“YP Gold Coast sat down with Soheil Abedian, Founder and Executive Chairman of Sunland Group, ahead of his appearance at this year’s City Leaders Forum. Here’s what he had to say.

What do you love about the Gold Coast?

The environment and entrepreneurial spirit.

Do you think the Gold Coast has potential to become a global city? If so, what is holding us back right now?

Yes, but we are held back by a lack of supporting infrastructure.

In your travels, what have you seen done in other cities that you believe could work well on the Gold Coast?

To cut down on bureaucracy.

What is your grand vision for the Gold Coast?

To capitalise on the natural beauty, as well as further strengthen the inherent DNA of tourism and to expand the industry base.

What do you want it to look like in 20 years?

To be a city that offers the future generation diverse employment opportunities that contribute to the growth of the city, and to see less crime.

What is the biggest challenge facing the Gold Coast?

Our brand is perceived as ‘cheap’ with the belief that the city only represents ‘surf, sand and sex’

And do you have a solution?

For the community to work together and bring greater dignity to our city, that will enhance the overall health and wellbeing of the Gold Coast and strengthen the city’s overall prosperity.

What advice would you give today’s young professionals and future leaders of the city?

To find your own strength and try to do everything with the highest level of compassion, integrity and service.

Soheil is just one of the insightful speakers on the panel at this year’s City Leaders Forum.

“YP Gold Coast sat down with Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate, ahead of this year’s City Leaders Forum. Here’s what he had to say.

What do you love about the Gold Coast?

The fact that we have grown considerably but we have retained the village feel that is so evident in each precinct, not only along the coastline but in our hinterland. For example, Mudgeeraba and its markets and village music scene is distinctly different to Miami Marketta or Burleigh Heads. The same with Nightquarter in Helensvale. Each area of the city is parochial about its own ‘village’. I love that.

Do you think the Gold Coast has potential to become a global city? If so, what is holding us back right now?

Access to world leading IT and fibre optics is holding us back – but not for long. By December this year, we will have laid around 45km of the world’s best high speed fibre optic along the light rail route and even further south to Coolangatta. This will be an absolute game changer for large businesses, research companies, medical science and technology start-ups to seriously look at our city.

In your travels, what have you seen done in other cities that you believe could work well on the Gold Coast?

Better public transport. Pure and simple. We are doing a lot but we have a long way to go. If I had my way, we’d have light rail all the way to Coolangatta and the airport by now and we’d have a network of express buses running east and west off the light rail spine.

What is your grand vision for the Gold Coast? What do you want it to look like in 20 years?

To retain the connectivity of people and the community spirit. Last year, we put out a call for 15,000 volunteers to be Games ambassadors and we got 47,000. Amazing. And of the 47,000, 80 percent were from the Gold Coast. I never want to see that diminish. Twenty years from now, I want the Goldie to be a lifestyle and business city for not only Australia, but a city of choice for investors from the ASEAN and UAE powerhouse economies. We will get there and that will create a dynamic economy where our children can secure high paying jobs right here in the city they love.

What is the biggest challenge facing the Gold Coast? And do you have a solution?

National perception that we are still a holiday-only destination. That is changing fast as people see what we are achieving, not only with the Games but in medical research, tertiary education and the film industry. But national perception is a challenge and it’s ironic that overseas, many countries have a very positive outlook on the Gold Coast. Our other big challenge will be to stay relevant to the free-independent-traveller (FIT). World economies are growing and every month, millions of more people have the capacity to travel as their wealth is changing. These same people have so many choices as to where they want to go, and what they want to see. So we need to renew our tourism products – both manmade and natural – to stay relevant to domestic tourists, and international visitors.

What advice would you give today’s young professionals and future leaders of the city?

Dream big and get the support you need. Surround yourself with people who share your vision. Sometimes, even business rivals can share ideas and opportunities and get the best outcome for their own businesses, and the city. Keep a close eye on debt and manage your affairs so you can weather the storms that will come your way as a business leader or entrepreneur. And lastly, make sure you are doing something you are truly passionate about.

Mayor Tom Tate is one of the many exciting panel speakers for the 2017 City Leaders Forum.”

“YP Gold Coast sat down with Natalie Hoitz, Director of Urban Design at Urbis, ahead of her appearance at this year’s City Leaders Forum. Here’s what she had to say.

What do you love about the Gold Coast?

