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About us
SMG is Australia’s premier leadership development advisor. Since 1998, we’ve partnered with exceptional talent to elevate leadership skills and unlock organisational potential.
A former CEO and CFO with 30 years' experience, David specialises in leadership coaching, focusing on pragmatic solutions, cultural transformation, and high-performance teams across finance, FMCG, and manufacturing industries.
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Expertise
30+ years experience
Member of ICF
Master of Science in Coaching Psychology
Master of Business Administration
Experience and background
As a former CEO and CFO, David brings a powerful mix of coaching and mentoring to help his clients unlock pragmatic and sustainable solutions to current and emerging leadership issues. David works with clients in a range of industries, including financial and professional services, FMCG, food and beverage, manufacturing and agricultural. David brings to the client engagement 30 years of leadership experience, with expertise in leading mergers & acquisitions, business turnarounds and cultural transformations.
David has worked in international organisations including Arthur Andersen (consulting and advisory), Lion Nathan Ltd, National Foods and George Weston Foods (Associated British Foods Plc), with 15 years in senior executive leadership roles across finance, strategy and general management, whilst also holding several joint venture board positions.
Throughout his career, David’s passion for developing people has resulted in him building high performance teams, developing leadership talent, and establishing high levels of employee engagement.
David's approach
David is known for building strong rapport, trust and connection to provide a safe but challenging environment in which the client is able to gain rich insight and learning. As David has lived many of the experiences involved in complex and dynamic corporate environments, he brings a pragmatic performance focus supported by high levels of empathy and understanding.
Qualifications and memberships
- David has a Master of Science in Coaching Psychology and a Master of Business Administration (University of Sydney)
- He also has an undergraduate degree in Accounting and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School
- He attended the ABF Executive Leadership program at INSEAD and completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course.
- David is a member of the International Coaching Federation and is accredited in Hogan Personality Assessments.
Personal insights
David loves cooking, especially for his two girls and enjoys supporting his eldest daughter who is completing her honours year in a psychology degree. David is an active member of a (HIIT) fitness group, participates in weekly reformer pilates, enjoys the occasional game of golf and is an avid football fan.
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