Goodman Group CEO Greg Goodman: US transition in the spotlight

Greg Goodman says growth in the US economy is important to him, and he’s closely watching the change in approach.

Goodman Group CEO Greg Goodman. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

CEO SURVEY 2025: FULL COVERAGE

Economy

How would you rate the momentum of the Australian economy as we head into 2025? Official forecasts have Australia trimming interest rates from the first half of calendar 2025, is that consistent with your view? What are you seeing around inflation in your own business?

The momentum in the Australian economy is relatively subdued, with little relief in regard to cost of living and housing. This is symptomatic of the conversation around interest rates which aren’t abating as quickly as the market would like.

In our business, we see a shortage of good quality industrial infrastructure, because infrastructure generally is difficult and slow to develop which is constraining supply. Demand is holding up because it’s been driven by the need for greater productivity. What we want to see in the Australian economy is more emphasis on productivity and more encouragement and incentives for businesses to grow.

In this high cost environment, we’re focused on productivity and getting more out of less. We’re working with our customers to help them do the same – getting more efficiency out of the data centres and logistics properties they have with us.

Inflation is a consistent view around the world, which needs to be dealt with, and ultimately interest rates are going to be higher for longer than people would like.

Outlook

What excites you heading into 2025? Are you likely to increase, hold steady, or trim your investment spend?

Heading into 2025, we’re focused and investing significantly in infrastructure and people to deliver on the opportunities around data centres and our automated industrial properties, working alongside our customers to help them maximise efficiency and productivity.

Reform

As we move into an election year, in your mind, what’s the single biggest lever that can/should be used to lift Australia’s competitiveness or productivity? This could be across any area from labour market, tax reform, training or other areas to encourage investment.

Giving businesses the opportunities and incentives to grow and flourish in a global context, where we can maintain sustainable long term businesses that can attract global capital, and use some of that unique talent we have in Australia – particularly around technology and innovation. We need to be able to incentivise and harness these people to grow their businesses and in turn, the economy.

Geopolitics

Will a Donald Trump presidency have a potential impact on your business or sector (tariffs or streamlined regulation)? Does geopolitics drive a bigger part of your decision-making?

As a global business with a significant operation in the US, the growth in the US economy is important to Goodman, so we’re watching the change in approach closely. We’re looking for confidence in economic growth as that drives customer demand for our properties.

We consider geopolitics as part of our investment decisions and where we invest capital around the world.

People

Has your organisation’s approach to flexible working – including working from home – evolved during the year. Is this likely to change further into 2025?

We promote and encourage people to be in the office as we think face-to-face is important to stimulate collaboration, social interaction and support mental health – but we also provide flexibility.

Technology

Where is your organisation along the AI journey – is it in the developmental stage, or are you now using the technology at scale across your business? If so, are benefits matching the promise?

We encourage and embrace technology, AI and innovative tools that can help drive efficiency and productivity. We’re still exploring AI tools and the value they can provide, so we’re really at the beginning of realising the benefits of scale adoption across our global business. But we’re seeing early success in productivity through tools that are helping us better analyse our data and work more efficiently.