It’s perhaps cliché and a common answer but it has the be the coast itself with the hinterlands as a backdrop. The sheer length of coast, it’s pristine beaches and headlands – they are such a defining feature and probably what I love the most about the Gold Coast.

Do you think the Gold Coast has potential to become a global city? If so, what is holding us back right now?

Absolutely! The Gold Coast has many of the physical assets necessary to make it a global city – quality education, medical, infrastructure, tourism and entertainment facilities. Where grow and attention is needed is around the attraction and diversification of business and employment opportunities. The lifestyle offer on the Gold Coast is second to none but really cementing Southport as the business heart of the coast will be critical in the journey to becoming a global city

In your travels, what have you seen done in other cities that you believe could work well on the Gold Coast?

When you look the best coastal cities around the world like Singapore, Los Angeles, Miami, Vancouver, Barcelona and Auckland they all enjoy a beautiful coastal location but this is only part of their success story. Beyond the coast they all have a richly diverse offering of locally relevant galleries, museums, sports, arts and culture. These elements done well play a key part in elevating the status and attraction of a city. The Gold Coast has some of these features but much more can be done to grow this aspect of the city.

What is your grand vision for the Gold Coast? What do you want it to look like in 20 years?

My grand vision is for the Gold Coast to transform into a truly global city and a dynamic destination for locals and visitors alike. With the upcoming Commonwealth Games and the transformational infrastructure projects planned or underway, Queensland’s second largest city is quickly maturing into a place of broad opportunity and rich experiences. In 20 years, I see the Gold Coast being a creative city famous for its subtropical coastal lifestyle, arts and culture. These are the city shaping values that make a city enjoyable to be in and therefore more attractive to live, work and invest in.

What is the biggest challenge facing the Gold Coast? And do you have a solution?

To me the biggest challenge remains the transient or tourist vibe that prevails in many of the densest and busiest parts of the coast. There is still a perception that the Gold Coast is mainly a holiday destination. The golden rule of urban design is places need to be designed and delivered for the locals. This means locally relevant and accessible. Tourists want to go where locals go. They want an authentic experience. Therefore it makes good sense to put locals at the heart of any brief. For a long time many areas of the coast have been delivered specifically for the tourist market. A changed mindset of putting locals first needs to happen across the board. Becoming famous for more than tourism is the next necessary step in the evolution of the city.

What advice would you give today’s young professionals and future leaders of the city?

My advice to young professionals is not be overawed by the pace of change and the quantum of information out there in the world. What remains most valuable is smart, articulate and clear thinking professionals who can cut through all the data and noise and get to the heart of the matter. Our future leaders will need to be able to do this and do it well!

Natalie is just one of the exciting panel of speakers for the 2017 City Leaders Forum”

“Take calculated risks and remember the correlation between risk and reward.”

Paul Little walks the talk. He’s a highly credentialed businessman who built up Toll Holdings’ turnover from less than $20 million and left the company with a market capitalisation in the region of $8 billion.

He now boasts personal wealth of $927 million, according to the 2017 Financial Review rich list.

Addressing a YP Gold Coast lunch at Hellenika this week, Little says his company, Little Group, is here “very much with a toe in the water”.

They’re about to start selling a 263-apartment project on Philip Avenue in Broadbeach – a marked move away from Melbourne’s inner-city apartment market that Little says has become tough as buyers find it increasingly difficult to secure funding.

“We’ve reached a point of confidence when we can push the button on the project,” Little said to 120 Gold Coast business leaders and entrepreneurs.

“Things in Sydney and Melbourne have become tough, but we’re very excited about this project. The area is ready for it.

“Broadbeach has such strong infrastructure, wonderful patrolled surf beaches, the light rail and the casino development.””

Little was joined by Urbis Gold Coast director Matthew Schneider, who believes the city, while young, is at an important stage of maturation.

“We need to mature not only as a place to live, but as an investment destination,” he said.

“And as we grow we’ll confront big city challenges – investing in infrastructure, tackling traffic congestion – but we should do it without selling our souls. That’s our challenge as a business community.

“The Gold Coast does need to attract investment from abroad. We aren’t a big capital city that has the critical mass to sustain itself.”

Little shares Schneider’s appreciation for the offshore dollar.

“An Australian city that can take large cruise ships has huge income potential for the economy. It’s a large international market,” said Little, referring to controversial plans for a cruise ship terminal in the city.

“Investment in the expansion of Gold Coast Airport is very important for attracting people to the city. People want to fly direct, they don’t want to go via somewhere to get somewhere else.”

