NewsBite

Lunch with the AFR

Today

Aware Super CEO Deanne Stewart.

‘I was the only non-billionaire in the room’

Aware Super’s Deanne Stewart, a leading voice for a sector using its increasing political, social and investment clout, on why she wants to be a force for good, and what it was like meeting King Charles.

May

‘I was very confident’: Meet Nuno Matos, ANZ’s Mr Fix It

After getting the US Justice Department off HSBC’s back, the Lisbon-born banker wants to take the smallest of Australia’s big four banks to “a different level”.

Shaun Cochrane, aka Aussie Antics.

Commentating Fortnite has made this streamer millions by 31

Shaun Cochrane has become one of the biggest faces and voices in the world of the game in just five years. He plans to be “set, financially” at the age of 35.

Chris Hammer’s life changed in 2018 when his first novel, Scrublands, went straight to the top of the bestseller list.

‘Smash his camera and kill him’: A thriller writer’s scariest moment

Chris Hammer’s best-selling novels are inspired by his decades of writing and producing stories around the world as a journalist.

St Vincent’s Health Australia CEO Chris Blake.

The consultant turned CEO who wants to change healthcare

Chris Blake runs one of Australia’s biggest hospital operators, but he says the last thing the country needs is more facilities – he wants a rethink of funding.

Advertisement
Australian neurologist and Synchron co-founder Tom Oxley took his company to the US because there wasn’t access to enough funding in Australia.

The Aussie bringing Black Mirror-esque brain tech to reality

This neurologist has built technology allowing humans to control machines with just their thoughts. Now he’s racing Tesla’s founder to take it to the masses.

April

Lauren Zonfrillo at Fratelli Paradiso, where she penned most of her book, Til Death Do Us Part.

Lauren Zonfrillo could write the book on grief. So she has

On May 1, 2023, Lauren Zonfrillo lost her husband, star chef Jock. Two years later, she’s releasing her memoir of that time – the book she wishes she had read.

Live Nation Australia chairman and 20% owner, Michael Coppel, at Icebergs Dining Room, Bondi Beach.

Live Nation boss reveals ‘unspoken secret’ of ticket prices

Veteran promoter Michael Coppel is now the biggest Australian cog in a multinational music machine. He says local fans would be bereft without it.

Simon Cohen, prestige buyers agent.

How ‘least likely to succeed’ Simon Cohen cracked the eastern suburbs

The real estate guru introduced a buyer’s advocacy model to Australia with a desk above a pub. Now he has 100 staff and offices across the country.

Tim Wilson.

Why Tim Wilson is risking being rejected (again)

For a politician with mostly centrist policies, the Liberal candidate for Goldstein arouses unusually strong feelings. What lies behind the man whom you can thank for your franking credits?

March

Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson has lunch with the AFR’s Ayesha de Kretser at the Airbus factory in Hamburg, Germany.

Why Vanessa Hudson’s kids didn’t want her to be Qantas CEO

The airline boss opens up about career timing, why it’s OK to be wrong, and why the timetable for fleet renewal is fine, thank you very much.

Former US Treasury secretary and former Chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen at Icebergs, Bondi.

If Musk aims to save trillions, he’s doing it wrong: Yellen

America’s former Treasury secretary Janet Yellen speaks candidly about Trump, getting DOGED, choosing economics and why she’s an inveterate planner.

Heather Mitchell, at Cafe Cressida.

This actor has the legal profession flocking to see her show

Heather Mitchell is reviving the crowning role of her long career, playing the US Supreme Court judge in RBG: Of Many, One.

Jess Bala, chief executive of General Motors Australia.

How Jess Bala, 41, became the top woman in Australia’s car industry

The managing director of GM Australia and New Zealand is about to introduce Cadillacs to the local markets, but her ambitions are as big as a Chevrolet Silverado.

February

Rachel Griffiths plays a brothel madam in a new Nine series.

‘I made smart decisions, I didn’t want to be poor’: Rachel Griffiths

The actor did her time in Hollywood and now calls her own shots, including producing a new series that looks at brothel life in a uniquely lighthearted way.

Advertisement
Eddie Perfect plays the philosopher Voltaire in Opera Australia’s production of Candide.

He won over Shane Warne with a musical. Could Gina Rinehart be next?

Eddie Perfect wrote a Broadway smash in Beetlejuice, a critical hit (but financial disaster) about the leg-spinning legend, and would love to give another prominent Australian the song-and-dance treatment.

George Williams, vice chancellor of Western Sydney Uni.

This vice chancellor stood on his head for students, literally

New boss of Western Sydney University, George Williams, is using his legal mind, and the odd stunt, to advocate for the battered tertiary education sector.

Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin eats.

The obsessions that make Nagi Maehashi tick

The drive that took the RecipeTin Eats founder and bestselling author to PwC, Brookfield and out on her own is about more than simply selling cookbooks.

January

Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind admits she’s less idealistic about the role of regulation in protecting online privacy and worries one day big tech will decide not to obey the law.

What happened when I stalked the Australian Privacy Commissioner

Carly Kind has a tellingly thin social media presence, yet she disagrees with the policy of the Albanese government – her employer – to ban kids from the platforms.

Allegra Spender at Pina Cafe: “I didn’t expect to get so much joy from being the local member and seeing the world through other people’s eyes.”

Meet the McKinsey analyst turned teal powerbroker

Allegra Spender, who could hold the balance of power after the next federal election, grew up in privilege but prides herself on being able to talk to anyone.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/lunch-with-the-afr-hwn