Stronger together
THE Gold Coast is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation offering the benefits of a major city yet retaining a regional-city feel, characteristics which are unique and special to the Gold Coast.
Business leaders in the city maintain the infrastructure and facilities in place allowing them to capitalise on opportunities, yet they can still tap into the camaraderie and encouragement of the community.
The Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and the region’s leading honours for business achievements, is just one example of the supportive business network in the city, with the awards fostering pride in the business community, highlighting the growing importance of the Gold Coast as a business hub and recognising leading businesses with a view to encouraging others.
There is a sense of celebrating each other’s success with strength coming from providing support and working towards a shared goal.
For Rebecca Frizelle, chief operating officer at Frizelle Automotive – one of the biggest private dealerships in the country – and also co-owner of the Gold Coast Titans NRL club, maintaining the small-town appeal of the region has proved important.
“Whilst we’ve matured as a city, we’ve actually kept a small-town mentality or persona about us which I think is really unique and special,” she said.
“We support our own and we are the most generous city.”
Ms Frizelle also maintains community support is a vital ingredient to business life in the city.
“If there is a problem in the city, everyone rallies and supports, as we have from day one.
“People don’t see the Coast for that. They don’t see it as being as loyal as it is.
“Part of the reason our business has spent 30 years reinvesting in the community is because our business is nothing without the support we’ve had from the community.”
Director of planning Matthew Schneider leads Urbis’ Gold Coast office. He is a respected town planning consultant, strategic adviser and project director, with strong communication and negotiation skills.
His work is focused on the Gold Coast, but extends across Queensland and New South Wales working with private sector clients and government authorities.
“As a city we’re a very fair city, very egalitarian; it doesn’t matter where you came from, what your story was; if you turn up with a good idea and put the city first, the city will get behind you,” he said.
“That’s because if you have an
idea here, the city is small enough and bold enough to back you and you can turn that idea into a reality.
“The collegiality and the unity of purpose and the support structure the business community, together with the elected representatives in this city, all offer as a united group, has been an immense source of support, inspiration and example to me.”
Geoff Hogg is group executive operations at The Star Entertainment Group and has more than 20 years of operational casino experience at a senior executive level.
He has group-wide responsibility for operations at The Star Gold Coast, The Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Treasury Brisbane and The Star Sydney.
An active participant in the Queensland business community and in particular, the tourism and entertainment industry, he is a member of the Responsible Gambling Advisory Committee, a
director on the National Retail Association and was recently appointed as a director on the Major Events Gold Coast Board.
“One thing as a business leader here on the Gold Coast is you just feel this desire from other businesses on the Gold Coast (who) want you to be successful,” he said.
“Their genuine desire and support for other businesses to be successful is driving both growth and leading to more jobs being created here.”
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate wants to maintain the country style of the area while ensuring a presence on a bigger stage.
“I want people to go: ‘Wow, look at this; we’ve grown to one million people but we’ve never lost that friendly, country-style, everyone seems to know each other’,” he said.
“That is the part I’d like to have a fine balance; to keep the feel of a regional city but at the same time be a major player on the global stage.”
I want people to go: ‘Wow, look at this; we’ve grown to one million people but we’ve never lost that friendly, country-style, everyone seems to know each other’
– Tom Tate, Mayor City of Gold Coast