Tom Potter

Tom Potter's Biography

Tom came from humble beginnings, leaving school at 15 to do a bakers apprenticeship and went on to build Eagle Boys Pizza from a single country town store to Australia and New Zealand’s largest privately owned pizza company achieving sales in excess of $200 million annually.

Along the way, Eagle Boys won various National Franchising Awards and Tom was awarded with the prestigious Australian Financial Review's Young Business Person of the Year.  He reinvented the pizza business and the brand to introduce a world first two-minute pizza guarantee, battled in Federal Court with the world’s biggest pizza company (Pizza Hut) and won. Almost went broke (twice), graduated valedictorian from Harvard Business School, introduced drive thru pizza and became a household name across Australia and New Zealand.

He has served on several Australian and International Boards, including the Ports Corporation of Queensland, Wallace Bishop/Hardy Brothers Jewellers, Brumby's Bakeries and The Board of Brisbane along with a stint on the AFL Commission and an advisor to the Federal Government.

After selling Eagle Boys in 2007 his time is spent on various other retail concepts and businesses, along with his passion of spending time with other businesses to gain insights allowing the most effective speaking presentations.  Tom has worked with, ranging from telecommunications such as Telstra and Optus to Harley Davidson and Bank West.

As one of Australia's most successful retailers, Tom is an inspirational leader. His straightforward, no-nonsense approach motivates audiences to change and cut through the clutter, and in doing so, to achieve higher results at all levels.

All these factors have seen Tom become one of Australia’s most sought after keynote and after dinner speakers (after dinner includes plenty of true story belly laughs).

By telling his 20 year story of trials, tribulations and triumphs from his experiences in business and life, Tom imparts advice on topics including marketing (and its challenges), change for the better and dealing with it along the way, what customers really want (looking through their eyes), strategy planning, facing competition (and winning) and your point of difference (what is your zebra amongst horses?)

Tom tells his story with plenty of humour and simplicity, in a “real” down to earth style. He will spend substantial time with the client finding out all the challenges they face to ensure the brief is clear and the speaking engagement has the maximum impact.