But it was some little pearls of wisdom that left an impression on the audience.

“If you’re starting off in your career, try and work out where you want to finish in life. Don’t work out where you want to start. Allow yourself to dream a bit; work out where you want to finish and work backwards from that,” he said.

“From doing so, you’ll have a better idea of how to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“And remember the risk/reward ratio.”

So perhaps Little’s foray into Gold Coast property is a risk, but history suggests it’s one that will pay dividends.

“The sharing of knowledge makes knowledge greater”.

So says Danny Maher, the founder of Gold Coast-based business software multinational Opmantek and passionate advocate for connecting and empowering innovators.

Danny addressed a group of more than 130 professionals and entrepreneurs at YP Gold Coast’s cocktail function at Sandbar Surfers Paradise recently, providing rare insight into how he built Opmantek from a start-up to a booming business that services more than 130,000 organisations worldwide.

‘Build it and they will come’ is Danny’s attitude to attracting talent to the city.

“The Gold Coast is a fantastic place to live and do business,” he said.

“There’s loads of smart people who want to work on the Gold Coast, we just need to create the opportunities and show them they exist.”

When Danny was establishing his business, he would list positions in Sydney or Melbourne in order to attract workers at the top of their fields.
“We needed the best of the best, and they just weren’t looking at the Gold Coast,” he said.

“You can have a go and you can get things done here. You just need the right people.”

Danny shared his vision for morphing the Gold Coast into an IT hub and how to capitalise on innovation and disruption.
“We’ve founded the Gold Coast innovation hub where people can get the resources they need to make their businesses more successful,” he said.

“We need innovative businesses to know they can succeed here.”

And if Opmantek is anything to go by, succeed they can.

Read more about the Gold Coast’s innovation hub

Event Wrap Video”

“Dear ASF,

As the Young Professionals of the Gold Coast, we wanted to let you know that we are fully supportive of your investment in the Gold Coast and we wanted you to know – please don’t give up on our City.

We are sorry that, to date, your development proposals have not been successful. It is regrettable that as a City we have stuffed you around – first with Wavebreak and then with The Spit.

But we truly believe that the Gold Coast is maturing into a global city and the type of investment you wish to make is critical to ensuring we continue to attract the best talent from around the world.

We are a passionate group of Gold Coasters advocating for quality economic development, and diversification of our career prospects. Your development will begin to realise these aims.

As a group, we think the perfect location for your development is the ‘old hospital site’ in Southport, the Gold Coast’s CBD. It’s just over 3 hectares in size, on top of a hill with water views, with 3 road frontages, and a light rail station out the front. The site is currently vacant.

A prospective purchaser of the site has proposed a very mediocre development, but we believe our CBD deserves better.

We believe this site within our CBD deserves your development. It is the prime site within our CBD, with the highest and best zoning in our City (Priority Development Area) – so you won’t get stuffed around there!

We would love to see your development built within our City. Your development is exactly what the future generations living, working and visiting our City will want and need.

Signed,
YP Gold Coast

Please direct media enquiries to [email protected]

“YOUNG Professionals Gold Coast has called on its members to use the organisation as a means to advocate for the change they want to see in the city.

More than 170 local young professionals, business executives and entrepreneurs gathered at The Island Rooftop last week for a cocktail event hosted by YP Gold Coast.

The organisation used the opportunity to introduce its management committee and encourage attendees to connect with them to collectively drive positive change across the region.

YP Gold Coast prides itself on being the city’s leading advocacy group and hopes its members will take a proactive role in its advocacy efforts, says committee president Sean Braybrook.

“We’re a passionate group of Gold Coasters who want to help bring the new generation of our city’s professionals together and with them, do something meaningful,” he said.

“We want people to see us as a vehicle to drive their own ideas and initiatives that will have a positive impact on the Gold Coast’s business community.”

YP Gold Coast’s charity partner, OzHarvest, raised $705 through its raffle on the evening, allowing them to deliver 1,410 meals to people in need across the city.

Future YP Gold Coast events will be announced on the organisation’s Facebook page and website: www.ypgc.com.au.

Anyone wishing to connect with the committee can do so via email: [email protected]

“Find your passion, surround yourself with the right people, and have a fair dinkum crack.

That’s the message to come out of YP Gold Coast’s Entrepreneurs Lunch at Harry’s Steak Bistro and Bar on Friday, March 10.

