feel successful after time at Microsoft?
• How birth of first daughter and death of sister re-prioritised life focus
• Creating a culture of truth seeking as a leader at Airtree Ventures
• Learnings from Bill Bartee (co-founder of Blackbird + Main Sequence)
• How to build a philanthropic nation

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 
 

***

The High Flyers Podcast is a global TOP ten ranked show that re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer". The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
 

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 
 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

This is a replay of our very popular episode with Anil Sabharwal (one of his only public interviews to date!). Anil is Vice President of Product Management at Google. The company has nine products that have achieved the coveted Billion active users goal, and Anil has built and led three of them in Google Photos, Google Chrome and Google Drive. He is currently heading up a new product in Fitbit. 

****

In this (replay) episode #118 w Anil Sabharwal learn about:

• Sunrise in Canada with Indian roots
• Reflections on his early influences and leaving home at age 17
• Highlights / Learnings from 10-15 year career prior to joining Google
• Moving to Australia in 2006
• Achieving momentum in early days at Google
• Unlocking skills working across new markets, segments and industries in building billion user products and becoming globally recognised product leader
• Building Google Photos into a billion user product
• Leadership responsibility across product, design and engineering
• Promotion to managing Google Chrome, ChromeOS and Communications
• Product DNA differences between Photos and Chrome
• Transition from Chrome to a blank canvas and prioritising values
• Why is the product function king (or queen) at Google?
• Key metrics to monitor in your product function
• Make a few people very happy vs a lot of people semi happy
• Success at 50

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 
 

***

The High Flyers Podcast is a global TOP ten ranked show that re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer". The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
 

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 
 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***

We're joined by Sam Sicilia in a very rare public interview appearance. Sam is the Chief Investment Officer for the multi-billion dollar superannuation Fund (Retirement savings) Hostplus, often referred to as a 'giant' in the industry with around 1.7 million members and over $100b funds under management.

***

Learn about Sam’s sunrise in Melbourne, Australia and the influences of his parents, who migrated from Sicily to Melbourne in the 1950s. Learnings from his Father who worked in heavy metal forging for aircrafts, heavy trucks, shaping hot steel and Mother was a seamstress. Sam refers to his childhood as “Economically poor but culturally rich”

In this candid conversation, we cover his goals at age 18 to become an astronomer but then pursuing academia and a Phd in Theoretical physics. Sam shared his transition from academia to investment consulting thanks to a phone call from someone who saw him teach and supporting him to succeed. Our host Vidit asked him about his unique views on Balancing people/relationships with diligence/theory in the investment world. 

Particular areas that stand out are:

• Reflecting on 2008 GFC and Sam starting in CIO role at Hostplus (when they lost a Billion dollars in assets, going from 7.6B to 6.4B!)
• Why he believes in Venture Capital and the ability to tolerate illiquidity in private equity
• If he had to redesign the VC model structure today on a white sheet of paper, how would he do it?
• Portfolio construction within private equity: buyout vs VC?
• Fee structures with VC funds when interacting with super fund money
• Specialised vs focused funds

And be sure to listen in on the non work related moments in Sam’s story including his life changing learning from doing a 42 days walk in Spain with his wife in 2019, his biggest area of learning over the next 6 months and the person who inspires him the most today. 

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

***

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
 

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! 
 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 
 

***

The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
 

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. 
 

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

***