Last week, Play Bigger Co-Founder and proud Aussie, Al Ramadan, moderated a compelling webinar with former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull (2015-18). Before and after his turn in the political ring, Turnbull has spent time as a lawyer, tech entrepreneur and startup VC
Hosted by the Australian American Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco, Turnbull pulled no punches in his assessment of global politics in the Covid-era and was candid in his thoughts on the tech sector. Here is a short Introduction from Al and the first post in a series that we’ll be releasing on social media (and to our blog on the playbigger.com website).
In an eerie way, Malcolm and I have been walking parallel paths in business. This sounds weird because he was the Australian Prime Minister and I am a Tech executive. But there were a few fun connection points in history where we were dealing with the same people or situation but separated by mere months or just a few years. It’s wild how life does that… Al, July 5, 2020
Topic of discussion: Australian Landing Pads
The first topic we discussed during my chat with Malcolm was “Landing Pads,” a program he helped create for Australian Entrepreneurs. These “pads” are in many cities around the world and they are structured programs for Australian entrepreneurs to gain access to key technology centers like Silicon Valley, Israel, and many others. Dozens of entrepreneurs travel for a couple of months and have these immersive experiences. Malcom was instrumental in making these happen.
Coincidentally, in the early 2000s, while I was an executive at Macromedia, I sponsored Computer Sciences students to come across and “intern” with companies in Silicon Valley. Of course, Macromedia was one of the companies. The goal was to give them a sense of what it’s like to work in the Valley. Very much a similar idea to Malcolm’s.
You can read more from Malcolm Turnbull in his new book, “A Bigger Picture” here :
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52925018-a-bigger-picture
Stay Tuned for Part 2 // Life (and Work) in the Time of Covid
