grow
Business growth advice. Reimagined.
Looking for a partner to help you manage the challenge and opportunity of business growth?
Leveraging your momentum to reach new heights
There’s no one path to growth, but success always leaves clues. We draw on our own successful business and management journeys, plus our deep sector experience, to guide you on the growth path that best suits your business, and your personal plans.
We recognise the courage and drive it’s taken to grow your business. We also know that what got your business here, may not be what it needs to get to that next level.
You may know where you want to go, but are less certain on how to get there.
That’s where we come in. We partner with you to help you to chart – and then follow – your best course. We help you and your team to deliver growth for your business.
Your growth challenges
Entering a
new market?
We help you select the right market at the right time, and then unlock the doors to business success.
Scaling
up?
We help you to lay the right foundations and invest where you will get the best returns to scale for rapid growth.
Planning for succession?
We help you prepare, starting with the end in mind.
Require capital investment?
We can invest alongside you, as a trusted partner who contributes real value to your business.
Ready to grow?
We’re ready to go on the journey with you.
Sector Specialists
We have deep expertise, developed from real-world experience across four key sectors.
Food &
Beverage
In the rapidly changing Food & Beverage industry we can help you to get ahead.
Retail &
Consumer
Retail & Consumer is on the precipice of an exciting new future and we are the partners to guide you there.
Health &
Wellbeing
We’ve witnessed and been part of the evolution of Health & Wellbeing and we can help you supercharge your growth.
Services
We have the know-how and industry contacts to take your Services business to new heights.
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Over the last 25 years, Shaf has built an impressive portfolio of experience that spans consumer brands, retailing, management, entrepreneurship, international business, investment and transaction services.
He’s held executive roles in brand management at Pacific Brands, Globe International and Rip Curl, as well as investment management for Besen Private Equity. And his entrepreneurial achievements include establishing master franchises for Cacharel, Paul & Joe, Coast and Karen Millen. At the latter, he ran the 70-door, Melbourne-to-Beijing, Asia-Pacific portfolio.
All of this experience combines to make Shaf a trusted insider within the retail and luxury sectors. It also gives him a broad contact base to tap into for M&A, capital raising, partnerships and strategic planning.
Shaf is an industry go-to for his insights and thinking in fashion, luxury goods, home and design, food concepts and multichannel retailing. He wrote RMIT’s Luxury Brand Management course, and has taught both Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He also holds a BA and BComm (Monash) and an MBA (AGSM).
Shaf and his wife have three children. One of his most rewarding accomplishments was completing the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker. In addition to being Principal at Edison, Shaf is also the CSO (Chief Style Officer).
Jason has more than two decades of experience in founding, growing and advising early-stage and fast-growth businesses— specialising in Technology, Food & Beverage and Health & Wellbeing.
His work ethic and business acumen have been a lifetime in the making. As an eight-year-old, he’d wake up at 6am on Saturdays and jump the fence to the local golf course. There he’d find lost golf balls and wash them before selling them back to the golfers on the ninth tee. When he wasn’t selling golf-balls, he was riding a morning and afternoon paper-round for pocket money.
Building on his early ventures and entrepreneurial spirit, Jason established a successful career in the technology industry. He was one of the founding team of ASX-listed Adslot Ltd (ASX:ADJ), Tradeslot and Vertical Talent, which sold to Drake International in 2008.
As a member of the five:am team, Jason played a pivotal role in establishing and growing this Australian organic yoghurt startup. He was a crucial member of the Senior Executive, and later served as an advisor to the Founder in the spectacularly successful sale to P Z Cussons in 2014.
As a business owner, Jason has demonstrated capability in strategy, planning, management and execution. On the transaction advisory side, his experience includes M&A, capital raising and advisory. He relishes working with business owners, their families and their stakeholders – bringing perspective and empathy from his own entrepreneurial experience.
Jason now channels his passion for entrepreneurship into supporting entrepreneurs through Edison. He is also a current member and sitting Board Director of the Entrepreneurs Organisation. He holds a BA, BBus (Banking & Finance) and MBA (Melbourne & ESADE, Barcelona).
Jason is married, with one child. He loves travel, golf, the Tigers, and conspiring with his identical twin brother to confuse all and sundry.
In Oliver’s 12 years as a CFO in the challenging, ever-changing retail environment, every executive team he’s been involved in has delivered EBIT dollar growth. This has even been the case in years of declining sales.
Oliver was a Chartered Accountant for 6 years at Ernst & Young before moving into the retail sector for 17 years. He spent 12 of these as Chief Financial Officer at Country Road Limited (also Executive Director), Spotlight Retail Group, Witchery Group, Country Road Group and Forever New Group.
At Oliver’s core is an uncompromising commitment to using customer and data insights to maximise enterprise value, cash flow and return on capital employed. This commitment has helped him to deliver some seriously impressive results, including:
● playing a central role in Gresham Private Equity’s sale of Witchery Group to Country Road Limited (~$172m)
● privatising Country Road Limited to Country Road Group (~$200m).
Over the years, Oliver’s responsibilities have extended beyond Finance, Treasury, Legal/Company Secretariat and Risk, into Strategy, Transformation, IT and Supply Chain.
