Geoff Lord

Last updated

Geoff Lord
Born (1945-03-28) March 28, 1945 (age 78)
Occupation(s) Chairman, Belgravia Group
SpouseNanette Lord
Children4 [1]

Geoffrey Fredrick Lord (born March 28 1945) is an Australian businessman and investor, best known as the founder, chairman, and chief executive of the Belgravia Group.

Contents

Lord is currently chairman or director of several publicly listed companies within Australia including ex-chairman and founder of UXC Limited, executive chairman of Tesserent LTD, [2] non-executive and founding director of Judo Capital, director of the Melbourne Business School [3] and chairman of Salvest. [4]

Lord first appeared on the BRW Rich 200 in 2005 with a net worth of A$115 million. [5] In 2020, Lord's net worth was assessed at A$569 million. [6] Lord did not reach the threshold for inclusion on the 2021 Rich List. [7] This is theorised to be due to his large holdings in difficult-to-measure private companies. [8]

Early life and education

Lord was born to a father who was a published author and insurance man. In regard to his childhood, Lord has previously called himself a "working class boy". He completed his high school education at Melbourne High School. He went on to study his bachelor of economics at Monash University, followed by a post-graduate at La Trobe University and a Master of Business Administration (Distinction) at the University of Melbourne. [9]

Career

Lord began his career in 1965 with the Ford Motor Company before joining Henry Jones IXL in 1973, where he was promoted to the Board in 1978. [10] Lord served as a Director for several companies associated with the Elders Group until 1992, including Elders IXL and Foster's Brewing. In 1985, Lord established Elders Resources Limited, a public company, and was appointed as its chief executive and deputy chairman.

In 1992, Lord was cleared by the Australian Securities Commission in relation to the WA Companies and Securities Code and WA Inc. This decision came after Lord established that, having been overseas at the time of all issues, he could not have possibly attended such a meeting or been involved. As evidence, Lord produced his passport, airline tickets, hotel bills and minutes from the Elders Resources board meeting, which proved his absence from the country. [11]

In 1990, Lord retired from Elders Resources. He cashed his Elders' bonus shares and used the AUD$11 million to create the Belgravia Group, a privately owned investment group that employs approximately 7,000 people across Australia and New Zealand, as of 2005. [12] Belgravia Group is named for the location of Elders' London offices. Belgravia focuses on medium developments of under $50 million each, with many areas pertaining to different markets. In regards to the beginning of Belgravia, Lord said "I felt I had to start again. But to start again, I think you have to be prepared to eat some humble pie and start small, rather than continuing at the level where you were in a grand way. You have to go back to basics." [13]

Sections of Belgravia include Belgravia Apparel, which manufactures uniforms for companies such as KFC, Burger King, [14] Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, [15] Coles, Woolworths/Countdown, Officeworks [16] .[ better source needed ] in addition to being responsible for all product manufacturing for New Balance in Australia. [17]

In Addition to launching Belgravia, Lord put money into King Island Dairy and a property portfolio including Buckie Station. [18]

As of 2003, Belgravia Leisure managed 80 community facilities for local governments. [19]

Sports Administration Career

Lord has been an active participant in the sports industry. He served as President of Hawthorn Football Club from 1993 to 1995, [20] where he is a life member and helped the club win four premierships. In 2011, Lord contested the presidency once again but was defeated by then-vice-president, Andrew Newbold.

Lord also founded and served as chairman of the Melbourne Victory Football Club from 2004 to 2010, winning additional premierships with the club. [21]

Philosophy

In regards to operations at Belgravia, Lord said "Is Belgravia the most sensible business model in the world? That's not material to me because I'm not driven just by the money." and "Why're we doing this? Probably because I love it."

Lord keeps a low profile, reasoning that "I'm not out there trying to sell or promote Geoff Lord, probably because I'm scared and averse to what happened in the 1980s building megastars and seeing those megastars burned at the stake, a la John Elliott. That's the last thing I want to do draw attention to Geoff Lord." [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Elliott (businessman)</span> Australian businessman (1941–2021)

John Dorman Elliott was an Australian businessman and state and federal president of the Liberal Party. He had also been president of the Carlton Football Club. He frequently provoked controversy due to his political affiliations, his brushes with the law, and his abrasive personal style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elders Limited</span> Australian agribusiness company

Elders Limited, formerly known as Elder, Stirling & Co., Elder Smith and Co. and Elder Smith & Co. Ltd, is an Australian agribusiness that provides agricultural goods and services to primary producers in Australia.

Kerry Matthew Stokes is an Australian businessman. He holds business interests in industries including electronic and print media, property, mining and construction equipment. He is most widely known as the chairman of the Seven Network, one of the largest broadcasting corporations in Australia.

<i>Australian Financial Review</i> Australian financial newspaper

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; owned by Nine Entertainment and has been published continuously since its founding in 1951. The AFR, along with the rest of Fairfax Media, was sold to Nine Entertainment for more than A$2.3 billion. The AFR is published in tabloid format six times a week, whilst providing 24/7 online coverage through its website. In November 2019, the AFR reached 2.647 million Australians through both print and digital mediums (Mumbrella).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton & United Breweries</span> Australian beverage manufacturer

Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is an Australian brewing company based in Melbourne and owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries. Its notable brands include Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Foster's Lager, Great Northern, Resch's, Pure Blonde and Melbourne Bitter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Jones IXL</span> Manufacturing company in Australia

Henry Jones IXL was a company primarily known as a manufacturer of jams, conserves and sauces in Australia. The brand was owned and its products manufactured by SPC Ardmona from 2004, which was itself owned by Coca-Cola Amatil from February 2005.

