Professor Jana Matthews

An international expert on entrepreneurial leadership and business growth, Dr. Matthews is the ANZ Chair in Business Growth and Director of the Australian Centre for Business Growth at UniSA. The Centre has a staff of 11 plus 15 carefully selected Growth Experts (CEOs who have started, grown, and exited their companies) who teach a structured growth program and work with business owners, CEOs/MDs and executive teams to help them develop and execute plans for growth, attract and retain talent, enhance their own leadership, develop products and services that meet customers’ needs, and build great organisations. Over 1,200 business owners/CEOs/MDs have been through the Centre's Business Growth Clinics and more than 200 business owners/CEOs/MDs and executive teams have gone through the intensive Business Growth Program. The Centre has received international acclaim and awards from the European Foundation for Management Development and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business for the impact of its programs on company growth

Dr Matthews has served on seven boards and founded five companies of her own including The Jana Matthews Group, Boulder Quantum Ventures, and M&H Group. She was recruited to the original senior team of the Kauffman Foundation’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership, where she was the architect of highly successful programs designed to teach CEOs and their executive teams how to lead and manage growth. Additional responsibilities included working with 17 venture capital companies to design and develop the Kauffman Fellows Program. She also developed programs to educate angel investors, facilitate technology transfer, and create ecosystems to support entrepreneurs and growth companies.

Dr Matthews studied at the University of London, Yale University and has a doctorate from Harvard. She is frequently asked to speak and consult about leading and managing growth, globalisation, innovation, and the roles and responsibilities of leaders of growth companies. She has been a Global Thought Leader for SAP, was a monthly columnist for Dow Jones’ Startupjournal.com, has been featured in Investor Business Daily, Inc., The Australian, AFR, Boss, BRW, AICD magazine, Smart Company, Startup Daily and writes a column for Entrepreneur.com. She was named one of 18 Women Business Gurus in the world – the only one focused on entrepreneurial leadership and business growth. In 2017, Startup Daily identified Dr Matthews as one of the leading women in Australia’s innovation ecosystem, and in 2018 she was included on the Australian Financial Review list of “100 Women of Influence” in Australia. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum, and she Chairs the Assessment Committee that recommends grants in support of the federal Boosting Female Founders Initiative. She is also a member of the Australian Davos Connection (ADC) 100 and a frequent speaker at ADC Leadership Forums.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Education (Administration, Planning and Social Policy) Harvard University