Show Notes
Joining our series for his first ever in-depth interview is special guest - Jeff Chapman AM, Founder & Chairman of Bangarra Family Office & Bennelong Funds Management.
As one of Australia’s most successful business & philanthropic figures, Jeff’s remarkable career and influence extends across a diverse range of industries, including professional sports, media production, property development, funds management & global equities.
Born in the New South Wales town of Glen Innes in 1948, Jeff moved to Melbourne and attended Carey Grammar, wherein his sporting prowess was quickly recognised by his peers and culminated in him being appointed the school’s Football Captain.
Upon graduation, Jeff signed with the Hawthorn Football Club for one season before transferring to the Melbourne Football Club in 1966.
At the conclusion of his professional sporting career, Jeff transitioned into business, founding Sportsworld Media Group, an integrated production house that developed television programs, live broadcast events & magazines in 1991 before expanding the firm in Britain where it listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1998.
Following the sale of his stakes in the business upon it’s listing, and again two years later, Jeff launched his investment vehicle Bennelong Group in 2000 with a mandate of investing in businesses and operating real estate across England, the Middle East & Australia.
Over the ensuing two decades, Bennelong Group established itself as one of the Country’s most prolific investors, deploying capital across a range of sectors and industries including golf courses, commercial real estate projects and equities.
Launched in 2002 as a division of Bennelong Group, Jeff launched Bennelong Funds Management, a global investment company that partners with boutique asset managers across the World and that now has in excess of $15bn of assets under management across ten boutiques and six offices.
Jeff is also a highly respected philanthropist via the Bennelong Foundation in which his share of the profits from Bennelong Funds Management are channelled into a range of charitable causes in both Australia and the UK, with over fifty projects and seven-hundred grants distributed with an end value of in excess of $15m.
Through the Bangarra Family Office, Jeff manages his extensive investment interests including in Crown Golf, Bennelong Funds Management & his commercial property holdings.
Our exclusive discussion explores Jeff’s background, his professional football career, the rise of Sportsworld Media Group, his diversification into real estate and the significant rise and success of his global funds management house.
Proudly licensed, produced & distributed exclusively by Ready Media Group.
Host - Rob Langton
Further information;
More from The Interview Australia
Tim Gurner is one of Australia’s most recognised—and most debated—property developers and entrepreneurs.
There are families whose stories are written into the physical and cultural landscape of Australia.The Belgiorno-Nettis family is one of them.Through Transfield, the family helped deliver some of the nation’s most significant infrastructure, engineering and industrial projects.
Sidney Hordern Myer AO carries one of the most significant names in Australian business, philanthropy and public life.But this is not simply a conversation about inheritance.It is a conversation with a man who has spent decades actively shaping, extending and protecting that inheritance — through business, investment, the arts, regional Australia, philanthropy, cultural institutions, Australian-Asian relations and public service.The Myer story begins with Sidney Myer — born Simcha Baevski — who arrived in Melbourne in 1899 as a young Jewish migrant from the former Russian Empire, with little money and limited English. From the goldfields of regional Victoria to a small drapery store in Bendigo, and ultimately to the creation of the Myer Emporium in Melbourne, his life became one of the great Australian stories of enterprise, reinvention and contribution.More than a century later, Sid Myer has carried that story forward in his own way.He has spent more than 35 years across retailing and investment management in Australia and overseas, served as Chairman of Myer Family Investments, and played a central role in stewarding one of Australia’s most important family investment groups.Beyond business, his life’s work has extended deeply into the civic and philanthropic life of the country. As a long-serving Trustee of the Sidney Myer Fund, a Trustee of the Estate of Sidney Myer, Chair of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia Foundation, and a director across organisations including the Yulgilbar Group of Companies, the Yulgilbar Foundation and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation, Sid has helped continue a family tradition that has shaped Australian culture, education, the arts, regional development and community life for generations.His service has also reached into rural and regional Australia, conservation, zoological organisations, cultural exchange and the strengthening of Australia’s relationship with Asia — work recognised through his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the community through philanthropy, equality, the arts and Australian-Asian relations.In this rare long-form conversation, Sid Myer reflects on the responsibility of carrying a name that belongs not only to a family, but to the national story.This is a conversation about migration, ambition, memory and obligation.About what is passed from one generation to the next.About the discipline required to preserve a legacy without being trapped by it.And about the question at the centre of every enduring family enterprise: what does it mean to inherit something larger than yourself — and still make your own contribution?From the remarkable life of the original Sidney Myer to Sid Myer’s own decades of leadership across investment, philanthropy, culture and public life, this episode explores one of the great dynastic stories in modern Australia.A story of business.A story of giving.A story of family.And a story that remains deeply woven into the fabric of Australian life.Subscribe for more rare long-form conversations with Australia’s most influential business families, founders, investors & cultural figures.Link: www.youtube.com/theinterviewauFounder & Host - Rob LangtonProduction via Ready Media Group.Further Information:https://myerfamilyinvestments.com.au/https://www.mutualtrust.com.au/https://readymedia.com.au/
Steven Wilson AM has spent a lifetime helping shape Queensland business, finance and civic life.
Geoff Wilson AO is one of Australia’s most influential investors, fund managers and advocates for retail shareholders.Founder of Wilson Asset Management, Geoff has spent more than four decades in markets — from his early years at Scottish Amicable and broking through the 1987 crash, to launching Wilson Asset Management in 1997 and building one of Australia’s most recognised listed investment company platforms.In this landmark conversation, Geoff reflects on his unconventional path from Glen Iris, St Kevin’s and La Trobe University into finance; the lessons that shaped his investment philosophy; what makes for enduring excellence in funds management; and why temperament, trust and discipline matter as much as intelligence.We also explore his advocacy for retail investors, Australia’s competitiveness, the major investment themes ahead, the rise of AI in funds management, and the creation of Future Generation — the philanthropic investment model that has now donated more than $100 million to young Australians and their communities.A rare and deeply considered conversation with Geoff Wilson AO on markets, leadership, purpose and legacy.The Interview Australia — Australia’s flagship business program.Subscribe for more in-depth conversations with Australia’s leading founders, investors, business builders and industry pioneers.