Solomon Lew is an Australian businessman. His principal commercial activities involve importing apparel, toys and other goods into Australia from China and investments, mainly in retail companies.

Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court was a South African-born Australian businessman who became Australia's first billionaire, before dying suddenly of heart failure in 1990 at the age of 53.

Paul Alexander Little is an Australian businessman and philanthropist. Little served as the managing director of Toll Holdings, an Australasian integrated logistics provider from 1985 until 2011 and retired from that position after 26 years service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne Business School</span> Graduate school of the University of Melbourne

Melbourne Business School (MBS) is the graduate business school of the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The School offers an MBA program, specialist Masters programs, a doctoral program, and executive education programs. The MBS Head Office and main campus are in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton, walking distance from Melbourne's Central Business District, in a complex designed by Daryl Jackson.

Joel Macdonald is a businessman and former Australian rules footballer.

John Gandel is an Australian businessman, property developer and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the development of commercial real estate as well as shopping centres located in Melbourne, Victoria.

Ian Ross Harper AO FASSA FAICD is an Australian economist, economics professor and current dean of the Melbourne Business School.

Geoff Harris is an Australian businessman and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Bell (Australian entrepreneur)</span> Australian businessman

Nick Bell is an Australian businessman. He has founded or co-founded several companies in Australia and internationally, including Appscore, Removify, Lisnic, Primal, and First Page Digital. In 2020, Bell’s net worth was estimated by Australian Financial Review 2020 Rich List to be $274 million.

Leslie Alan Wilson, an Australian billionaire, is the executive chairman of Reece Group, Australia's biggest bathroom and plumbing supplies chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemist Warehouse</span> Australian multinational pharmacy retail company

Chemist Warehouse Group is an Australian company operating a chain of retail pharmacies both locally and internationally. The company is one of Australia's largest pharmacy retailers with over 500 stores in Australia, and employs over 20,000 staff. The company brands itself as offering discounted prices for pharmaceutical goods.

Sidney Baillieu Myer, also known as Bails Myer, was an Australian businessman and philanthropist. A member of the Myer family retailing dynasty, he was the son of Sidney and Merlyn Myer. He joined his family's company, the Myer Emporium, in 1949 and became its chairman in 1983. He oversaw its merger with GJ Coles & Coy to create Coles Myer and retired from business in 1994. In his later life, Myer was involved with philanthropic, scientific and arts organisations.

Retail Apparel Group is an Australian and New Zealand clothing retail company, wholly owned by the Foschini Group. The company operates stores under the Tarocash, Connor, yd., Johnny Bigg, Rockwear and AXL+Co brands.

Valarie "Larry" Kestelman is an Australian billionaire property developer and businessman. He co-founded internet service provider Dodo in 2001, which was bought out in 2013, and has interests in various other industries via his holding company LK Group. He is also known for his involvement in Australian basketball, including as the majority owner of the National Basketball League (NBL) since 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "GEOFF LORD'S LONG ORDEAL". Australian Financial Review. 6 March 1992. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  2. ↑ Yolanda, Redrup. "UXC's Geoff Lord to chair ASX cyber security small cap". Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Melbourne Business School appoints Geoff Lord to Board of Directors". Melbourne Business School. The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "Meet The Team". Salvest. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Higgins, David (18 May 2005). "Packer tops rich list". The Age .
  6. ↑ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (30 October 2020). "The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed" . The Australian Financial Review . Nine Publishing. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  8. ↑ https://www.afr.com/politics/good-lord-no-attention-please-20050422-jl0zk
  9. ↑ "Geoff Lord has $80m worth of fingers in many pies". The Sydney Morning Herald . 10 June 2003. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Geoff Lord has $80m worth of fingers in many pies". The Sydney Morning Herald . 10 June 2003. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "GEOFF LORD'S LONG ORDEAL". The Australian Financial Review. Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  12. ↑ https://www.afr.com/politics/good-lord-no-attention-please-20050422-jl0zk
  13. ↑ https://www.afr.com/politics/good-lord-no-attention-please-20050422-jl0zk
  14. ↑ "Hospitality". Belgravia Apparel. Belgravia Group. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  15. ↑ "Aviation". Belgravia Apparel. Belgravia Group. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  16. ↑ "Retail". Belgravia Apparel. Belgravia Group. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  17. ↑ "New Balance X Belgravia". New Balance. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  18. ↑ Harley, Robert. "Bid to harvest $4m in sale". Financial Review. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  19. ↑ "Geoff Lord has $80m worth of fingers in many pies". The Sydney Morning Herald . 10 June 2003. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023.
  20. ↑ https://www.hawthornfc.com.au/club/history/honour-board
  21. ↑ "LORD LEADS MELBOURNE TO VICTORY AS HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE TAKES SHAPE". Archived from the original on 27 May 2005. Retrieved 1 November 2004.
  22. ↑ https://www.afr.com/politics/good-lord-no-attention-please-20050422-jl0zk
Sporting positions
Preceded by Hawthorn Football Club President
1993–1995		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Office Established
 Melbourne Victory Chairman
2004-2010		Succeeded by


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.