AFG Venture Group executives have specific knowledge and experience in the following industry sectors and markets:
AFG Venture Group has expertise in Australia and New Zealand in food and beverage production, marketing and distribution as well as more generally in global agribusiness.
David Duckett leads our agribusiness practice and has over 30 years experience in global agribusiness, including 18 years with Goodman Fielder and its predecessor companies, in the roles of CFO, Group Manager – Taxation and in Strategic Planning. Further expertise in aquaculture, commercialisation, R&D and branding is provided by our Associate Mr Christopher (Chris) Vassiliou.
Our Education Division is headed by Michael Fay who brings over 25 years expertise and experience in the education sector in Australia and Asia.Australia's Education and Training sector is now firmly established as one of Australia's top three export industries after coal and iron ore. In some states such as Victoria it is the number one export industry. As the sector develops in Australia AFG Venture Group expects there will be more focus on exporting Australia's expertise to the Asian region either by means of sales of services, licences or investments. Our Group is at the cutting edge of these trends and works with many of Australia’s leading universities, institutions and private sector companies involved in the international education sector.
We have been involved in the export education sector since 1994 commencing with its investments with Insearch Limited (www.insearch.edu.au - owned by University of Technology, Sydney) in English Language Schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Medan in Sumatra, Indonesia. In Indonesia the Australia Centre Medan offers a range of educational services including language teaching and testing (www.ielts.org), student recruitment under a franchise from IDP (www.indonesia.idp.com), project management, arts and cultural liaison, translation and interpreting, and consular services on behalf of the Australian government.
In the member countries of ASEAN and in India our focus is on project activity and strategic advisory. We assist public and private sector clients as well as providing research and consultancy services to government organisations and peak bodies. AFG Venture Group works closely with Australia Network Television, the ABC’s Asia Pacific media platform. We assist Australia Network to develop its relationships with the education sector and promote advertising opportunities (www.australianetwork.com).
Environmental, Clean Tech and Related Services
AFG Venture Group assists environmental, clean tech and related services businesses to grow their business. Services we offer include strategy development, growth business consulting as well as transactional services of merger, acquisition, divestment and licensing. There are growing opportunities for these Clients in the Asia Pac region.
Karen Dado leads our Health and Life Sciences practice, focusing on strategic reviews and performance improvement advisory services across health and life sciences organisations, including: health care suppliers and providers, life sciences companies and other high tech start-ups.
Her particular areas of expertise include:
- strategic reviews
- analysing performance and understand key value drivers
- developing strategies for differentiation to maximise value
- achieving sustainability and effective commercialisation
- benchmarking or ‘audit’ to identify gap between strategic intent and delivery
- redesigning business processes including time-to-market to improve their efficiency and effectiveness
- best practice governance and reporting frameworks to sustain performance gains
- commercial due diligence, independent experts reports and business planning to support market entry, capital raising, sale and acquisition and integration planning to identify the associated synergies and costs
- capital raising, sale and acquisition and integration planning to identify the associated synergies and costs.
Examples of related services offerings are available [here].
Karen has advised to this sector for over twenty years, initially with Baxter Healthcare in the UK and for over 15 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, Lusaka, Auckland and Sydney.
AFG Venture Group has an experienced team of IT&T professionals with track records of creating successful exits and transactions. This team also assists Clients to maximize returns from the technology base, which include licensing with appropriate counterparties, improving the business pricing model and increasing distribution channels. We also have an entrepreneur in residence service for this sector.
AFG Venture Group have assisted many business in the engineering and manufacturing sectors to transact with other companies be that via joint ventures, alliances, strategic shareholdings or outright merger, acquisition or divestment. Our team has extensive contacts and relationships not just in Australia but in the Asian region.
Gordon Hart is the Head of our Resources division and brings a wide knowledge of Australian resources, and the companies working in this space. Gordon specialises in M&A and corporate advisory activities in the sector including mergers, acquisitions and divestments, equity raisings, advice on restructures and path to market advice and implementation. Gordon also has extensive experience in raising capital for mid market mining companies, as well as IPO's, investor relations, project development and corporate strategy with listed and unlisted emerging companies.
In addition to numerous sale mandates and capital raisings for the Australian mining sector, AFG Venture Group Australia, India and Indonesia are currently working with investors from India and China in particular in relation to likely investments into the Australian and Indonesian resource sectors.
AFG Venture Group has experience in working with numerous retail groups across various sectors. Our work is transactional based around merger, acquisition, divestment and licensing activities. In addition we create successful partnerships between parties intra and inter country.
AFG Venture Group has expertise in working with services business across knowledge, information and technology platforms. We have the skills and experience to work not only at transactional level with merger, acquisition and divestment but also to provide value add advisory services to the business. Challenges we assist with the creation of sustainable growth, diversifying earnings, leveraging of resources beyond time based pricing and reinvestment strategies.
AFG Venture Group provides a wide range of specialised corporate advisory services to those organisations who wish to establish or enhance their corporate presence in Asia. Services include development and implementation of entry and operating strategies, market research, establishment of joint ventures as well as mergers and acquisitions.
We have an operating presence throughout the region, which ensures its executives remain totally focussed on the practical business realities of the various countries in the region and are able to practical assistance to their clients and partners.
In determining the correct entry strategy we can advise and assist in deciding on an appropriate corporate structure, finding a suitable local partner, as well as assist in the obtaining of the appropriate Government approvals.
With a wide and diverse network of contacts throughout the region, AFG Venture Group is able to introduce clients to the right people and organisations.
