Well before WeWork took on the concept of office-sharing and spaffed tens of billions against exposed brick walls, kombucha taps and ‘free beer Fridays’, there was O’Connell St Associates. The exclusive club for Australia’s class of professional board directors was set up in 1973 as a way for its members to secure discreet office space at 2 O’Connell St in Sydney’s CBD.

The club has around 30 permanent directors and is chaired by former Business Council of Australia chief Graham Bradley. You can’t apply to join; would-be members are tapped on the shoulder. As the group’s official history noted in 2019, the club was “not designed to be secret” but its comings and goings are decidedly “private”.