In this episode of What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!), I sit down with Ian Robson, one of the most experienced and battle-tested sports administrators in Australia.

At just 32 years old, with no prior CEO experience, Ian was appointed Chief Executive of the New Zealand Warriors, building the club ahead of its entry into top-tier rugby league.

From there, his career spans:

• CEO of Hawthorn Football Club during its rebuild and 2008 premiership
• CEO of Essendon Football Club during the supplements saga
• CEO of Melbourne Victory during A-League success
• CEO of Rowing Australia, navigating Olympic sport, funding pressures and global competition
• Leadership roles in UK sport, including CEO of Sport Scotland

Today, Ian is CEO of the iconic Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, long associated with the Australian Open.

Across rugby league, AFL, soccer, Olympic sport and government-funded systems, Ian has seen the intersection of culture, governance, pressure and public accountability at the highest levels.

• Building a professional sports club from scratch in New Zealand
• The Hawthorn rebuild and the 2008 AFL premiership
• The Essendon supplements saga — what happened, how it unfolded, and the lessons learned
• Governance failures, salary cap breaches and the cost of cutting corners
• Drugs in professional sport — performance enhancing and recreational
• Gambling, match fixing and player welfare
• Racism, tribalism and sexual diversity in elite sport
• The difference between running a football club and leading a taxpayer-funded Olympic sport

This is not a highlight reel. It’s a serious conversation about leadership when the stakes are public and the consequences are generational.

This podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the participants at the time of recording and do not constitute legal, financial, medical or professional advice. Discussions about historical events, investigations and sporting matters are based on publicly available information. Listeners should form their own views and seek independent advice where appropriate.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate and share the podcast.

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In this episode, I sit down with chef, MasterChef finalist, television host and entrepreneur Simon Toohey.

Many Australians know Simon from MasterChef Australia (Season 11 and “Back to Win”) or from his SBS series Freshly Picked. But behind the television profile is a far more layered story — one that spans cocktail bars in London, a Masters in Gastronomy in Edinburgh, plant-forward food innovation, pop-up smokehouses, consulting internationally, and now launching the fast-growing Geelong City Market, attracting thousands of visitors every Saturday.

We discuss:

• Growing up in a food-loving family and learning to cook when independence forced it
• Working in London hospitality, including at globally recognised bar Callooh Callay
• Why he chose plant-forward cooking as his point of difference
• The reality of competing on MasterChef — the pressure, structure and exposure
• Building a media brand through Freshly Picked on SBS
• Launching the Geelong City Market — vision, business case, government support, and startup challenges
• What he has learned about entrepreneurship in the food industry
• The hard days, the pivots, and the principles he anchors to

This is a conversation about food — but also about reinvention, resilience, public profile, sustainability, and backing yourself when you see a gap in the market.

If you are interested in food systems, food startups, media, or building a purpose-driven career, this episode is for you.

About the Show

What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) explores the real stories behind business leaders, founders and professionals — the successes, the setbacks, and the lessons learned along the way.

Disclaimer

The views expressed by guests are their own and are shared for general informational purposes only. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal, investment or professional advice. Listeners should seek appropriate independent advice before making business or financial decisions.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show and share it with someone who might find value in it.

You can connect with me via:

LinkedIn: James H Stewart GAICD

Website: www.jameshstewart.com

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In this episode, James H Stewart sits down with Andrew J Love, one of Australia’s most experienced former restructuring advisers and non-executive directors, for a deep dive on the collapse of Rothwells Bank and the beginning of the end for WA Inc in the late 1980's.

Andrew spent nearly three decades as a senior partner at Ferrier Hodgson, and at just 34 years old, found himself advising the Western Australian Premier, Peter Dowding during one of the most politically charged and financially catastrophic episodes of the WA Inc era.

Rothwells, was a merchant bank controlled by Laurie Connell, was authorised to take deposits from the public and ultimately collapsed owing enormous sums to creditors — many of them everyday “mum and dad” investors. The failure became a defining moment in Australian corporate and political history, and a formative experience for Andrew’s approach to risk, governance and transparency.

The discussion traces how that baptism of fire shaped Andrew’s career — from leading mining restructurings, to stepping into boardrooms across mining, oil and gas, property, aged care and infrastructure.

Andrew also reflects on his time as Director of multiple companies in the ming sector through volatile commodity cycles, offering candid insights into why boards fail, how cycles repeat, and what experienced directors learn to watch for.

The conversation also takes an unexpected but revealing turn into the world of modern art. Andrew shares how he and his wife Amanda became deeply involved in the contemporary art community, including his time as Chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, and how the diversity of the modern art community help shape his thinking in the boardroom.

This episode is a masterclass in lived experience — from advising governments in moments of crisis, to navigating boardrooms through boom and bust, and understanding why humility, scepticism and independence of thought matter more than ever in business.

This podcast is provided for general information and discussion purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guest are personal in nature and reflect individual experiences at the time. Nothing in this episode constitutes, or should be relied upon as, legal, financial, investment, accounting or professional advice. Listeners should seek their own independent advice before making any decisions based on matters discussed in this podcast.

Any references to historical events, companies or individuals are based on publicly available information and personal recollections, and are shared for educational purposes only.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.