The Interview Australia

We’re fortunate to have the opportunity to be joined on today’s episode with Nick Wakim - the self-made Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Lithium, a pure-play developer embarking on a globally significant journey to become one of the World’s largest producers of lithium. Born in Melbourne to parents of Lebanese heritage, Nick’s upbringing saw him move multiple times across the World from an early age, transitioning variously across Papua New Guinea, Lebanon, England & Chicago. Emulating the entrepreneurial pursuits of his father, Nick’s business career has taken him across the World, from securing landmark deals across the Middle East to acting as a corporate advisor, personal investor & macro strategist to individuals, companies & Governments across a range of industries. Prior to launching Phoenix Lithium in 2009, Nick was involved in the establishment of a number of businesses including Vision Financial Group, a business that provided corporate finance & advisory services, Intercorp Group, an organisation that led joint venture & technology transfers and Phoenix Group, a business through which he advised senior ministers of Australia and Saudi Arabia on trade negotiations. Under Nick’s leadership, Phoenix Lithium is today best known for their remarkable pursuit to create North America’s largest lithium project, with their East Brawley project combining an enormous 23,000 acres of surface & mineral rights through which the company projects to be able extract enough lithium to produce in excess of a million electric vehicles per annum. Alongside his professional commitments, Nick established the Wakim Family Office (WFO), a private investment vehicle through which he deploys capital across residential & commercial real estate, technology ventures & horse- breeding. Owing to personal tragedy, Nick also founded the Farid Wakim Foundation in 2023 through which the family channel their philanthropic endeavours. In this rare & exclusive profile, Nick shares his extraordinary journey in both life & business, filmed on-location at his private residence in Melbourne, Australia. Founder & Host | Rob Langton Proudly produced & distributed exclusively via Ready Media Group. Further Information: https://www.phoenixlithium.com/ https://readymedia.com.au/ Subscribe | www.youtube.com/theinterviewau

Joining our series for his first exclusive, in-depth profile is self-made businessman & healthcare entrepreneur Dennis Bastas - Executive Chairman & CEO of DBG Health, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Arrotex Pharmaceuticals and Chairman of burgeoning consumer health enterprise, VidaCorp. In this exclusive interview, Dennis takes us on a journey throughout his remarkable career, from the pivotal moments that led him into the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, to the growth and evolution of DBG Health - along the way, exploring the key lessons, achievements, challenges, and successes that have led him to become one of Australia’s preeminent businesspeople. Founder & Host | Rob Langton Proudly produced & distributed exclusively via Ready Media Group. Further Information: https://readymedia.com.au/ https://dbghealth.com.au/

Joining our program in this exclusive feature profile is Tony Quinn - Founder of Quinn Family Office. A visionary, pioneer & the man with the Midas touch, Tony’s remarkable business success is a journey across three Countries, wherein his innate corporate nous combined with a relentless work ethic has enabled him to scale to the top of a diverse range of industry sectors including fresh pet food, confectionary, motorsport & commercial real estate investment. Though perhaps best known for his early success as the founder & driving force behind global market leader VIP Petfoods, the business he established from the ground up in 1994 before selling a majority stake to Quadrant Private Equity in a $410m transaction in 2015, Tony’s business achievements extend far beyond the VIP deal & incorporate a number of other triumphs; not least of which being the rapid turnaround & re-structuring of the infamous Darrell Lea Confectionary business, a company he acquired in 2012 for $25m before selling six years later in a $200m deal. Alongside his well popularised feats with both VIP & Darrell Lea Confectionary, The culmination of this financial success over a long period of time led to Tony establishing his own private investment vehicle Quinn Family Office (Quinnfinity Group) in 2015, a company through which he channels his considerable resources & expertise to invest in a broad spectrum of domestic and international businesses, commercial property assets throughout the World & venture opportunities. In this rare & exclusive profile produced and distributed by Ready Media Group, Tony Quinn details his extraordinary life, from growing up in a caravan in Aberdeen, Scotland to becoming one of the World’s most successful self-made business owners & investors - this is Tony Quinn, in his own words, filmed in his adopted hometown on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Australia. Founder & Host - Rob Langton.

Joining our program on this episode in what is a unique & exclusive profile is Dan White - a 4th generation, executive member of the venerable White family real estate dynasty who currently serves as Managing Director of Ray White Group & Chairman of White & Partners. Established in 1902, the Ray White Group is Australia’s largest & most successful real estate agency business, encompassing some twelve thousand plus members working across over a thousand agency offices throughout Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong & the Middle East. Now it’s fourth generation of family leadership, Dan White was appointed Managing Director of the Ray White Group in 2015 wherein he leads the businesses diverse global operations, managing turnover that exceeds $35bn per annum, as well as serving as Founder & Chairman of the family’s private investment office, Ray White Capital, a business he established in 2001.

 In this exclusive interview, Dan discusses the remarkable journey & success behind the Ray White Group, his personal career trajectory & learnings from his time at Arthur Anderson and Macquarie Bank, the opportunities and challenges involved in running a 12,000 person international business and the importance of legacy in maintaining the sustainability of the Ray White Group business for its future custodians. Founder & Host - Rob Langton https://readymedia.com.au/ https://www.raywhite.com/people/dan-white

Joining our program on this episode to share what is undoubtedly one of Australia’s most remarkable self-made business success stories is Billionaire Trevor Lee, Founder & Principal of Australian Country Choice Group- the largest & most successful, privately-owned, vertically integrated beef processing company in Australia. In this rare & exclusive profile of one of Australia’s most successful yet private businessman, Trevor charts his incredibly journey, from being told his academic future was limited whilst a student at Brisbane’s Anglican Church Grammar School, to working the harsh lands of Queensland’s rugged, remote environments, ultimately culminating in the decision to follow his instincts & launch his own a business - a business which has changed not just an industry, but a Nation too, all the while cementing his legacy & the legacy of future generations of the Lee Family for decades to come.