Rob Broadfield

Rob Broadfield is a communicator. It is the common thread in a career spanning media, business, corporate advisory, politics and writing.

After nearly fifteen years in business – spanning corporate advisory, capital raisings for start-ups, directorships with a number of publically listed companies and the development of Newscomm Ltd into a boutique media-based investment business – Rob returned to the media in 2007. He has what he calls “the dream job” at The West Australian Newspaper, where he is the Inside Cover columnist and “WA’s most feared” restaurant critic.
“Returning to the media has also given me the opportunity to develop, with The West Australian, a project dear to my heart, WA’s first comprehensive, journalist/reviewer-driven Good Food Guide,” Rob says. The first edition of the annual guide will be published in September 2010.
Rob Broadfield’s career began as a cadet reporter in Queensland. He quickly moved from newspaper to electronic media where he developed his skills as a news executive and found his niche in talk radio. In 1986, Rob was appointed Network News Director for the (then) AWA Radio Network – the youngest network news executive in Australia at the time. Rob has presented highly successful talk radio shows on the ABC, 3AW Melbourne and 6PR Perth. He is a regular guest political/culture/current affairs commentator on 6PR, ABC TV and ABC radio, Perth.
Rob’s business career began in 1992 with the establishment of a small public relations firm called Newscomm. It rapidly expanded into a boutique specialist firm – predominantly providing support for M&A teams, capital raisings, IPOs, large government capital projects and mission-critical external affairs. As a corporate adviser Rob provided strategy and advocacy for clients in need of stakeholder and news management leadership at times of crisis. His private clients have included prominent Australians from Olympic sports stars to Cabinet ministers and from industry leaders to public sector CEOs.
In business Rob Broadfield has developed and listed new businesses; promoted start-ups and raised capital (in the region of $400 million) across a range of business sectors (financial services, internet, wine and agriculture). He has advised clients in Australia and Europe. Rob took a sabbatical in 2006-2007 to work as a ministerial advisor, in Cabinet, for the Howard government. To this day it remains his, “single greatest thrill, single greatest learning curve and single greatest two years of adrenaline induced terror.” Rob still maintains his Australian Government Top Secret security clearance.
In his spare time, Rob established – with his business partner – the WA-based fast food business Hot Box – Good Food To Go, which expanded into a franchise model, now widely imitated. His purchase of regional commercial radio assets in the late 90s was, he says, “the most fun you can have standing up, but a folly of hilarious proportions”. Rob’s 2002 cookbook, “Pull up a chair” was an Australian best seller.

Rob is one of Perth’s highest profile journalists (he writes and edits Inside Cover in The West), was a current affairs broadcaster, and is Perth’s best known restaurant critic. He was also a ministerial adviser in Cabinet for the Howard Government and is a successful businessman in his own right.
He also has quite a strong motivational message of beating the odds. He was diagnosed about eight years ago with advanced cancer, after being misdiagnosed for two years, and had 53 tumours throughout his body. He was told by the medical profession to get his affairs in order as he only had about two weeks to live. He was given the highest level of chemotherapy that the body can sustain just in an effort to relieve pain and give him a few more weeks with his family. Miraculously the tumours started to shrink and further chemotherapy and other treatment ensued. After being dreadfully ill for over 12 months during the treatment process Rob survived and has a whole new perspective on life. He has an excellent sense of humour and whilst he includes his story of overcoming the odds in his presentation it is done in an uplifting, motivating, inspiring and often humorous/self depreciating style.