Keynote speaker Tony Cochrane, Chairman of the Gold Coast SUNS, was joined by some of the city’s trailblazing entrepreneurs – HiSmile founders Nik Mirkovic and Alex Tomic, Amazonia creator Dwayne Martens and Superdraft owners Jake Robinson and Mark Deacon.

Cochrane is a firm believer in having a go and believes passion and persistence are the ultimate ingredients for success.

“Don’t hold back. Don’t wait for somebody to invite you. Get involved and have a fair dinkum go. You’ll be amazed at what you can do,” he says.

“These guys (the entrepreneurs) are proof that if you’ve got a good idea and you’re willing to work hard you can make it happen.

“Look at what’s been done in the education space on the Gold Coast – 15 years ago it was barely an industry in its own right, now education is one of our top economic drivers.”

Cochrane says small to medium sized companies are the future of the Gold Coast’s business landscape.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be a big business city. We’re not about skyscrapers and suits. It’s not us and I hope it never is,” he says.

Nik Mirkovic, whose teeth whitening company turned over $10 million in two years, agrees the city’s smaller size and laidback nature are conducive to success through innovation.

“The Gold Coast allows you to be the best version of yourself and not get caught in the business rat race,” he says.

Owner of Harrys Steak and Bistro Adam Haralampou and Simon Gloftis

Size and location aside, each speaker highlighted the important role their teams have played in their organisations’ success.

Dwayne Martens founded Amazonia at 22 selling acai smoothies from a stand at his local markets. He established his now mutli-million dollar health food empire with the support of friends, but rapid expansion required him to staff up.

“Now I’m in a great space where my role is to drive innovation in the business,” he says.

“I can’t be completely involved in all operational aspects of the business – I need to work smart.

“I spent a lot of time ensuring the right people were around me, and that those people hired the right people.

“They all do it a hell of a lot better than me.”

Superdraft’s Jake Robinson, who leads a team of 120 designers with a portfolio of more than 2,700 completed projects, says people are the hardest part of any business.

“People are expensive and they can make or break your business,” he says.

“Find the right people who share your vision and follow your leadership. Then do what only you can do and delegate everything else.”

For the founders of HiSmile, finding the right team was integral to filling a skill gap in their business.

“We’re not dentists, we saw a business opportunity,” Alex Tomic says.

“We knew our strengths and sought the expertise of the right people when we needed to.”

Cochrane says a skilled and supported team is vital for any successful business.

“You can have the best product in the world and the best ideas, but if you don’t have the right people around you, you’re in trouble,” he says.

“We (Gold Coast SUNS) have spent the last 12 months making sure we have the best people in their roles.

“Whether you’re the chairman or the cleaner, every person has a role to play, and there’s no excuse for not treating everybody in the workplace the same.

“Of course not everyone can be the CEO, but everyone deserves respect and to truly feel part of an organisation.””

“Griffith University and Young Professionals Gold Coast have a lot in common – the most significant being that both organisations are dedicated to growing the city’s corporate culture.

Professor Ian O’Connor, Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University, is particularly passionate about ensuring the next generation of city leaders is well equipped to take the Gold Coast to the next level.

“Part of the way a city grows is by having a talented and educated labour force,” he says.

“What we are involved in is the process of actually building or developing the next generation of workers; the next generation of professionals, and the next generation, if you like, of key members of this community who actually believe in this city and want to be part of the city.”

Professor O’Connor was appointed Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University in January 2005.

The university has grown to be home to more than 44,000 students from more than 130 countries, and under O’Connor’s leadership, the university has become one of the Asia-Pacific region’s most influential universities with research strengths in areas that address the key issues of our time.

When asked why Griffith University chose the Gold Coast as its stomping ground, O’Connor said it was a ‘no-brainer’.

“This (the Gold Coast) is one of the most exciting and dynamic places in the country,” he says.

“This was a city which had been historically underprovided with higher education and research.

“We have spent literally hundreds of millions of dollars ensuring that the young people of this city don’t need to leave this city to be educated.”

In addition, he highlights the importance of international students to the city.

“For our international students that return home, they go back to their home country to be great advocates of the Gold Coast as a great place to live, a great place to do business and a great place work,” he says.

O’Connor will speak at the annual City Leaders Forum on November 11, where he will address key issues and opportunities facing the city.

The diversification of the Gold Coast economy will be on the agenda, with O’Connor passionate about growing the education sector in the city.

