MATTHEW DONNELLY

Grant Thornton’s new WA managing partner tells Sean Smith he thrives on being part of a winning team.

Biggest or best career break?

Coming to Western Australia. This State has been fantastic for me. When I arrived from Melbourne in 2009 I didn’t know anyone. I worked in a referral business so that put a great deal of opportunity in front of me, but also a great deal of risk. The move came with a great deal of commitment because my family came with me. We burnt our boats and became West Australians. Looking back, it really hardened and rounded me, like those types of experiences can. But it’s been a fantastic journey. I’ve very much enjoyed settling into WA with my family, who love it and will never leave. And it’s been a great time for me to grow my career. I was Grant Thornton partner of the year last year . . . and now I’ve been given the reins of one of our fastest growing offices. All of that came from taking a risk and coming to WA.

Describe your leadership style?

I’m very much about making sure the people I’m working with know I’m there to clear obstacles, but also that I’m not there to sort out all the rest of their problems. I look to them . . . to create the solutions. I just enjoy being part of a winning team and I hope that’s the way they experience me.

First or most unusual job?

I had my first mid-life crisis when I was 25. It had me leave the Big Four after doing the cowboy hours and go to work for a year as a guide at Melbourne Zoo. It’s a bit different but it reinforced to me that I liked working with people and that I liked talking about the environment and nature. It was a great experience. I used to be a spreadsheet monkey . . . it’s a great skill in the accounting world. But I was on a train on the way home one day and looking at two people just having a normal conversation. I realised then that I just did numbers and I did them six days a week, 14 hours a day. I had this ache that I was missing something and needed some equilibrium in my life.

Are executive remuneration levels excessive?

We all see occasions where the pay exceeds the value executives are creating. And then you look elsewhere, at local government or not for profits, where they are dramatically underpaid for the responsibilities they take and the results they may achieve. There is by no means any kind of equity or parity with what some of their corporate colleagues are getting. I don’t mind people getting paid really big money for really big results.

Best way to improve productivity?

To have your team engaged in having fun, really believing in what they are doing, thinking they are making a difference and committed to a great outcome. They will then manage themselves to the most effective path.

Do you use social media?

I’m a LinkedIn junkie. I find it a relatively effective way of keeping up with particularly peripheral contacts, people I can’t call every day. But that’s as far as it goes with me, I’m not a Facebook user or a tweeter.

What do you do in your spare time?

What I’ve got is happily dominated by my family. Singing songs with my daughter, 5, and building Lego with my son, 6, seems to take care of most of my time.

Last book you read?

The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin. It’s a great provocation to discover the art inside every person. It’s a book which makes you feel as if you’re busting out of jail. It’s a great inspiration and has great human themes.

Favourite WA holiday destination?

For me, given the family theme, it’s Pump Hill Farm Cottages in Pemberton. The kids are at the age where they love it. It’s a great time with the family.

Your worst investment?

Simple. I was in sandalwood as part of the Rewards group about 15 years ago. It was the first investment I’d ever made. You learn a lot but it was an expensive MBA. Later on, I found myself consulting for some of the secured lenders of Timbercorp. So to experience the full irony of that was quite interesting.

What are the major challenges facing Grant Thornton?

First, to make sure we can attract the best people. And second, to secure Grant Thornton’s logical position as the leading advisers to the mid-market while the mid-tier is disintegrating but the Big Four are increasingly competing in our space.