September 2024, Sydney Australia: Jon O’Keeffe, Managing Director of PX Partners, has been appointed to the Board of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, an organization committed to advocating for significant reforms in gambling policies and reducing harm in the community.
Jon brings his extensive experience in risk management, compliance, and governance—skills that will be crucial in supporting the Alliance’s mission to drive meaningful change. His expertise in these areas will help the organisation ensure effective oversight and contribute to shaping strategies that uphold the highest standards of accountability and transparency.
With a deep understanding of financial systems and a strong background in risk, Jon is uniquely positioned to provide the board with valuable insights to guide the Alliance in its pursuit of sensible reforms that are supported by the overwhelming majority of Australians.
Tanushree Dabral, Managing Director of PX Partners, commented on Jon’s appointment:
“We are incredibly proud of Jon’s new role on the Board of the Alliance for Gambling Reform. His extensive experience in risk, compliance, and governance will be instrumental in helping the Alliance achieve its goals. Through our PX for Good program, we are committed to supporting employees in pro bono activities which align with our common values. Jon’s appointment to the Board of the Alliance reflects our dedication to supporting organisations that drive positive societal impact.”
Jon O’Keeffe added: “I am honored to join the Alliance for Gambling Reform. I look forward to contributing to their efforts in reducing the harm caused by gambling through strong governance and strategic oversight. This is an important opportunity to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable individuals and communities.”
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For more information on this story, or the opportunity to interview the co-founders, please contact Mithila Jayaratne on mithila@px.partners or +61 421 797 147.
That practitioner experience (px) is the critical part of delivering fit-for-purpose and sustainable solutions to clients seems intuitively sound. As though a defence of the assertion would be an indulgent and superfluous exercise. Well, it is our 3rd birthday (thank you!). And so, we invite you to indulge us as we reflect on what it means to be a practitioner, and why now, perhaps more than ever, px matters.
In the simplest sense, a practitioner is someone who applies a skill. Professional experience, understanding, skill and expertise accumulated over time is how the Centre for Evidenced-Based Management describes practitioners.
PX Partners was founded on two beliefs. Firstly, there are conflicts and shortcomings with the traditional models for providing professional services to clients. Secondly, clients are best served by practitioners who have real-life experience solving problems from the inside.
We believe that there is real value in using practitioners for support and advice, as we have a visceral understanding of the challenges faced by our clients. We have been there (literally!) and have the lived experience of running businesses and the commercial realities. And this has been confirmed time and time again in the feedback we receive from clients.
We know what it’s like to say ‘No’ to an overly zealous sales leader. We have been in the room with senior management applying real-time judgement on a transaction or issue and, importantly, had to live with the consequences.
We have had to enforce policies of conduct and compliance across firms, including with our ‘friends at work’.
We have experienced the feeling in the pit of our stomach when a regulator requests information on something we know could’ve been done better, had more time or resources been available.
And, most importantly, as risk and compliance leaders, we spent our careers role-modelling the right behaviours on ethics and conduct, so understand how important this is to the fabric of the place.
In our work with clients, we do not see the world through the narrow frame of shiny PowerPoint decks, billable hours, utilisation rates or hyper-competition with our peers to see who ends up on ‘partner track.’ To us, this is not success, aligned with our clients.
As practitioners, our experience has ingrained in us that success means achieving the right outcome for the firms we’ve worked in, and their customers. It’s not always easy, but it’s right.
And that difference in perspective is why px matters.
Of course, there are reasons why a buyer may choose to use a Big 4 firm. We recognise some potential virtues and the case for using these firms, which tend to be well-resourced and can call on large numbers of people in various locations at short notice. At the core of any firm is its people and we have had the opportunity to work with some excellent consultants.
And while it may sound naïve to be saying it these days, the Big 4 firms have ‘brand power’— knowing that a large consultancy is associated with a project may offer executives and Boards an element of comfort and potential protection.
The missing ingredient is the px. Our analysis of the most recently published Big 4 Partner promotion lists shows that almost two-thirds (64.8%) 1 of these new partners have less than 5 years of px.
In our past experience as buyers of professional services, engaging practitioners has resulted in a superior client experience. Experienced practitioners pre-empt your needs and know when you’ll need that extra one-pager for the ExCo member that doesn’t read beyond 200 words.
Experienced practitioners hit the ground running and ask the right questions quickly, leading to a more efficient engagement that has the added benefit of sharing knowledge with and upskilling client teams.
Experienced practitioners focus on substance over flashy reports, ensuring that solutions are fit-for-purpose and sustainable.
Contact the PX Partners team to share your views, or to wish us a happy 3rd birthday.
Note 1: Based on publicly available career bios and corporate histories – thanks LinkedIn!
Hear Tanushree Dabral of PX Partners talk to ausbiz about the Design and Distribution Obligations and how financial services firms are taking forward the learnings from 2020.
In 2020, the Australian government and regulators gave the industry more room to breathe due to COVID-19. It’s a new year, and Tanushree Dabral of PX Partners says the foot is back on the accelerator.
2021 will be a huge year in consumer protection, particularly when it comes to design and distribution. It’s no longer about simply providing disclosures and technical compliance, industry will be expected to show decision-making processes.
Watch the full interview here for more details!