About Us

At Victorian Leaders, we inspire the next generation of leading privately-owned companies.

Established in 2006, we have an ever-growing alumni of more than one thousand companies right across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Our big difference is that we surround Members with a highly supportive and trusted community of Industry Experts and likeminded peers. You will have both in person and online access to knowledge, connections and resources.

This holistic experience has been designed exclusively for founders and leaders of ambitious businesses. Our ultimate goal is to help fast track personal, professional and business outcomes through proven and effective initiatives:

Executive Leaders

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Future Leaders

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Regional Connect

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Alumni

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Advisory Board 

Victorian Leaders has engaged a highly qualified and respected Advisory Board to assist in strategic direction provide strategic insight, support and connectivity to the broader network. The 6 Members of our Advisory Board are:

Vivienne Anthon

Advisory Board

Vivienne is an experienced management consultant, professional facilitator and mentor to women in business. She was formerly CEO of the Australian Institute of Management and has held executive positions in private education, professional services firms and not for profits.

Vivienne works with private companies to create the conditions and conversations in which people will contribute their best. She sits on a number of Boards including the Queensland Leaders Advisory Board and is Deputy Chair the La Boite Theatre Company. Vivienne holds a Bachelor of Law from ANU, a Graduate Diploma in Education from QUT and an MBA with Distinction from Griffith University.

Caroline Banhidy

Advisory Board

With over 30 years of experience spanning business, strategy, and organisational transformation, Caroline has contributed across diverse sectors from manufacturing and professional services to wealth management and industry bodies.

Caroline currently serves on multiple boards as Chair and is involved in key committees, including Investment, Audit & Compliance, Risk, and People & Culture Committees. She is also the Interim CEO of Foresters Financial and consults with family businesses on strategy and continuity planning.

Matt Murphy

Advisory Board

Driven by a commitment to guide and support business owners, Matt has had a diverse career in business, spanning from start ups to public companies. As a Chartered Accountant, he has advised thousands as a CFO, Mentor, and Advisor. With a passion for education, he shares insights in his book, *Dream to Realisation – The Business Owners Journey*, and his podcast, *The Spirit of Business*. 

Matt founded a unique Accounting & Advisory firm that evolved through a merger with Prime Financial Group Ltd, where he now serves as Executive Director and continues to assist business owners in realizing their goals and aspirations. Additionally, he has advised the Victorian Government Small Business Council and continues to support businesses as a Board Advisor for Victorian Leaders & NSW Leaders.

James Paulsen

Advisory Board

James initially worked in investment banking and private equity for several years assisting private companies access new opportunities, capital and exit strategies. He also founded Enterprise Angels, one of the first cloud based business angel networks in Australia. In 2006 he founded Queensland Leaders, a platform based business initiative to work with leading private companies to assist them become national and international market leaders.  

After the success in Queensland, he established the Leaders business platform across Australia, New Zealand and the UK through the International Leaders business. James studied accounting at QUT and then completed an MBA with Bond University. His focus for the last 25 years has been to assist private business owners achieve their best through access to expertise, experience and inspiration.

Pawel Podolski

Advisory Board

Pawel is a forward-thinking leader, known for driving strategic transformation and delivering operational success through innovation and technical expertise. He specialises in revitalising underperforming operations by leveraging his strategic insight and expertise in implementing scalable solutions. With extensive experience bridging business and technology, Pawel excels at solving complex challenges and turning them into impactful commercial successes.  

Currently leading an industry-focused fund and several AI-driven projects, Pawel helps industries and professionals drive innovation, engage, and make smarter decisions across both established and emerging markets.

Scott Thomson

Advisory Board

Scott is an ex-Googler who served as the Head of Innovation for Customer Engineering. Scott worked in Google from 2015 through 2024 in the Ads Data Platforms, Analytics and Google Cloud product areas in AuNZ and APAC. Before Google, Scott worked with Adobe across APAC on digital strategy and digital transformation. He also worked for Telstra and Sensis in digital transformation and held the role of CTO in an Australian startup focused on personalised video advertising for mobiles. He is passionate about working with and helping startups throughout AU and NZ.


Expression of Interest

Victorian selects leading growth companies to become Members.

International Leaders