More recently, he moved into Management Consulting and Board Advisory roles. There, he has advised organisations such as Mecca Cosmetics, Hawthorn Football Club, Limestone Coast Wines, Hinkler Books, Mustad Australia and Silk Laser Clinics. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA), a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (F Fin). He also holds a Bachelor of Business (Acc) from RMIT.
Oliver and his wife have three young children. His passions include Hawthorn Football Club, wine, horse racing, golf, weekend trips to Bunnings and hovering over his Weber BBQ on a Saturday afternoon.
Truman’s passion is unlocking the potential in people and business, and he brings a strong analytical mindset and thinking to help him do it.
With a background in mathematics and finance, Truman enjoys applying his problem-solving skills in a business context, deriving business solutions and market insights grounded in numbers and data.
During his studies, Truman held the role of President of the Actuarial Students’ Society, where he enriched the university experience for actuarial students, and mentored those with similar aspirations. Currently, his efforts are directed toward a social impact NFP organisation, where he leads a project that evaluates potential solutions to overfishing in the coastal regions of Australia.
Truman will be graduating with a BCom (Finance, Actuarial Studies) and a Diploma in Mathematical Sciences (Statistics & Stochastic Processes) from The University of Melbourne.
Truman is also an aspiring wine collector, who loves nothing more than sampling the best wines straight from cellar doors all around Australia. Next stop – Chile!
Michael has 12 years of experience in private equity, funds management and corporate M&A advisory. Previously, he held roles as Investment Director at:
● Archer Capital, one of Australia’s oldest and most successful private equity firms
● Livingbridge, a leading UK private equity firm. headquartered in London, which holds $3 billion in capital under management and focuses on expansion capital investing.
When it comes to private equity, Michael has considerable experience across all facets of the discipline. This includes deal sourcing, investment appraisal and approval, transaction execution, capital raising, investee supervision, investee exits and investor reporting.
Michael represented both Archer Capital and Livingbridge on the Board of investee companies. He also provided additional executive assistance to support growth initiatives and key projects. His investing experience spans several sectors including Health & Wellbeing, Retail & Consumer, Food & Beverage and Services.
Michael has experience as an operational executive and as a business owner. He served for six months as General Manager of Franchising at Craveable Brands – a business with 600 stores and over 200 franchisees – during Archer Capital’s ownership. Michael has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia.
Malcolm is a widely respected business leader with a successful track record of venture capital investing, corporate business development and startup experience. He is highly regarded as a trusted investor representative and an experienced company board director.
Malcolm spent 12 years with Starfish Ventures, a leading Australian Venture Capital fund manager with over $400M in funds raised and 60 companies invested in. Malcolm was a member of the Investment Committee for Starfish Technology Fund I and Starfish Technology Fund II, and represented the Funds on 13 investees boards.
More recently, Malcolm was the Head of Corporate Development of ANZ for Cisco. There, he was a member of the Senior Leadership Team and sat as an Investor Representative for its ANZ portfolio. Malcolm was previously a Director of the Australian Investment Council, where he served on the Venture Capital and the Research Committees.
Malcolm holds a BAppSc (QUT), MAppSc (QUT) and an MBA (Melbourne).
Ben was a visionary. Ben was an adventurer. Ben was an enthusiast in everything he did.
Ben never failed to inspire, both in business and in life. He paved his way as an M&A lawyer at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, and as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank, Rothschild & Co and Gresham Partners. He then stepped away from investment banking to co-found, launch and operate Anaconda – the camp, hike and adventure megastore – before founding Edison Partners in 2006.
Ben’s legacy is one of impeccable standards, quality and excellence. We remember our business partner and great friend with love and fondness.
Client Reviews
FAQs
What experience do you have in growing businesses?
We gained our experience deep in the trenches of growing and leading businesses at a senior level. Our team has a unique mix of first hand entrepreneurial successes (and failures), combined with senior executive, private equity and venture capital experience. They’ve taken sparks of ideas and grown them into successful, thriving businesses… as well as learnt the hard lessons from their mistakes.
That’s exactly why we do what we do. We wear the scars of our entrepreneurial journeys with pride, and then draw on them in our growth advisory work every day.
We run a family business and want to protect our legacy. Can you help?
We understand how important legacy is for family businesses. You’ve poured your heart and soul into your business for decades (perhaps even generations). So protecting your legacy should be front and centre of your plans.
Many of our clients are family businesses at a critical juncture. Whether you’re looking to grow your business for the next generation or considering an exit plan for the future, we can help you grow – and protect – your family legacy.
Who will I actually work with if I choose Edison Partners?
The value of our partnership comes from the expertise, experience and unique perspective those senior professionals can bring to your journey. So we ensure that’s what we give you.
We’ve grown a lot and now need to optimise our performance, but we don’t know how. Can you help?
We do this for many of our clients, and we’d be happy to discuss your business and goals with you to see how we can help.
Can you help me to grow my business for a future sale?
Together, these mean we can first work with you to grow and optimise your business, and then find the right buyer to take the reins for the next chapter.
I’m looking to buy a business, can you help?
We have significant experience on both sides of transactions. We bring our insights and expertise to the table to help you get the best outcome for you.
Does Edison Partners provide capital investment for businesses?
If you’re interested in learning more about the Edison Growth Fund and our capital investment opportunities, let’s talk.