ANZ’s business growth program has seen 10 companies double profits, export to new countries and increase their revenue by an average of 93 per cent, after first joining in 2014.
Now in its third year, the program selects CEOs from ANZ business customers with five to 200 employees and $5 to $50 million in annual turnover, who want to grow their company.
The program is a partnership between University of South Australia and ANZ, and facilitated the creation of over 140 jobs in the last two years.
“We feel it is important to provide our customers with the essential knowledge they need to expand and grow, not just traditional finance and banking services,” said Mark Hand, ANZ managing director Corporate & Commercial Banking.
Professor Jana Matthews, ANZ chair in Business Growth and director of the Centre for Business Growth at the University of South Australia, said accelerating growth in a competitive marketplace is a challenge for any executive, especially those who spend much of their time working in the business, rather than on the business.
“The nine-month intensive program provides the knowledge, skills and tools to help CEOs and executives understand what inhibits growth, as well as what to do, when, and in what order to accelerate growth,” Professor Matthews said.
Karen Tsonidis, CEO and co-founder of Australian dancewear company Energetiks, and graduate of the 2016 program, joined the program wanting to accelerate growth opportunities for the company.
“It was a very different way of us running the business that we needed to take on. But we have a philosophy around our company that we’re always interested to learn and grow,” Tsonidis said.
Tsonidis said the program allowed them to be confronted with tools that they have never been confronted with before and that has completely changed the way that they operate their business.
“Now I spend most of my days mentoring and coaching my team, and focusing on strategic sales and planning. The program was amazing. The tools we were provided changed the way we operate our business. We applied everything we were taught. We couldn’t ignore it,” Tsonidis said.
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