“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.”

“Marion Charlton understands the importance of first impressions better than most.

She is, after all, in charge of the gateway to the city in her role as Chief Operating Officer at Gold Coast Airport. But her passion for the city is more than skin deep.

Charlton, who has worked around the world and Australia’s southern capitals, has settled with her family on the Gold Coast and hopes her children will make the choice to live and work here when they grow up.

“I think when you’re making a decision about where you will live and work, you often do it through the prism of what’s best for your family,” says Charlton.

“Here we have some of the best schools, three of the best universities and with all the development and opportunity that’s coming, I’ve got a hope my kids will stay here on the Gold Coast when they choose to have their own careers and families.”

Charlton says the energy and drive in the Gold Coast’s business community makes it an exciting place to run an organisation.

“There’s a real can-do spirit here. Everyone wants the city to be great, and as Gold Coasters, we take it very personally and I think that’s amazing,” she says.

“Business leaders are really accessible, it’s not hard to talk to people like the Mayor, decision makers or local and federal members.

“It makes it easier to get things done – it’s not hard to pick up the phone here like it can be in a bigger city.”

And getting things done she is.

Gold Coast Airport is in the throes of a $300 million redevelopment, Project LIFT (Let’s Invest for Tomorrow), which will be delivered between now and 2019.

A range of crucial upgrades, including expansion of the apron capacity and introduction of self check-in services, will be delivered in time for the influx of visitors heading our way during the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Charlton knows the impact of such an event, having worked at the Atlanta and Sydney airports during the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and in Glasgow during the last Commonwealth Games.

“But it’s important we see the Commonwealth Games as the wedding, not the marriage,” she says.

“A lot of infrastructure and energy is going into the Games, so the challenge for the Gold Coast is to capture that and use it to drive the city forward.

“Our development does just that – it goes way beyond the Games. We’re looking forward to and planning for the event, but it’s certainly not the end piece for us.”

Charlton is one of five panelists at this year’s City Leaders Forum, hosted by Young Professionals Gold Coast.

She will be joined by Mark Peters (CEO of Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation), Bob East (CEO of ASX-listed Mantra Group), Peta Fielding (CEO of Burleigh Brewing) and Professor Ian O’Connor (Vice Chancellor of Griffith University).

Charlton says it is an excellent platform for business leaders to share experiences and impart knowledge to the people who will lead the city in the future.

“But more importantly it’s an opportunity for young professionals to play a role in shaping the city,” she says.

“Working together is so important – as generations we need to combine our efforts, and this is a fantastic platform for that.”

To hear more from Charlton, register now for the City Leaders Forum 2016.”

“A group of business leaders who will play an instrumental role in the city’s economic progress has been assembled for the second annual City Leaders Forum, hosted by Young Professionals Gold Coast.

Panelists will debate the projects necessary to keep the economic momentum initiated by the 2018 Commonwealth Games continuing after the event.

Mark Peters, CEO of Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation will share insights to how the Games presents “a decade worth of opportunity for the city”.

Bob East, CEO of Mantra Group and Marion Charlton, COO of Gold Coast Airport have also joined the speaking panel, representing two ‘front line’ companies that will play a major role in the visitor experience during the Games.

Professor Ian O’Connor, Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University and Peta Fielding, Director of Burleigh Brewing Company will round out the panel of industry experts.

YP Gold Coast President Sean Braybrook said the City Leaders Forum sought to promote healthy and positive debate around key economic opportunities for the city.

“We’ve assembled what we consider to be a group of experts in their respective fields,” he said.

“These are people who will play an instrumental role in the success of the Games and who can share valuable insights to maximise opportunities presented by the event and how we leverage the city’s international exposure in this time.

“But this is about outcomes as much as it is about discussion.

“We are looking to establish policy outline from the forum which will guide our advocacy going forward.”

Mr Braybrook said the core aim of the City Leaders Forum was to unite the Gold Coast’s established business community with up and coming city leaders.

“We want to create a multi-generational voice for positive change,” he said.

Gold Coast Airport Chief Operating Officer Marion Charlton said the forum was an excellent platform for business leaders to share experiences and impart knowledge to the people who will lead the city in the future.

“But more importantly it’s an opportunity for young professionals to play a role in shaping the city,” she said.

“Working together is so important – as generations we need to combine our efforts, and this is a fantastic platform for that.”

The City Leaders Forum will be held on Friday, November 11 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Tickets are $135 per person or $1,300 for a table of 10.”

“Frustrated by the lack of soul in Queensland’s beer landscape, Gold Coaster Peta Fielding and her Hawaiian brew-master husband found the inspiration to establish Burleigh Brewing.

The business, which arguably pioneered the craft beer movement on the Gold Coast, has grown significantly over the past 10 years, converting its original site into a warehouse while the brewing and packaging operation, along with a taphouse, set up shop just down the road.

Fielding, who is set to speak at the City Leaders Forum on November 11, says the Gold Coast is a great destination for innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The Gold Coast is a great place to have our business because we have all of the infrastructure that big cities have and we have the largest city in the state just up the road, but we get to enjoy much more of that village atmosphere and village lifestyle,” she says.

Fielding adds that there is so much to love about living and working on the Gold Coast.

“I think the Gold Coast’s greatest asset is its energy and that is a function of the place and the people,” she says.

“It just feels like a place where anything is possible. People are supported and encouraged to give things a go and if they work, great, and if they don’t, try again.

“It (the Gold Coast) really has an amazing feel about it and I think that is its unique selling point.”

