Checkside
Our team consists of experienced business owners, CEOs, investors and board members
About Checkside
We know from first-hand experience the joys and pains of navigating growth and transformational change
Established in 2004, we have partnered with over 700 businesses during our 20 year journey to tackle challenges, solve problems and deliver results for businesses and business owners.
We’ve worked with everything from well-funded start-ups to established operations with thousands of employees – across almost every industry.
So no matter what your scaling or transformational challenge is, you’re in safe hands.
Our purpose
To help businesses to reach their full potential
Our Values
Our Values guide the decisions we make and the actions we take every day.
Make an Impact
Client centric. Always seek to add value. Care about quality outcomes. Know when to go the extra mile.
Down To Earth
Be approachable. Keep it simple. Tell it like it is. Be humble. Admit and learn from mistakes.
One Team
The whole is always greater than the sum of the parts. Embrace the team rhythm. Have each other’s backs and step up when needed. No heroes, no passengers.
Our Point of Difference
Emerging and mid-market specialists.
Senior expertise gained from lived experience.
Fit for purpose IP.
Our Team
Sam Willis
Managing Director
Sam worked in investment banking and wealth management prior to spending 10 years in the corporate advisory space. He worked with a number of emerging listed companies prior to founding, developing and leading a listed resources company that completed a major farm-in agreement with Conoco Phillips.
Sam is an experienced executive and non-executive director, with skills running across strategy, corporate finance and governance. Sam is a trusted mentor and coach to a select number of senior and developing executives.
Scott O’Hehir
Director
Scott has been advising businesses for over 15 years and is an expert at helping clients formulate and implement strategies, structures and management systems required to successfully grow.
Scott developed the Checkside High Performance Operating System and Leadership Turbocharge course to meet the needs of emerging and mid-market businesses. Scott has been recognised for his success in business turnaround projects and is a former committee member of the Turnaround Management Association. Scott is a trusted mentor and coach to a select number of senior and developing executives. Scott holds tertiary qualifications across Management, Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management, as well as post-graduate qualifications in Applied Finance.
Todd Stanley
Client Director
Todd is a strategy professional with more than 20 years of senior leadership experience across management consulting, mining, financial services and technology. He works with organisations to navigate growth and transformation by developing clear strategic direction, aligning priorities and turning plans into actions that deliver measurable results.
Recognised for his clear thinking and collaborative approach, Todd enjoys helping clients cut through complexity and focus on what matters most. He is passionate about helping leaders develop practical strategies and successfully implement them in ways that are understood, owned and adopted throughout the business.
Todd holds an MBA (Executive) from the Australian Graduate School of Management, a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia, and completed the Executive Leadership Program at Melbourne Business School.
Tony Femia
Client Director
With over 20 years of senior leadership experience, Tony has a proven track record of building high performing teams, leading strategic change and delivering consistent business growth with larger multinational corporates and mid-tier financial services companies across Australia.
As a trusted coach and mentor to many business owners, leaders and sales professionals, Tony’s experience has proved an invaluable sounding board and helped them to unlock their untapped potential and boost the growth of their target markets and business.
Tony is an enthusiastic, energetic presenter and thrives on the opportunity to facilitate tailored training and coaching frameworks for leadership and team development programs to help grow skills, confidence and high-quality delivery with impact.
Damian Hicks
Client Director
With an impressive track record as an ASX company director and a wealth of experience in strategic, corporate, financial, and governance roles across Australia and northern Europe, Damian is poised to make a significant impact in his client director role.
Damian’s ongoing role as Chair of Corporate Board Services (known as experts in outsourced financial management, compliance and governance for ASX-listed, unlisted public and private companies) has honed his skills in leading teams to success. This, alongside his experience as an entrepreneurial founder and deal maker, will be invaluable in guiding Checkside clients as they navigate growth and transformational change.
Damian is admitted as a legal practitioner in Western Australia, has a degree in accounting & finance, holds diplomas in finance & investment and applied corporate governance, and is completing a geology degree.
Fiona Stretch
Client Director
With over 16 years of experience in strategy development and change management, Fiona has a proven track record of delivering successful outcomes for organisations across Australia, the UK and West Africa.
Her expertise lies in translating strategic vision into actionable steps and guiding teams through business improvement and product management. Fiona excels at building cohesive teams and fostering continuous improvement to drive measurable success. Growing up on a sheep and cattle farm, Fiona is a country girl at heart and brings an enthusiastic, pragmatic approach to her client engagements, driving impactful results.
Fiona holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from UWA, with majors in Corporate Finance, Marketing, and Financial Accounting, and is a certified Organisational Coach (Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership) and Change Manager (Prosci).
Andrew Macgregor
Client Director
Andrew has significant governance, business and risk management experience. He brings a passion for driving change and improvement in businesses to his Client Director role at Checkside.
Prior to Checkside, Andrew had a 30-year corporate career in the professional engineering services sector. As an engineer, he worked across a range of technically challenging projects in Australia, the UK, mainland Europe and SE Asia. More recently, as commercial director, he was responsible for the establishment and integration of offshore engineering and back-office teams, as well as the management of complex litigation and a significant sale transaction.
Andrew holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from UWA and in his spare time enjoys mountain biking and surfing with his children.
Matt Davey
Client Director (Adelaide)
Matt established his own strategy consulting business in 2019 and works closely with business owners and leaders to lift their focus to a bigger picture by providing direction and support in the areas of strategic planning, customer connection, strategic execution and leadership coaching. Based in Adelaide, Matt’s primary focus has been on assisting mid-market businesses and business owners to help deliver better outcomes for all stakeholders.
Prior to this, Matt worked for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank for 23 years in a range of roles across home loan sales, contact centre, high network deposits, leadership, digital and business banking strategy.
Chris Bates
Advisory Board
Chris was founder of Checkside in 2004 and has transitioned to CEO of fast-growing, family-owned agribusiness group Waringa.
He has a background in financial services and succession planning and has been advising businesses for over 20 years. Chris holds Bachelor of Business from Curtin University, is a graduate of the AICD company directors course (GAICD) and has completed various finance qualifications from the Securities Institute of Australia (SIA) and the ASX.
John Beech
Advisory Board
John has held various senior executive positions across the mining, energy and technology industries. He was a senior executive and director of NYSE and ASX listed Orbital Corporation from 1987 until 2002. He was also an award-winning Chair for the international CEO leadership group, The Executive Connection (TEC) for 15 years.
Since 2003, John has provided consulting and advisory services to assist companies to commercialise their technologies into global markets. John has been a director of publicly listed companies and is currently on the advisory board of several private companies. He continues to provide leadership development, coaching and mentoring services within companies and to a select number of senior and developing executives.