The CMG Engineering Group is a collection of Engineering businesses that manufacture, distribute and sell electric motors and related goods. The Group has vertically integrated over the years, acquiring a number of its suppliers and building several manufacturing facilities throughout Australia. It has number one market share for its electric motor products in Australia and is now the only remaining Australian manufacturer in this industry segment.

Jack joined the family business in 1976 after completing an Electrical Engineering Degree at the University of Melbourne. When his father retired, Jack became the company managing director at 32 years of age. At that time company turnover was a respectable $1.3 million a year, the company employed 50 employees and it was selling 99 per cent of its product to an Australian market only. Since taking on the company’s leadership, Jack has rapidly expanded the Australian operations across the nation and also established business operations internationally. The group has been able to withstand challenges that resulted in all of its Australian electrical manufacturing competitors disappearing.

While the business has grown at a phenomenal rate over the last 30 years with Jack at the helm, he says it has continued to maintain its ‘engineering soul’, always looking out for its people. It’s these values that could be why many of those in key management today have been with the company for 15 years or more.

With limited knowledge of the golf industry, but a passion for business, Richard took a risk, with the end result being that he has developed a world class golf facility. Richard admits that he was initially clueless about golf and golf courses but soon realised that in order to get golfers of all abilities to come to Barnbougle, he needed to create a truly amazing golfing experience. To create this experience with limited funds, a shortage of skilled labour and unpredictable weather conditions was the first of many challenges. However, sheer hard work and persistence saw Richard overcome the challenges and today Barnbougle Dunes is a golf course of world class standards, also offering first class accommodation for guests to escape the hustle of the outside world.

Within four months of opening Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links in 2004, it had been ranked the number one public access course in Australia. Thanks to continued positive word of mouth testimonials, interstate and international visitors continue to come in droves to experience Barnbougle. The course is now ranked at number 35 in the world and construction of a second course has recently commenced.

Michael says his biggest challenge, particularly in the early days of business, was overcoming inadequate funding. He says that most banks were not sympathetic to those in the fledgling software industry but in 1985, the Victorian Economic Development Corporation provided Frontier Software with a lifeline. From there the company hasn’t looked back.

In 1990, Frontier Software experienced its first international success, winning a tender for New Zealand’s Treasury. Other successes soon followed including contracts with the Department Human Services and Department Administrative Services in South Australia. Winning the ACT Government and Victorian Health Services tenders for HR & Payroll software and payroll services in 2006 was also a success. Frontier Software is now a truly international business, supporting an enviable array of organisations including St George, QBE, the East Timor Government and Accenture.

Karen and her partner Simon Cariss realised there had to be an answer to their problem so they talked with a web developer and asked for a purpose built system to be created in order to communicate back to applicants more quickly and efficiently. That system soon became their core business and which has now grown into a web-based talent management solution, which allows employers to manage all facets of their talent processes from advertising jobs, screening resumes to advanced reporting via the Web.

Today, PageUp People is the chosen provider to some of the world’s largest organisations such as BHP Billiton, Coles Group, Flight Centre, NAB, Optus and Foster’s to name a few. With offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Shanghai, New York and London, the company is well and truly growing its presence on a global scale.

Karen says the business’ continuous innovation is what has enabled the business to thrive. They were the first in the market to build SMS text phone messages into the system back in 1999, and in 2007 they were the first of their kind to offer talent management consulting to underpin their technology solution. It is this kind of originality that has seen the business sustain double or triple digit growth in the last five years.

In 2003, Garone felt he was at an age where he wanted to give something back through a charity. He says he had made small donations before but found this largely unsatisfying. Having always had a passion for his own health, Adam found that there was very little interest in men’s health compared with women’s causes such as breast cancer. So through Movember he set out to make the moustache the men’s ribbon and men’s health the cause. Until Movember, put simply no one knew how to ‘market’ the cause for prostate cancer prevention or treatment despite the fact that as many men die from it as women die from breast cancer. Soon depression was added to the Movember cause after Adam discovered the tragic statistic that four to five men a day commit suicide in Australia. 

In just four years, Movember has become a truly international cause and last year in Australia close to 100,000 ‘Mo Bros’ participated by growing a moustache, raising over $15 million dollars that was then fed back to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Beyondblue. In New Zealand, over 26,000 men took part raising over $2 million dollars for their local causes, while the UK, US, Canada and Spain also raised millions of dollar between them for their local charities.

In 1959 the Costa brothers took over the family Fruit & Vegetable operations and commenced wholesaling with Frank at the helm, a position he still holds today as Executive Chairman. From those early days Frank led the development of the business to a point where it is now the largest privately owned grower, packager, marketer, distributor and exporter of fresh fruit and vegetables and grains in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Group’s annual turnover is in excess of $1 billion, employing over 9000 employees, and growing product across 15,000 acres of planted farms with facilities in Australia, Asia and South Africa.

In June 1997 Frank was honored with an Order of Australia Medal for his services to Youth and the community. A year later Frank was elected President of the Geelong Football Club, a position he still holds today, after nine years of rebuilding the Club at all levels. In January 2001 Frank was awarded the Australian Sports Medal award, in recognition of his services to Australian Rules Football.

In 2002 Costa Group was awarded the Australian Family Business ‘Third Generation –Business of the Year’ and a year later Frank was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Governor- General for contributions to Australian society. Another honour followed in 2003 when Frank was awarded the degree Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by Deakin University.

In 2006 Costa Group received the Australian Agribusiness Leader of the Year Award and also the Australian Agribusiness Employer of Choice award. In the same year Frank’s business was also recognised as Australia’s Leading Logistic and Supply Chain organization, while Frank’s fantastic career was put in print through the biographic book written by Des Tobin called Frank Costa Family Faith & Footy.