Steven York is the 130th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers – and probably the most fascinating. Steve spent 19 years in the NSW Police Force, including a decade in the hostage negotiation unit (which he commanded for three years). Good negotiators are good listeners and communicators, Steve explained. You [...]
Here’s a trick question: what’s 48 + 99? The answer is 121. Mario Bekes, the 48th person on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, and Darryn Capes-Davis, the 99th, decided to create a new interview program, called 121 Sydney. Even better, they decided to have me as their first guest. During my 121 Sydney [...]
When Dan Sofo, the 129th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, suggested we meet at Pocket Pita in Neutral Bay, I thought it was just another restaurant. But it turned out Dan owns the place. Dan has a property business, Unicorn Buyers Agents. His background, though, is in hospitality. When [...]
Cathy Morcom, the 128th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is exceptional in three areas. First, Cathy is an exceptional businesswoman. Cathy runs a consulting business and has 25 years of senior management experience, including serving as CEO of Scouts Australia and holding important roles at KPMG, NAB, Westpac and [...]
Getting divorced is tough for all sorts of reasons ‒ emotional, financial and even practical. Katrene Halteh, the 127th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has experienced divorce from two different angles. Katrene is the founder of Urban Family Lawyers, which she started last year. She’s also a mother-of-two with [...]
Julian Brown, the 126th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, might have more personality than the other 125 combined. Julian is delightfully eccentric. He talks quickly and laughs often. His conversation is peppered with an engaging mix of dad jokes and movie quotes on the one hand, and sharp observations [...]
You're feeling disconnected and unfulfilled as an employee. But you’re nervous about launching your own business. So what now? Call Carole Issa, the 125th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers. Carole was once like you – a frustrated employee who felt uninspired in her job and wished she had more [...]
Kylie Pussell and Danielle Hodgson, the 123rd and 124th people I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, work for an extraordinary organisation. Miracle Babies Foundation supports premature and sick newborns, their families and the hospitals that care for them. Kylie is mother to three surviving miracle babies. She co-founded Miracle Babies in [...]
Andrew Graham loves his job so much, it doesn’t feel like he’s working. Andrew, the 122nd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, holds a senior role with multinational property group Colliers International. His job is to put together and advise on commercial and residential property deals worth tens or even [...]
Scott Mendelsohn, the 121st person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, runs a beverage business that turns over millions of dollars per year. But when Scott founded Natural Raw C in 2012, he had no idea his business would grow to its current size. So what was the secret? Hard work. [...]
