We hosted the largest ever Brentnalls Network conference from 8th to 10th March at Sheraton Mirage at the Gold Coast with 48 attendees and many spouses joining us for dinners. There was strong representation of directors, principals and managers from all network firms, and the discussions were often quite animated and noisy as people shared (good and bad) ideas on what their firms had been implementing and dealing with as we exit the Covid operating environment.
The afternoon of Day 1 saw 4 sub-groups meet to discuss Tax, Business Advisory, Women in Business and the Leadership NextGen Hub. Many of the attendees were attending their first Brentnalls Network conference, and this allowed them to instantly connect with other attendees at a similar stage of their career.
We forget that our surf clubs are quite unique to Qld and the attendees from the other Australian states plus Auckland loved the casual dinner (and trivia) on the first night at the Southport Surf Club.
Day 2 saw a large contingent go for an early beach walk, before network firms shared their practice updates including insights into HR, IT, new services and wins and losses in all areas of their practice. We also had a 2-hour presentation from a long-standing client who recounted his experiences over a 35 year period. He spoke without notes and finished exactly on time, and it was obvious the passion and dedication to his businesses and people that surround him. We went way overtime with question time.
We had a beautiful dinner at Glass restaurant over the road at Marina Mirage, and it was certainly a late night for some.
On Day 3, in recognition of International Women’s Day we had a guest speaker Petris Lapis talk about Unconscious Bias in the workplace and the broader community. It was very well done and highlighted the need for people to be more aware of their words and actions in everyday life.
Our final night saw everyone dressed up for a Hawaiian themed cocktail party. The noise was deafening as everyone enjoyed winding down and discussing both the great location and things they had learnt from other firms. There has already been a flurry of emails between network firms sharing templates, ideas and better ways of operating.
The conference was a huge success, and the Network bade farewell to Matthew Holden from Brentnalls SA as Chair after a 2 year period and welcomed Andrew Heazlewood (Cogger Gurry in Hamilton Victoria) as the new Chair, and our own Renee Bettenay as Deputy Chair.