Australian success stories: Hugh Jackman tops Bastion Collective report
A list of our most admired Australian success stories has been absolutely dominated by one particular household name.
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When it comes to Australians we admire, it seems we like them all-singing, all-dancing, internationally famous and occasionally sprouting metal claws.
Hugh Jackman has been named as our most successful living Australian.
Almost 1000 people were quizzed about the Aussies they admire in a range of fields as part of a new snapshot report of our attitudes and opinions released by Bastion Collective.
The Wolverine and Greatest Showman star was the clear favourite, with one in five respondents nominating him as our most successful living Australian.
Businesswoman Gina Rinehart was the next most highly-rated Aussie, selected by 10 per cent of respondents.
Former Prime Minister John Howard and Thor star Chris Hemsworth were tied for third place, with 7 per cent of the vote each.
Olivia Newton-John, James Packer, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, Nicole Kidman, Julia Gillard and Cathy Freeman rounded out the top 10 names.
Bastion Collective CEO Jack Watts said Jackman was one of a few figures who seemed to unite a lot of Australians.
“He really presents as extremely professional, wholesome, with good Aussie values and widely respected as a good family man,” he said. “He has ubiquitous appeal.”
Although Cannon-Brookes and Boost Juice founder Janine Allis featured strongly in the ranks of respected business leaders, Mr Watts said the corporate names at the top of the list were people who had been in the Australian public eye for decades.
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“We lack the next generation coming up,” he said. “There is a big role for business leaders to drive innovation and challenge our thinking – and people like Mike Cannon-Brookes are starting to do that, so maybe this is the tipping point.”
Survey respondents were also asked what they thought were Australia’s most successful companies, with Qantas and BHP leading the pack. Bunnings was rated third.
In regards to the list of our most successful businesses, Mr Watts said it was dominated by “Australian institutions”.
“They’ve been around for a very long time. My hypothesis is that if you did this (research) in America, eight of the top 10 would be businesses that started in the last decade. It points to a lack of innovation, a lack of desire to push ourselves further.”
Janine Allis told News Corp it was “humbling” and “amazing” to be on any sort of list of successful Australians.
“People only see your success, they don’t see all your failures,” she said.
The mum of four and Survivor contestant said she in turn was inspired by people every day, but not necessarily by big name celebrities.
“My team blows me away with ideas all the time,” she said.
Ms Allis said Australian businesses needed to be more innovative.
“The seven most expensive words in business are ‘That’s the way it’s always been done’, and that attitude is destroying businesses,” she said.
“We’re not very good at failure, but we need to embrace it. When you’re trying new things you are going to get 10 things wrong to get one thing right. When you feel like something is not working, give it an Irish wake, and then move on,” she said.
INDIVIDUALS CONSIDERED MOST SUCCESSFUL IN AUSTRALIA
1. Hugh Jackman
2. Gina Rinehart
3. John Howard
4. Chris Hemsworth
5. Mike Cannon-Brookes
6. James Packer
7. Olivia Newton-John
8. Julia Gillard
9. Nicole Kidman
10. Cathy Freeman
11. Kylie Minogue
12. Ita Buttrose
13. Cate Blanchett
14. Waleed Aly
15. Margot Robbie
16. Greg Norman
17. Paul Hogan
18. Miranda Kerr
19. Daniel Ricardo
20. Janine Allis
COMPANIES CONSIDERED MOST SUCCESSFUL IN AUSTRALIA
1. Qantas
2. BHP
3. Bunnings
4. Wesfarmers
5. Rio Tinto
6. Woolworths
7. Atlassian
8. Telstra
9. CBA
10. CSL Limited
11. Macquarie Group
12. JB Hi-Fi
13. Australia Post
14. Rip Curl
15. Coles
16. Westpac
17. Optus
18. ANZ
19. Kogan
20. NAB