Since its inception, Burleigh Brewing has been honoured with a number of business and brewing awards including Gold Coast Business of the Year in 2014.

Along with leading the Burleigh Brewing team to success, Fielding sits on the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Board.

Fielding is one of five panelists at this year’s City Leaders Forum, hosted by Young Professionals Gold Coast.

She will be joined by Mark Peters (CEO of Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation), Bob East (CEO of ASX-listed Mantra Group), Marion Charlton (COO Gold Coast Airport) and Professor Ian O’Connor (Vice Chancellor of Griffith University).”

“THE CEO of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation Mark Peters says while the much anticipated event lasts 11 days in theory, it actually presents a decade worth of opportunity for the city.

In the week leading into 4 April 2018, more than 6,600 athletes and team officials from 71 nations and territories will converge on the Gold Coast for the sporting and cultural event.

Ensuring the event delivers a lasting legacy for the city is a priority for many Gold Coasters, with the event providing the opportunity to shape and define the region’s future.

Mark peters rsPeters says everything the Games Corporation is working on is developed with legacy in mind and highlights the promotional exposure for business, trade, investment, tourism and events will herald a new era in the region’s growth and maturity.

He says one of the key legacies of the Games is the diversification of the Gold Coast economy.

While the city has traditionally been reliant on tourism and construction, the Gold Coast is embracing new industries.

Peters says education is evolving as a key economic driver, while the Games village and health and knowledge precinct presents new opportunities for growth in medical and research.

“Another legacy is the development of Carrara which now allows the city to look seriously at attracting professional teams that exist in the Asian region that get snowed out in our summer and go to places like Hawaii and Guam,” he says. “They now have the opportunity to come and train here in our great facilities on the Gold Coast.”

“Physically, when we planned venues, they had a legacy outcome. Everything we do, for every venue, for all transport systems, we ask ourselves how we contribute positively to the economy, so that local, state and federal government regard their investment as positive and so the decision to host the games here was positive.”

Peters, who headed the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Bid Company before being appointed CEO of the corporation, has long championed Australia’s profile on the international sporting stage, as a competitive nation and host destination for major sporting events.

Prior to his role with the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, the businessman served in senior sporting administration roles including as CEO of the Australian Sports Commission, President of the Australian Baseball Federation and Executive member of International Baseball Federation.

While the 2018 event presents countless opportunities for the city, Peters says it comes with its challenges.

“The challenge for the organisation is that an awful lot has to happen in a very short amount of time,” he says.

“We started off very small staff wise, and here we are with 18 months to go with 370 staff and we will need 1600 at Games time.

“When we get to 1600 at Games time, about a week later we will drop to 200-300, and then by mid-year we disappear.

“Keeping staff excited and retaining them to be involved in a once-in-a-lifetime event is a challenge.”

Looking at the Gold Coast as a whole, Peters says transport is a key issue for the Gold Coast, along with the retention of young professionals.

“We want to stop making our kids leave the city and we want to prevent people from having to get on the M1 to head to Brisbane for work,” he says.

“The more long term jobs we can create locally, the more we are able to keep our kids employed here and similarly, support the whole family structure.

“We hear lots of stories about tradies having to go off to other parts of Queensland and the break-up of the families and that is not what a city is about.

“We need to create more jobs to make this a great city for families.”

Peters will be speaking at the Young Professionals Gold Coast City Leaders Forum on November 11.

He will be joined by Bob East (CEO of ASX-listed Mantra Group), Peta Fielding (CEO of Burleigh Brewing), Marion Charlton (COO of Gold Coast Airport) and Professor Ian O’Connor (Vice Chancellor of Griffith Univeristy).

The event aims to unite the Gold Coast’s established business community with up and coming city leaders to create a multi-generational voice for positive change.

Peters says the event is important to establish the future direction of the Gold Coast.

“We need to be continually challenged and we need to have fresh ideas,” he says. “It is a good environment to have that open discussion that is not guarded by political appropriateness.” “

“The vocal minority disputing the transformative Mariner’s Cove project proposed for Main Beach are halting the Gold Coast’s economic and cultural progress.

The $600 million Mariner’s Cove would rejuvenate underutilised land, create thousands of local jobs and provide a much-needed boost to the economically depressed Tedder Avenue strip.

Its developer, Sunland’s Soheil Abedian, has likened the Zaha Hadid-designed project to international landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and New York’s Guggenheim Museum.

Mariners Cover Impression
Young Professionals Gold Coast, the city’s peak body representing young business and industry leaders, says Mariner’s Cove is a landmark project which should be assessed on the long-term benefits it presents to the city.

Vice President Melissa Coleman says the loud voice of a single suburb is petitioning against the development, which is not representative of what the whole city wants.

“It is mind-blowing to me that this is even up for debate,” says Coleman.

“Developers, architects, cultural strategists and those with a beautiful vision are throwing millions of dollars at us, yet we prefer to say ‘no thanks’.

“Infrastructure and traffic management will be improved, yet for the inconvenience of a few years of construction, there are people who would rather halt the economic and cultural progress of our city and the state of Queensland.”

Ms Coleman says argument about the preservation of the Spit lacks merit.

“The proposed site is not even ‘the Spit’, it is south of Marina Mirage and is a wasted site that has been sitting empty for decades,” she says.

“And Main Beach residents can’t possibly have concerns for height restrictions when they themselves reside in, or are already surrounded by, buildings of up to 45 storeys.

“As a passionate Gold Coaster, this leads me to question why we listen to the minority – I am confident that the majority of the city is excited by such an incredible development.”

Author: Melissa Coleman