130 - Bill Petch - CEO - Leukaemia Foundation of Australia

Arete Podcast with Richard Triggs

In this episode, I’m chatting with Bill Petch, CEO of the Leukaemia Foundation of Australia, about his first CEO role and how he’s managing such an important sector during a time of exciting change. The charity is the only national charity dedicated to helping those with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders. Bill was first appointed CEO of the Queensland branch in 2012 and led an agency-wide program to improve organisational efficiency and effectiveness with a focus on impact and sustainability. Under his watch, the organisation released the very first ‘State of the Nation’ report on blood cancer in Australia and has put together the very first national task force that will improve equity of access to current treatments and new emerging therapies to improve survivability. Episode highlights: Who Bill is and his current professional responsibilities Big moments for the foundation recently - released first ‘State of the Nation’ report on blood cancer and put together the first national task force The Foundation’s strategy to get to zero lives lost to blood cancer by 2035 Hopes for the next 10 years - zero preventable deaths Bill’s fascination with how charities are founded and evolve The Leukaemia Foundation of Australia’s work over the past three years Making information available to people diagnosed Bill’s background - born in Sydney, one brother, went to a Catholic school What Bill did after university - moved to the UK and went backpacking around Europe Working for Barnardos for over a decade in the UK and Australia Blending philanthropy with reality Bill’s views of the charity sector and its ability to deliver services to the community What charity was 100 years ago is not what charity is today Not-for-profit vs profit-for-purpose An important period for the charity world - building collaboration not competition in the sector Bill’s consultancy work in Australia - constructing social responsibility programs His first CEO role and not wanting to ruin it The importance of building his knowledge and skills How the organisation has changed since Bill became CEO The organisation’s future goals and how to make that change How science and the healthcare industry is changing for the better - new technologies and treatments Bill’s hopes for his future in the role - driving the national task force and what will come from that What Bill does in his spare time - rugby and travelling Useful Links: Bill Petch on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-petch-b42342/ Leukaemia Foundation Website: https://www.leukaemia.org.au/ Arete Website: https://www.areteexecutive.com.au/ Richard Triggs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs/