NewsBite

Inside the falling out between the rock-star banker and eco-warrior

Inside the falling out between the rock-star banker and eco-warrior

They were one of Australia’s oddest friendships: Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron and her adviser Jon Adgemis. Then after a decade, they had a vicious falling out. So, how did it all go so wrong?

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

By almost any measure, it was an unlikely friendship. The young, slick investment banker, whose fast cars and high-profile girlfriends made him a regular in Sydney’s gossip pages, and the enigmatic environmentalist, decades older than him, who had dropped out of university, started sewing sleeping bags in the 1970s then built an outdoor camping retailer that put her on the Financial Review Rich List.

Jon Adgemis was a Sydney-based KPMG deal maker who had closed enough transactions to make partner at just 28. Jan Cameron was a bona fide recluse, living outside the small coastal Tasmanian town of Bicheno, population circa 650. A dedicated animal welfare activist, she had made her first fortune when she sold her retail chain, Kathmandu, to private equity in 2006 for $NZ275 million.

Loading...

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

Carrie LaFrenz
Carrie LaFrenzSenior reporterCarrie LaFrenz is a senior journalist covering retail/consumer goods. She previously covered healthcare/biotech. Carrie has won multiple awards for her journalism including financial journalist of the year from The National Press Club. Connect with Carrie on Twitter. Email Carrie at carrie.lafrenz@afr.com
Max Mason
Max MasonSenior reporterMax Mason covers insolvency, courts, regulation, financial crime, cybercrime and corporate wrongdoing. A Walkley Award winner, Max's journalism has also received awards from the National Press Club of Australia, the Kennedy Awards and Citibank. Message Max on Signal https://tinyurl.com/MaxMason Connect with Max on Twitter. Email Max at max.mason@afr.com

Latest In Manufacturing

Fetching latest articles

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/companies/manufacturing/inside-the-falling-out-between-the-rock-star-banker-and-the-eco-warrior-20211122-p59ayn