“This is a city which has a fantastic tourism industry; it is known around the world for it, and it also has this great history in property and development and that will continue,” he says. “But we have actually got to broaden the economic base of the city.”

He says the Health and Knowledge Precinct will play a key part in this.

“The Health and Knowledge Precinct is one of the great opportunities for this city for the next couple of decades,” he says.

“It is an opportunity in the middle of the city on a green-fill site to actually think through the industries that will shape the future, to build upon a collaboration between the university, the hospital and a whole range of other providers and innovators that will come to the site.”

O’Connor will join Bob East (CEO of Mantra Group), Marion Charlton (Chief Operating Officer of Gold Coast Airport), Mark Peters (CEO of Commonwealth Games Corporation) and Peta Fielding (CEO of Burleigh Brewing) on the panel for the second annual City Leaders Forum, hosted by Young Professionals Gold Coast.

O’Connor says the event provides an important opportunity for business leaders to unite with young professionals who are passionate about the future of the city.

“The Young Professionals group is a really important group – it actually brings together a group of people who are deeply committed to the city, who are in fact the city’s future,” he says.

“It provides an opportunity for a different group of people to get together, to have dialogue and to discuss and think and plan for the future of the city – a nonpartisan organisation that is underpinned by a common interest in actually bettering the Coast.

“We came on as a major sponsor because we think it is actually doing something that is incredibly important for this city.

“I think it is a great forum, a great opportunity and I would encourage as many organisations as possible to be involved.”

The event will be held on November 11 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

“Bob East is arguably one of the most influential business leaders on the Gold Coast, standing at the helm of one of the city’s largest companies and leading a team of more than 6000.

The CEO joined ASX-listed Mantra Group in 2006, and under his leadership, the business has grown from 41 properties to more than 120 properties in 2015. East also led the company to a successful ASX listing in June 2014 which culminated in its inclusion into the ASX200 list in 2015 – its first year as a public company.

Most recently, Mantra Group reported an annual profit of $37.1 million while the company’s underlying EBITDAI (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairments) was pushed 23 per cent higher in the past financial year to $89.8 million.

While the business has seen success in recent years, East says the next five years present wonderful opportunities for both the business and the city.

East, who is also Chair of Tourism and Events Queensland, says the Gold Coast is expected to have a ‘tremendous boom’ in the next five years, driven by a couple of factors.

“We have the Commonwealth Games and the legacy contribution of that with the infrastructure build and the works that are going on around that is obvious for everyone in this community,” he says.

“Secondly, we have a good deal of foreign investment entering the marketplace and that is also driving some domestic investment as well because we have that international demand coming in.

“I think we have this wonderful opportunity to take the city to the next level. It does somewhat rely on sustainable economic GDP growth nationwide but we can, to a point, perform better and outperform the overall market given these opportunities that are on our doorstep.

“That is what makes the next five years so exciting.”

East is set to impart his wisdom at the second annual City Leaders Forum event on November 11. A big part of the debate will focus on the diversification of the Gold Coast economy; a topic East is passionate about.

“The Gold Coast will always be popular with tourists and that is something we should be immensely proud of; that delivers a lot of benefit to the broader Gold Coast community, be it through jobs growth or economic contribution,” he says. “That is absolutely fundamentally important for this destination.”

“But singularly that is probably not enough. We need to become a diversified city; we need to have those other industries and particularly those emerging industries to get a foothold into this community and to succeed.”

Mantra Group currently has more than 20,000 rooms under management for owners in properties across Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

Mantra Group has a team of around 6000 who work in operations, sales marketing and distribution, portfolio and asset management, information technology and corporate activities.

East says the Gold Coast is an ideal location to run a thriving business.

“The key feature for the Gold Coast is it is very liveable; that is what attracts people to our destination as visitors and holidaymakers but it also works incredibly well when looking to build a business here,” he says.

“It does have those lifestyle elements and if you overlay that with a burgeoning and emerging corporate sector, it really does make it an ideal place to locate your business.”

East will join a panel of speakers at the City Leaders Forum event including Peta Fielding (CEO of Burleigh Brewing), Ian O’Connor (Vice Chancellor of Griffith University), Mark Peters (CEO of the Commonwealth Games Corporation) and Marion Charlton (Chief Operating Officer of the Gold Coast Airport).

Hosted by Young Professionals Gold Coast, the event aims to unite the Gold Coast’s established business community with up and coming city leaders.”