Paul Bridgeford

Paul Bridgeford came to Australia in 1971 from Cardiff in Wales. He was a trained metallurgist and worked in the steel industry. After completing a master of science in business, Paul moved to Australia with ACI. He developed and marketed the screw top closure for wine. Eventually, at the age of 30, he started his business in the area of kitchen renovations. He was a skilled marketeer, but this was his entrée to front line sales. There is so much more innovation happening in Australia now than 30 years ago. Atlassian, AfterPay, Canva are all global brands that have started their life in the innovative environment in Australia. The shortage of capital was always a barrier to innovation. However, the capital markets are becoming more supportive. Lower interest rates are driving investors to take a bit more risk.