Leadership & Impact

Demonstrated leadership, not asserted

Selected evidence drawn from four decades of practice leadership, commercial responsibility, organisational change and senior client relationships.

Practice Building

Building capability where it did not previously exist

Two practices built or scaled with direct accountability for recruitment, quality, profitability and market position.

Canberra

A specialist practice established from a standing start

Established a specialist Canberra taxation practice and built it to approximately 25 professionals.
Developed a Government Lobbying, Industry Policy & Advocacy capability advising national associations and government stakeholders.
Advised on taxation reform, industry policy and regulatory matters, including Cabinet submissions and Parliamentary Inquiry matters.

Brisbane

Doubling the scale of a capital-city tax practice

Grew the Brisbane tax practice from approximately 65 professionals on appointment as Partner in Charge to approximately 130 by 2005.
Maintained a highly profitable and competitive market position throughout that growth.
Managed P&L, people, recruitment, client relationships and overall practice performance.

Commercial Leadership

Anticipating change ahead of the market

Commercial advantage created by acting before a reform arrived, then converting technical capability into market-wide demand.

GST Readiness

International recruitment ahead of a national reform

Anticipated Australia's GST introduction by recruiting approximately 20 experienced GST/VAT specialists from international markets.
Positioned the practice ahead of a major market change, creating significant commercial advantage relative to competitor firms.
Established specialist indirect-tax capabilities spanning R&D, Stamp Duty, Customs Duty, Payroll Tax and EMDG.

National Education Program

Turning technical depth into market presence

Oversaw a national GST education program involving eight GST manuals and more than 300 roadshow seminars.
Won significant work in GST training by writing industry-specific manuals and conducting national and state training roadshows.

Organisational Transformation

Leading people through structural change

Integration, consolidation and workplace transformation delivered while sustaining client service and morale.

Integration

EY / Arthur Andersen

Steering Group member for the EY / Arthur Andersen integration in 2002.
Led major organisational change across combined teams, systems and client relationships.

Consolidation

Three Brisbane offices into one

Steering Group Chair for EY Brisbane office consolidation and workplace transformation, 2002 – 2003.
Led the transformation to an early open-plan professional-services workplace.

National Leadership

Entrusted with independent national review

Selected by EY National to assess the technical, quality and business performance of practices beyond his own.

National Review

Reviewing capital-city tax practices

Undertook technical, quality and business-profitability reviews across EY capital-city tax practices.
Independently assessed operations and reported recommendations for national consideration.
Served in senior internal leadership capacities across sensitive commercial and organisational matters requiring sound judgement.

Policy & Advocacy

National representation

Represented organisations including the Pharmacy Guild, Clubs Australia, Tourism Industry Australia, Property Council of Australia, RSPCA, Hotels Association and Master Builders Association.
Acted for approximately 400 licensed clubs in a significant NSW taxation dispute with the Australian Taxation Office.

Client & Business Development

Relationships at the most senior level

Pursuits led personally, across borders, with responsibility for the team and the outcome.

Major Pursuit

An ASX-listed audit engagement

Established Brisbane Senior Partner lead of Client Service Relationships and BD – significant impact either directly or indirectly in securing global clients, headquartered in Australia.
Was the Australian Lead Partner, as part of a global team pursuing consulting services demand with a South America-based global mining group.

Market Position

Programs that built senior access

Developed a Directors Relationship Program to support partner relationship building.
Developed targeted client campaigns that strengthened market profile and competitive position.
Recruited an entire tax team, including the Tax Partner, to materially strengthen Moore Australia's specialist taxation, transfer-pricing and transaction advisory capability.

Strategic Decision-Making

Ownership of the whole decision

Businesses founded, built, merged and sold — with the judgement that only ownership produces.

Founder

Boutique advisory built and transitioned

Founded specialist advisory businesses serving high-net-worth families and entrepreneurs.
Built a boutique multi-family-office model providing personalised CEO/CFO-style support.
Built and operated two complementary businesses before merging them and completing their sale to interested parties with whom Lindsay had a complimentary working relationship.

Continuity

Protecting relationships through transition

Supported integration of acquired businesses while maintaining continuity across established client relationships.
Developed new processes and procedures to improve internal efficiency, communication and service delivery.
Mentored senior staff as well as junior partners on various aspects of both improving the firm we were in and what important role they could take in doing so.

The CEO does not need to be the technical expert in every discipline; rather, the CEO must know which questions to ask, which adviser to engage, when to challenge advice and how to turn specialist advice into sound decisions.

Next Step

How this applies in a Family Office

The same disciplines — governance, commercial judgement, coordination of specialists and long-term stewardship — sit at the centre of an effective Family Office.

Family Office Career