Every month, our expert panel delve into an area of business that has been
highlighted by the BetterBusiness site users. It is always relevant and timely,
like the coverage of the 2011 Federal Budget and what it means for small
businesses.
James McIntyre
Commonwealth Bank Economist BEc (Hons)
James is responsible for monitoring, analysing and forecasting trends in the
Australian economy, including in financial markets and domestic monetary
policy. James joined the Commonwealth Bank in August 2008. Prior to this James
had a career in the Federal Treasury, where he focussed on developments in the
domestic and international economies and worked on a number of Federal
Budgets
Matt Comyn
Commonwealth Bank Executive General Manager, Local Business
Banking
Matt is Executive General Manager of Local Business Banking for the
Commonwealth Bank. He is responsible for providing a comprehensive range
of services to the Bank’s small business clients.
Matt joined Local Business Banking from Morgan Stanley where he was CEO of
the Australian wealth management business. Prior to that Matt spent 10 years
working for the Commonwealth Bank in a range of roles including Managing
Director of Commonwealth Securities (CommSec) between 2006 and 2010.
Matt has worked in roles encompassing strategy, product development, project
management and sales. He has an undergraduate degree in Engineering and a
Master of Commerce, majoring in Finance from the University of New South
Wales.
Craig James
Chief Equities Economist, CommSec
Craig is married with three children and live in Dolans Bay in southern
Sydney. His chief interests are athletics and trying to keeping up with
the children. With CommSec, Craig interprets the ‘big picture’ economic and
financial trends for customers, clients and staff. As well as providing
presentations to staff and clients and commentaries on financial and economic
trends, he appears regularly in the electronic and print media.
In 2002, he undertook a ‘sea change’, interpreting economic and financial
trends for the Australian Financial Review. Prior to that he held Chief
Economist posts at both Colonial and Commonwealth Securities. Craig has over 28
years experience in banking, finance and journalism. He holds both Bachelor and
Master degrees in Commerce (Economics) from the University of NSW.
Peter Switzer
Expert on money and business in Australia.
Peter is the founding director of Switzer Financial Services, an accounting,
business and financial advisory company, and Switzer Media and Publishing, a
provider of business and financial information.
A former lecturer in Economics at the University of NSW, Peter is the small
business editor for The Australian, a columnist with the Daily
Telegraph and a finance commentator for Yahoo!7.
He is also an award-winning broadcaster, hosting the 2GB small business show
and acting as the money coach on the ABC’s 702 radio station. Peter is also
host of Talking Business for the Qantas in-flight service Radio Q and a
commentator on Vega FM. He has previously worked for Triple M and the
Australian Radio Network. Peter’s best-selling books include 350 Ways To
Grow Your Small Business and GST: Your Questions Answered.
Robert Gerrish
Robert Gerrish is a coach and consultant to sole traders and small
business owners.
He is the co-author of Flying Solo – How to go it alone in business with
Sam Leader, and has had more than 130 articles published across the News
Limited titles Dynamic Business, Marketing and My
Business, and other regional and national newspapers, magazines and
newsletters.
Robert has been a business commentator on ABC TV’s 4 Corners, Channel
9’s A Current Affair, ABC Radio and 2UE, and a guest on Radio Q, the
Qantas inflight service. He also presents workshops for solo and small business
owners.
In 2000, Robert founded Flying Solo, an online site where small business owners
can share experiences and build knowledge. He also writes and produces a weekly
email newsletter that reaches 12,000 subscribers.
