Paul Coker
GAICD; B.App.Sc, Grad.Dip.Management

Paul is a Portfolio Manager with Indigenous Business Australia and is a director of several medium and large unlisted companies including Ngarda Civil and Mining Pty Ltd and Carpentaria Shipping Services Pty Ltd. Paul is also the Principal of Coker Coaching & Facilitation, a Canberra-based firm that specialises in group facilitation and customised coaching and mentoring to people who want to make and implement smarter business decisions. He has worked as a professional in several fields, including business advice, facilitation, and skills development; industry facilitation and development; economic development; and the Australasian mineral industry.

Paul’s formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Applied Science (Geology), a Graduate Diploma in Management, as well as a Cert. IV in Business Facilitation.

Paul has vast experience in business and industry development generally, and business facilitation and coaching in particular. He has a strong empathetic and empowering style, and is very focussed on obtaining meaningful results. He is particularly attuned to the needs of growth businesses, specialising in strategic business planning and action implementation.

Previous Roles

• Executive Officer for Indigenous Business Australia.
• Manager of the Canberra Business Advisory Service and General Manger of Something Ventured Pty Ltd.
• Executive Officer of the Capital Region Employment Council (now Regional Development Australia).
• Deputy Executive Officer and Industry Development
• Manager for the Australian Capital Region Development Council (now Regional Development Australia).
• Business Development Officer for the South East Rural Business Development Project.
• Business Development Officer for the Cape York Peninsula Development Association.
• Manager of Enterprise House (a business incubator in Far North Queensland) and Economic and Employment Development Officer for the Atherton Tablelands Promotion Bureau.

Business and Industry Facilitation and Coaching

In brief Paul has:

• More than 20 years experience in business and industry operation and development in Queensland, NSW and the ACT.
• An enviable track record working one-to-one with business owners and managers from a very wide range of industry types, helping them increase their own effectiveness and realise their business aspirations, particularly in terms of quality of life, profitability, and business valuation.
• Considerable experience as a small and large group facilitator, particularly in the areas of organisational development, strategic planning, productivity improvement, and market focus.

Memberships and Community Involvement (current and past)

• Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
• Member of the ANU Emeritus Faculty.
• Member of the last ACT Government Small and Micro Business Advisory Committee.
• Past member and Chair of various New Enterprise Incentive Scheme Advisory Committees.
• Past member of the Capital Region Agribusiness Working Group.
• Past member of the Capital Region Leadership Working Group.
• Past Chair of the Capital Region Student to Industry Taskforce.

Educational Background

Paul's formal qualifications and training include:

• Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
• Graduate Diploma of Management.
• Bachelor of Applied Science (Geology).
• Certificate IV in Business Facilitation.
• Master of Financial Management (partially completed).
• Workplace Assessor (part of Training & Assessment TAA40104).

Awards

Joint winner of the Australian and New Zealand Regional Science Association’s Award for Excellence in Regional Development in 2000.

Papers Presented & Published

• ‘How to Help Regions Help Themselves … the Capital Region Agribusiness Fund’ (Australia New Zealand Regional Science Association International, 2000).
• ‘The Capital Region Leadership Program’ (Australia New Zealand Regional Science Association International, 1999).